Retreat and Detox~

I am home alone with Emery and Henry (my two amazing kitties) on a chilly nasty rainy stay inside sort of December day. There really is no reason why I should be going anywhere anyway as I am not in the best condition to be driving. I have been having quite a bit of pain in my neck for the last 24 hours which apparently came from vacuuming.   It seems that I no sooner get past a "flare up" and another one comes along.  Grrr.  It's so frustrating!  I was in physical therapy this time last year for two bulging discs in my neck. I got past that, but then have had a series of other issues since then.  A week or so ago I began to feel pretty good and decided I could push the vacuum again.  Wrong.  Pain came back again in a powerful way.  DH is going to have to take over the "Hoovering".  I'm done!

 It seems that Emery and Henry's activity level, or lack there of, is never effected by the weather. Whether it is sunny or raining, they are sleeping.  

 The busyness of Christmas is behind me, but the decorations are still giving my home a delightful festive expression. Being at home today has a more of a retreat feel to it even inspite of my body discomfort. It may be gloomy outside, but there's an incredible sense of warmth inside.  Todays empty agenda seems to call for a long soak in a hot bath.  I figured it might  help reduce my pain level. We have a wonderful jacuzzi that seldom gets used for anything besides a drop zone for damp towels. It's a shame that we don't use it more often. 

Typically when I do take a whirlpool bath, 
I add epsom salts and wintergreen rubbing alcohol to my water. 

           (half of a bottle of wintergreen alcohol and a cup of epsom salts poured into the running water).

This time I was out of alcohol so I decided to look for a new "recipe" for my bath.

My google search provided me with many options.  Several of the sites had information about using products that, when used in combination, could have a detoxing effect.
One "bath detox" called for epsom salts and baking soda.  Easy enough.  The website listed below suggests some optional items to add to the bath one of which was brewed mint tea.  Because I had some in the pantry, I did use some.

Detox Bath Mix

1 half cup of epsom salts

1 half cup of baking soda

1 cup of brewed mint tea (I used 2 bags for the 1 cup of water)

Add ingredients to running bath.  Swish hand around in the water to fully dissolve the salts and soda.  Add brewed tea if desired.  Soak in bath for no more than 20 minutes.  It is suggested that you lie down for a few minutes after bathing as you may feel a little dizzy.

*I kept a glass of ice water on the side of the tub to keep myself hydrated while bathing.

I was amazed at, not only the pain relief that I experienced, but how refreshed and relaxed I felt afterwards.  I am going to make sure that I take a detox bath on a regular basis as I truly feel that it can be beneficial for my physical as well as my emotional health.

Taking a detox bath can aid in the flushing of toxins from the body, increase magnesium levels and help relieve joint pain. There are other health benefits listed on this  site 
http://suite101.com/article/baking-soda-and-epsom-salt-bath-for-detoxification-a228912