We are back with another trending blog where we break down the latest trends people are implementing into their routines to target a certain aspect of their health. Today, we are going to break down self-care trends people have turned to in hopes to better their physical and mental health. Due to the connection between your digestive system and other processes, it is to no surprise that improving one aspect of your health can also positively impact your digestion.
Foot Soaking and Cold Water Immersion Therapy’s Potential Benefits
Foot soaking refers to the act of immersing your feet in warm to hot water for a period of time. Not only is this a relaxing form of therapy to turn to after a long day, but it can also relieve muscle tension, reduce stress levels, increase circulation, and give your immune system the boost it is looking for. Due to these massive benefits to your mental health, foot soaking can in turn help you to achieve a higher level of quality sleep and reduce complications in your digestive tract. Foot soaking has been practiced for quite some time in different cultures, but has recently gained a spark of popularity and awareness in the wellness world.
To further boost the benefits of a foot soak, one can add essential oils or minerals such as epsom salt. Minerals such as epsom salt can protect your skin and further enhance the benefits of the foot soak itself. However, be cautious about adding too much of a specific mineral or provoking an allergic reaction. It is important to speak to your physician before starting any new wellness activity.
Cold water immersion is a form of self-care that has also recently gained popularity. Cold water immersion is pretty self-explanatory in that it simply refers to the act of settling your body into a body of extremely cold water. Submerging your body into cold water acts as a wake-up call to your body and can promote a strong immune system, a boost in mood, and balance out a person’s blood pressure. It requires a mind over body outlook, and can really improve the relationship between your body and mind. Cold water immersion is a great way to stimulate your vagus nerve and bring your body down from a state of fight-or-flight that can cause its own set of issues.
These water trends are not the only ones people have turned to as of late for physical and mental relief.
Grounding and How It Can Benefit Your Mental Health
Grounding — or what others refer to as earthing — refers to the act of connecting your body directly to mother earth and channeling the energy it offers. Earth gives off electric charges into the environment that when we directly allow into our bodies can have a load of benefits. These benefits include, but are not limited to, reducing inflammation, improving sleep quality, and stabilizing our mental well-being.
Have you ever been so stressed or lost throughout your day and stepped outside for a moment? Sometimes all our bodies need to feel stabilized is a moment in nature. The act of grounding has a similar mantra in that it is celebrating the power and energy that the earth has to offer us.
There are a number of different ways you can participate in grounding including:
- standing or moving barefoot around outside
- entering a body of natural water
- laying down outside in grass or sand
Grounding is beneficial to your gut health in specific due to its anti-inflammatory properties. It gives your body the chance to relax and properly do its job in digesting the foods you consume. Grounding is also known to increase overall blood flow in the body which can help with stagnant energy, constipation, and fatigue. Grounding also helps to sync up your circadian rhythm which is responsible for stabilizing your sleep routine. When you incorporate grounding into your morning routines, you are giving your body a chance to reap the benefits to your circadian rhythm.
Grounding is simply a way to get more connected with the earth in which we live. Nature has loads to offer us, we simply have to give it a chance to share those benefits with us!
What Are Sadhu Boards and What Do They Benefit
A sadhu board is a board made up of nails that stimulate the pressure points found in our feet. Our feet contain a load of different pressure points that are thought to be linked to different sectors of our body. For example, our sinuses are thought to be connected to the pressure point between our upper toe and the longer part of our toes. There are said to be different points for all parts of our body and this is known as foot reflexology.
The sadhu board uses the nails to stimulate these pressure points on our feet and boost the immunity levels of the different aspects of our body connected to said pressure point. It can help to relieve muscle and joint pain, reduce inflammation, and help with repressed emotions built up in the body. This practice dates back years and is an ancient Indian technique.
This practice can be done once a day for 1 minute, but should not be done excessively. You are more than welcome to immerse yourself in the practice by first experiencing it with socks on in order to allow yourself to become accustomed to the feeling. For your first time, you will most likely experience more astute and painful emotions.
While the nails are not meant to cause permanent damage, this practice must be taken with precaution as you are still handling a nail board. It is important to speak to your physician before starting this practice as it is not recommended for certain people with active diseases or situations.
All of these self-care trends hold benefits for one’s physical and mental health. It is vital to take care of both sectors of one’s health, because they truly do go hand in hand. Be sure to check back next month when we dive into more trending activities that are taking the wellness world by storm!