Herbal Foot and Hand Soaks
Recently I read an article that really inspired me to consider my herbal roots. Herbal medicine is one of the cornerstones of Naturopathy but through the ages the manner in which we use herbs has changed considerably.
In countries such as Australia, current use of herbs for medicine might be in tabletted form or, if you attend a Naturopath/Herbalist, you might be prescribed herbs in a liquid form. However, traditional use of plants for medicine was much more simple and direct. In the past, herbs were used in a fresh or dried form as teas; mulled in wine or used in cooking (not just for flavour but to influence health – this system is still much used in oriental medicine).
Another way that herbs would have been applied is as baths or soaks – usually of hands or feet. The article I was reading was indeed about herbal foot soaks and I found myself wondering why we don’t use this application anymore. I didn’t need to search very far for the answer – TIME, or perceived lack of it. Happily, I found myself with a little more of that than usual, it being April 2020 and the time of COVID-19, so I decided to experiment.
Through history, the herbal bath or soak would mostly have been used for physical injury. As the foot soak influences the energy and blood flow immediately in the foot, then the limb and the torso gradually warms, the body may even break a slight sweat (Cooper, C, JCM Iss.122 2020). This is the impact of not just hot water but the herbs on the body tissues and blood flow.
As I have cold feet (not exactly an injury, more likely an internal circulatory problem), I started to think about what kind of herbal soak I could do. At the moment I have an abundance of fresh Rosemary which is a great circulatory herb so I decided to put it to use to warm my cold feet. Strongly aromatic herbs have a “penetrating nature and help the soak reach inside the body to where its effects are needed” (Cooper, C 2020).
Each night I now prepare my Rosemary soak by boiling up herb in a large pot. Once it’s cool enough, I put it into a tub that easily accommodates my feet and soak my feet for 10 minutes. It’s not long. Really, it’s not. Sometimes I might do a brain puzzle like Sudoko. Mostly I do nothing but close my eyes and enjoy just sitting with the warmth radiating into my feet. I keep a little of the boiled soak water aside to top up the heat as it cools (it is late May in Adelaide after all). I’ve been surprised at how relaxing this process is. I climb into bed with toasty feet, feeling very relaxed and have a great sleep. All these other great effects from committing to 10 minutes of sitting with my feet in hot, herby water.
Improving my lifetime of cold feet may take a while but the other benefits I have found from taking a little time at the end of the day to do a foot soak has been a delightful discovery. There are blessings to be uncovered with a little more time on our hands!