September is National Arthritis month and in recognition, we are featuring a different bath salt on sale every week on our website throughout September. Along side this sale, we are taking the opportunity to give you a brief history of bathing, salt, and the benefits water and bath salts can have when used!
So how many of you actually take a bath instead of a shower? Probably not a majority of you. Or maybe you spend your time soaking in a hot tub or Jacuzzi instead of a bathtub. In some cultures, like in Turkey and Japan, bathing is still a major part of life. Not many people today have time for a bath, but maybe this four part article will convince you to take some time to bathe.
Part 1: A Brief History of Bathing
Bathing has been around for thousands of years and has come and gone from popularity over the turning centuries. As early as 3000 B.C., water has been seen as a purifying element for the body and soul and has had deep religious meaning. Bathing throughout this period commonly took place as steam baths or cold baths. There have also been remains of bathing rooms found to date as early as 1700 B.C. from
the Palace of Knossos in Crete. The Egyptians, like Cleopatra, used to soak in the mineral rich waters of the Dead Sea around 69 B.C. and Homer, a famous Greek poet and writer, wrote about the heroes of his books taking baths to regain their strength. Hippocrates, a Greek physician, used to write about the healing power of water and salt and regularly encouraged patients to soak in sea water from 460-377 B.C.
In the time of the Romans, bathing was probably at its peak in popularity. After working hard all day, Romans would join together at the bath to wash away their aches and mental frustrations. They saw bathing as an art, turning it into a time to talk about business, socialize, spend time with friends and family, and least important, get clean. These people, like Homer, Hippocrates, and Cleopatra, knew that bathing had much more to offer than just washing off the dirt; it offered peace, relaxation, reflection, self-indulgence and relief from worries, diseases, aches, and pains. They witnessed that a freshly bathed person felt renewed, purified, and peaceful.
The art of bathing waned slightly after the fall of the Roman Empire but did not disappear completely. Bathing took place in the Middle Ages as well, but then declined sharply after the Renaissance as water was thought to carry diseases. Religious views of bathing being a sin of self-indulgence also contributed to the decline in popularity. Forms of water therapy began to emerge again as people like Vincent Priessnitz and Sebastian Kneipp developed their own techniques. Other information and research about hydrotherapy was made publicly available thanks to people such as J.S. Hahn who wrote On the Power and Effect of Cold Water and Dr. James Currie who wrote Medical Reports, on the Effects of Water, Cold and Warm, as a remedy in Fever and Other
Diseases, Whether applied to the Surface of the Body, or used Internally. Many other books have been published and hydrotherapy is still continued to be researched.
Today bathing has regained its popularity as people are searching alternative forms of therapy for their ailments or just to relax and relieve stress. The increasing amount of spas has been contributing to its growth in popularity as they provide forms of water therapy making it more available to the public. Although the average person is busy with responsibilities and the stressful moments of their life, we hope you will take the time to bathe and discover the many benefits water (and our bath salt) has to offer.
This Week on Sale!
For this first week in September, we are featuring our Sore Muscle Therapeutic Bath Salt on sale for 20% off on our website. Our Sore Muscle bath salt is a unique combination of essential oils and mineral salts specifically intended to aid in relaxing sore, tired, and over worked muscles and reduce pain and inflammation. We use hand harvested Celtic Sea salt that contains over 84 vital trace minerals that are essential to our bodies.
Come back next week for Part 2 of our article as we will be talking all about the benefits water can have when you take a bath!