Stirway to heaven: December 2012

Ending your day with a warm bath is really one of the best ways to get rid of stress and spend some quiet, quality time with yourself, leaving all your thoughts behind and just treat all your senses to this unique moment! To enhance the bath experience put some relaxing music on and light a candle. Always have a bottle of water close to you and once in a while you may treat yourself to a glass of red wine! Focus on the healing of your body while taking the bath. Keep thoughts positive and reaffirming. This will help balance your body and your mind.

These baths are a very beneficial and pleasant way of treating stress related problems, and insomnia. Additionally, they increase blood circulation and they expel toxins from the body. They are ideal for very sore muscles and sports injuries, musculoskeletal pain, swelling and bruises, arthritis pain or other disabling diseases. You may also use bath salts to treat skin disorders such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, hives, chicken pox, etc.

Making your own bath salts is just the easiest thing ever, as long as you’ve got the right ingredients. You’ll need natural sea salt (Don’t use table salt! Not just in your bath, but in general!), baking soda, Epsom salts (I find Epsom salts in the pharmacy) and essential oils.

Sea salt softens the water and is a great purifier that dissipates negative energy. Sea salt is alkaline and therefore helps to lower the acidity of the body. The salt water penetrates the pores and is absorbed into the bloodstream. From there, the salt helps to remove accumulated lactic acid in the body (lactic acid becomes present in the body after strenuous workouts or heavy activity and can be built up in muscle tissue, causing you to feel stiff and sore).

Baking soda (I prefer buying organic) balances the natural PH of the skin and has healing properties for any skin disorder.

Finally, Epsom salt (scientifically known as hydrated magnesium sulfate) is rich in both magnesium and sulfate. While both magnesium and sulfate can be poorly absorbed through the stomach, studies show increased magnesium levels from soaking in a bath enriched with Epsom salt! Magnesium and sulfate are both easily absorbed through the skin. Sulfates play an important role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. They stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are thought to help detoxify the body of medicines and environmental contaminants. Researchers and physicians suggest these health benefits from proper magnesium and sulfate levels, as listed on the web site of the Epsom Salt Industry Council:

· Improves heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.

· Improves ability for the body to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.

· Flushes toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.

· Improves nerve function by electrolyte regulation. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.

· Relieves stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well being and relaxation.

· Reduces inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps.

· Improves oxygen use.

· Improves absorption of nutrients.

· Improves formation of joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins.

· Prevents or helps ease migraine headaches.

Sea salt soaks are very therapeutic and beneficial to our bodies and minds. By practicing the soaking ritual on a regular basis, you may achieve increased overall health and wellness as well as a sense of spirituality. Add 2 cups of bath salt to warm water in a standard-sized bathtub. Bathe 3 times weekly, soaking for at least 15 minutes, but not more than 30 minutes.
Tip: Hop into the bath and rub the bath salts over your body bit by bit and allow the salt to dissolve with the water (instead of pouring the salt into the bath before hoping in). This gives an exfoliating effect to your skin. Be sure to rinse in shower after bath… but don't use soap! These baths are not recommended while pregnant!

Here is the recipe:

1 cup Epsom salt

1 cup sea salt

1/2 cup baking soda

15-20 drops essential oil (for relaxing night baths I use either lavender or chamomile)

Mix all your ingredients well and store in an air tight glass container (dark glass is even better).