to have Courage....In Family Life, In Spirituality, In Health, In Living Simply

I'm on a journey...... as we all are. Learning, remembering, re-discovering about health, spirituality, relationships, emotions and the mind.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Taking Showers Can Make You Ill, But Dry Skin Brushing is a Healthy Way to Get Clean

Bacteria that belong to the same family as TB, might be lurking in your shower head, and may make those with compromised immune systems sick! Yikes!

Read a BBC report

I know that many people prefer to have a shower over a bath, like my husband who thinks its gross to sit in ones own dirt!! But, there's another way that's actually healthy for you. Because lets face it, often you aren't really dirty, you are just wanting to feel clean.

In it's different forms its been used for thousands of years around the world. The Greeks, Japanese and American Indians are known to have practiced this to keep healthy. Supposedly the Comanche Indians took sand from the Texas river bottoms and used it to scrub their skin with. It's simple, virtually free, and definitely chemically free for both you and the environment. It can help clear away cellulite and give you supple skin, even tightening skin for those who have alot of weight to lose but don't want the saggy look (who does??) And its really healthy for your entire body, not only for your skin but most importantly for your lymphatic (immune) system. You can't beat that, particularly with the flu season approaching and all the media scare about H1N1.



The practice is called Dry Skin Brushing. Here's some info, but I really like The Health Ranger's article Dry Skin Brushing: A Natural Way to Detox There are differing opinions as to the order of body parts to brush first, although the 'experts' seem to be saying what The Health Ranger and Teresa Tapp are saying (starting with the palm of the hands, etc, and always brushing toward the heart to aid circulation and lymphatic drainage).

Teresa Tapp with T-Tapp has a handle-less natural brush (perfect for travel) along with simple instructions, an instructional DVD, and other products to help flush out your lymphatic system and build strength to your immunity.



I personally don't agree that the dry skin brushing always needs to be followed by a shower. The intent is to wash off any flaky skin. Whatever you do, definitely do not use chemical laden soaps/cleaners.

I think the western 'audience' is addicted to showering. (When you've done a thorough dry skin brush, your skin is cleaner than you used to be just having a shower!! Like Scandinavians who do the sauna to sweat, and then do a rough towel rub instead of a shower, although some also jump into cold fresh water, without soaps, but the purpose for this is the health of the circulatory system)

You might like the feeling of the hot/cold water over your body, but first let the water run a bit from the showerhead to clean out at least some of the bacteria that might be there, and certainly don't let it rain down on your face when it first starts to run. Soaps aren't necessary, and its actually better for you and the environment to skip the cleaners. If you must, use natural products or better yet make your own simple natural recipes, saving money and packaging.

Question for You: Do you do skin brushing?

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