Epsom Salt Bath
Combine in a full tub of hot water:
- Epsom Salts: 1.5 cups < Purchase from a reliable US source (not China)
- Baking Soda: 0.5 cup
Optional
- Miracle II Alkalizing Soap
- Hydrogen Peroxide (3%, as found in many grocery stores)
- Organic essentials oils or freshly grated ginger (2-4 tablespoons wrapped in cheese cloth, an old nylon stocking or a tea ball)
Suggestions
Do not soak on a full stomach.
Dry skin brushing before your soak will improve your circulation and enhance the benefits of the soak.
Niacin can also be taken just before you begin your soak to induce a flush response, improve circulation and increase the benefits of the soak. Start with a relatively low dose of 250 mg. If you tolerate it well, you can try increasing your dose to 500mg.
I recommend climbing into the tub when it is just a few inches full, and the salts are very concentrated. This will allow you to adjust the temperature of the water to keep it as hot as you can comfortably tolerate. I also fill the tub as full as I can in order to immerse my entire body in the water (except my face).
Then, relax for 40 minutes (see jpg attached above) ~ and, once the water begins to cool off, shower and wash your hair to remove all traces of the salt.
You can also use your soak as an opportunity for tapping, i.e., using the EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique. Since the soak will predispose you to relaxing (see details below), this will help to facilitate emotional release during the tapping process.
Benefits & Pain Management
Epsom salt baths are beneficial for many reasons. They are healing, alkalizing and detoxifying. They can also provide palliative, and often dramatic, relief from pain. For example, soaking in an Epsom salt bath can even take the edge off of the pain of shingles.
In addition, the fact that the soak is soothing and relaxing is extremely important when dealing with chronic pain because it helps to calm the "fight or flight" Stress Response & Burnout in the central nervous system. This means the soak not only allows the muscles in your body to relax -- it also helps to induce a relaxation response in the nervous system, which is essential for healing and recovery. (Remember stress is degenerating, relaxation is regenerating).
Also, magnesium is one of the first minerals to be depleted when we are under stress. Because acute and chronic pain are both extremely stressful, our magnesium stores need to be replenished daily. For this reason, it is also helpful to take ionic magnesium orally, in addition to soaking. (The benefit of ionic magnesium is that is will not cause loose stools.)
For ongoing pain management, you can soak daily, if necessary ~ and then, as your magnesium stores are replenished and your pain levels begin to decrease, you may eventually be able to cut back to 1 or 2 times/week for ongoing maintenance.
★ Learn more about the Benefits of Magnesium