Beauty Tips:Thalassotherapy uses the sea for cleansing and health
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Thalassotherapy is another ageless, cleansing, health-restorative technique. Thalassa is the ancient Greek word for sea. The Greeks indeed used the sea for their well-being. I myself have seen 2500 year-old healing sites on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Corfu, and the ancient Greek healing center at Pergamum in what is now Turkey. Even judging by the therapeutic centers still known to us, much of the population of the ancient Greek and Roman world soaked in sea water hot tubs and heated seaweed baths, drank and inhaled sea water for health, got sea water massages, had seaweed facials and body wraps and used sea water pools for hydrotherapy and detoxification. Today, we are learning once again, about the ability of the sea to reduce tension and de-stress our bodies, detoxify the skin and improve circulation, relieve allergies, sinus and chest congestion, and ease arthritis symptoms.
Seaweed baths are Nature’s perfect body/psyche balancer. Remember how good you feel after an ocean walk? Seaweeds purify and balance the ocean — they can do the same for your body. A hot seaweed bath is like a wet-steam sauna, only better, because the sea greens balance body chemistry instead of dehydrating it. The electromagnetic action of the seaweed releases excess body fluids from congested cells, and dissolves fatty wastes through the skin, replacing them with depleted minerals, especially potassium and iodine. Iodine boosts thyroid activity, so food fuels are used before they can turn into fatty deposits. Vitamin K in seaweeds boosts adrenal activity, meaning that a seaweed bath can help maintain hormone balance for a more youthful body.
Taking a seaweed bath even once a week stimulates lymphatic drainage and fat burning so you can keep off excess weight, reduce cellulite and rid your body of toxins.
Dried seaweeds are available in most health food stores or try my Hot Seaweed Bath.
Here is how to take a Hot Seaweed Bath:
Whichever form you choose, run very hot water over the seaweed in a tub, filling it to the point that you will be covered when you recline. The water will turn rich brown as the plants release their minerals. Add an aromatherapy bath oil if desired, to help hold the heat in and boost your cleansing program. Let the bath cool enough to get in. As you soak, the gel from the seaweed will transfer onto your skin. This coating increases perspiration to release system toxins, and replaces them with minerals by osmosis. Rub your skin with the seaweed during the bath to stimulate circulation, smooth the body, and remove wastes coming out on the skin surface. When the seaweeds have done their work, the gel coating dissolves and floats off the skin, and the seaweeds shrivel - a sign that the bath is over. Each bath varies with the individual, the seaweeds used, and water temperature, but the gel coating release is a natural timekeeper for the bath. Forty-five minutes is usually long enough to balance body pH, encourage liver activity and fat metabolism. Skin tone, color, and circulatory improvement are almost immediately noticeable. After your Hot Seaweed Bath, try a capsule of cayenne and ginger to assimilate the seaweed minerals.
To Life-long health,