Thales, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, theorized that water is
thematerial cause of all things--he wasn't too far off the mark. After
all, the human body is 75 percent water, and water covers 70 percent of
the Earth's surface. Good ol' H[sub 2] O is literally the elixir of life.
Whether along the sacred shores of the Ganges, in the fabled bathhouses
of Rome or at the holy spring of Zamzam in Mecca, humanity has sought for
millennia the healing powers of water for spiritual, psychological and
physical ablution.
Today, however, the closest thing many of us have to a spiritual
aquatic experience is a quick shower before our morning commute. It's no
wonder visits to health spas in the United States have increased by
almost 60 percent since 1997, according to a recent survey by the
International Spa Association. The top three reasons for going? Pampering
massage, stress reduction and pain relief. But while massaging your own
back may prove next to impossible, you can easily and affordably reap the
benefits of stress reduction and pain relief in your home hot tub, steam
unit or sauna.
All of us are burdened with the physical stress of environmental
toxins. Industrial chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals such as arsenic
and lead are just a few of the poisons that infiltrate the human body,
increasing the risk of cancer and altering psychological health. "The
single greatest target organ of chemical injury is the brain," says Allan
Lieberman, M.D., medical director for the Center for Occupational and
Environmental Medicine in Charleston, South Carolina. "The manifestations
of neurotoxicity include alterations in thinking, perception, mood and
behavior." One method of fending off neurotoxicity is steam bathing or
taking a sauna, which detoxilies the body by opening the pores. This
allows up to 30 percent of bodily waste to be excreted through
perspiration, which can result in increased mental clarity, greater
emotional stability and an overall sense of well-being.
If insomnia is stressing you out, you've got one more reason to
immerse yourself in steam. A 1999 study conducted by Harvard physician
Cynthia Dorsey, Ph.D., director of the Sleep Research Program at McLean
Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, found that 30-minute steam baths
taken 1.5 to two hours before bedtime improved sleep efficiency in female
insomniacs by approximately 10 percent. While the reasons for this are
not altogether clear, Dorsey believes that by elevating core body
temperature, the 24-hour circadian rhythm of some test subjects may have
been temporarily reset to a more harmonious relationship with the
sleep-wake rhythm. Dorsey is currently conducting another study in which
she aims to determine whether a hot soak works better at inducing sleep
than a commonly prescribed sleeping pill. "So far" she says, "the results
look comparable."
Flowing water's soothing sounds have long been associated with
meditation, a well-known relaxation method. Michael Wenger, dean of
Buddhist studies at the San Francisco Zen Center, tells us that, "Moving
water is 'white noise,' in which you can hear many things. Each
individual may hear a different song in the water. Just listening to the
sound--not tying it to anything, just letting sound wash over you--is a
way of letting go of your ideas and directly experiencing things as they
are." This notion is exemplified in Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, one of
the most important works of 20th-century Buddhist fiction. In it, the
title character, while meditating upon the sound of a river and its
"many-voiced song," has a life-changing experience, whereupon he ceases
to fight against his destiny and thus achieves enlightenment.
A one-two punch of meditation combined with a hot soak "can really
be very beneficial for relaxation, and relieving stress definitely
reduces [arthritis] pain," says William Arnold, M.D., a rheumatologist at
the Illinois Bone & Joint Institute and chief medical editor of the
Arthritis Foundation's Guide To Alternative Therapies (Longstreet Press,
1999). Hot water relaxes the joints while increasing circulation to
reduce muscle spasms. Studies at Harvard's Mind/Body Medical Institute
have proven that relaxation response techniques, such as meditation,
hypnosis and massage, have a measurable positive effect on chronic pain
management. As Richard Kradin, M.D., director of research at the
Institute, says, "Relaxation in a warm bath might have similar effects to
other forms of relaxation protocols. It really needs to be
studied."
If you're considering "taking the waters" for some rest and
relaxation, remember that sauna and steam bathing are not for everyone.
Keeping cool is key if you have any type of heart condition, because
sharp temperature increases can cause cardiac arrhythmia. Pregnant women
and people with high blood pressure or diabetes should also avoid saunas
and steam baths. But for healthy individuals, hot baths of 104 degrees
(or steam rooms up to 150 degrees) are fine, as long as you get out and
cool off after 15 to 30 minutes and rehydrate by drinking a glass of
water. Drinking water while you soak can't hurt either. After you've
cooled down, it's OK to repeat the process. As it says in the Tao Te
Ching, "Like water, the sage must wait for the moment to arise and be
right."
Heat up to cool off
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