Soak Away the Cold with a Ginger Bath

Even if you love the romance of wintry weather, winters in Maine have the tendency to chill you right to the bone! If you can’t seem to get warm lately, or if you have pain that is exacerbated by the cold and damp, why not try soaking in an herbal ginger bath?

Ayurvedic medicine, one of the world’s oldest holistic healing traditions, refers to ginger as vishwabhesaj, or the Universal Medicine.¹ In Ayurveda as well as Chinese herbal medicine, ginger is considered to be warming in nature, good for digestion and have a positive effect on circulation. With this ginger bath recipe, you are advised to drink a cup of the ginger tea as well as add a few cups to your bath water – so you benefit from the external and internal benefits of the herb!

Happy soaking!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. roughly chopped fresh ginger root (no need to peel)3 cups of water

Instructions: Bring the 3 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of roughly chopped ginger root to a boil in a saucepan. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes (you should achieve a rich golden liquor). Remove from heat and strain ginger root from the tea. Set aside one cup to drink while drawing your bath. Add the remaining 2 cups of tea to your hot bath water. Soak for as long as you’d like! Repeat often.

1Ayurveda and Ginger; the Universal Medicine. http://www.ayurvedacollege.com/blog/ayurveda-ginger-%E2%80%9Cuniversal-medicine%E2%80%9D