Hydrotherapy

Fun and Health in the Water

We all know that water is one of the basic things that we need to survive, but even when you are drinking the requisite 8 glasses a day, are you really getting everything out of it that you can?

The truth is, water can be beneficial to our bodies in many different ways, but one of the most interesting and beneficial ways that you can use this precious liquid is through hydrotherapy.

Hydrotherapy involves the use of water to restore and vitalize your health, and it can involve treatments as varied as saunas, steam baths, body scrubs, body wraps, aromatherapy baths, sitz baths, and the alternating use of cold and hot water compresses, or contrast therapy.

More and more spas are realizing how beneficial hydrotherapy treatments can be, and will include at least one, usually more, of these spa treatments in their repertoire.

Benefits of Hydrotherapy

When you are thinking about hydrotherapy, you might be wondering why it is beneficial.
You'll find that in the first place, hot water will relax you, both in body and mind.
Your blood vessels will dilate, and because of this, it improves your circulation and helps you remove waste and toxins from the tissues of your body.

When you alternate a hot water with cold water, or contrast therapy, you'll find that the switch from one to the other can help you decrease inflammation, improve your digestive process as well as make you feel more alert and revitalized.

Types of Hydrotherapy

There are several types of hydrotherapy that you might be interested in.

For instance, warm soak baths are considered hydrotherapy.

You'll find that while you can always indulge in a warm bath, you will also be able to try adding herbal and botanical extracts, Dead Sea salts, ginger, mineral mud or getting the benefits of aromatherapy baths with various types of essential oils and more!

A warm bath is a very basic form of hydrotherapy, and even as it re-hydrates your skin and opens up your pores, you'll find that you are more relaxed and more at ease than you were previously.
You shouldn't spend more than 20 minutes in a soak bath. The best time to get a bath is in the evening before bed for a better night sleep.

Similarly, you'll also find that saunas and steam baths are considered a form of hydrotherapy.
Steam baths can be used to open up congestion in our bodies and to relieve our bodies of a very heavy and tired feeling.

After a steam bath, many people feel a great deal more loosened up and more alert and energetic, as if many of the problems that they had experienced had simply been dissolved away.
This use of heat can have the benefit of waking up your circulation as well as helping your body perform important metabolic functions.

In a sauna the heat works faster to eliminate waste and toxins through the skin, the heat also stimulates your circulation, increases your heart rate, stimulates hormone production, and opens the airways. Saunas are very relaxing and a wonderful way to melt away the stress.
You shouldn't spend more than 15 minutes in the sauna or steam baths, you should have a cold washcloth with you to wipe your face and avoid overheating.

While of course you can reproduce many of the basic hydrotherapy treatments at home, you'll find that by trying them at the spa that you will be able to take advantage of significantly nicer equipment and the skill of a trained therapist.

For instance, you'll find that many spas will offer you a body scrub which often involves the use of the Vichy shower, where you will lie prone on a padded table while seven jets of water are switched on, allowing you to rinse off and feel the therapeutic pressure of the water against your skin.

With a body wrap, on the other hand, you'll find that you are covered with cold wet flannel sheets while you are lying down, and then you are covered with another layer of warm towels and blankets. As your body will warm up and dry to the wet sheets, you'll find that your skin feels soft and alive and that your various muscle aches can disappear.
This is a very old type of hydrotherapy that has been practiced all over the world for hundreds of years. In this treatments the Vichy shower is often used to rinse off the mask.

Hydrotherapy works due to the fact that our bodies will always have a response to hot and cold water. Hot water will soothe your body and relax it, while cold water will stimulate your body and increase is internal activity.
You'll find that the use of heat in hydrotherapy is ideal if you are looking to relax sore muscles, while a treatment that ends with cold water can help you feel more awake.
This is why many people follow up some time in the sauna or the steam room with a brisk cool shower, though care should be taken if you have ever had problems with blood pressure.

Similarly, you'll find that when you are submerged in a bath or a pool that you will experience a feeling of weightlessness, of release.
Because you are freed from the bonds of gravity, you will realize that there is no pressure being put on your joints, while at the same time, the water is making very subtle movements next to your skin.

Take some time to really experience the pleasures and benefits of hydrotherapy and ask about it during your next visit to the spa!

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