BEAUTY AND WELL BEING THROUGH WATER

The curative properties of water have been recognised since time immemorial. In ancient texts there is a wealth of imformation that outlines the popularity of therapies and cures that use water. Hippocrates was an advocate of water therapy for various physical ailments in ancient Greece, whilst the ancient Egyptians promoted water therapy as a cure for spiritual maladies, and to further spiritual development. Indeed even today water has important spiritual significance for many of the world's religions, including christianity where it is most importantly regarded as a spiritual purifyer at baptism. Today's hydrotherapy is the culmination of centuries of belief in the physical and spiritual powers of water, and aims at channeling this power towards correcting the side-effects of modern life.

The first documented hydrotherapy center in modern times was that of the Abbot Sebastian Kneipp in United Kingdom some time in the mid 1800s. In his center in the town of Chimney, Kneipp put into practice his beleif that water had a regenerative effect on the body. Cold and warm water baths were administered to this end, with the associated goal of thoroughly cleansing the body of the bacteria that accompanied life in those times. These treatments and their goals are fundamentally the same as their modern incarnations, although their has been a myriad of new treatments and goals added to the field. Alongside simple baths there are now therapies that incorporate other sources of well being; flotation therapy; products from the sea (Thalassotherapy); various massage techniques (Hydromassage) and many more.