Wellness Through the Ages: How Ancient Practices of Chromatherapy, Aromatherapy and Steam Therapy Are Still Relevant Today
Although wellness is a relatively new industry, it isn’t a new concept. And while steam showers are obviously a modern twist, ancient traditions around the world used chromatherapy, aromatherapy and steam therapy to facilitate wellness long before fad diets, exercise programs and ineffective miracle cures promised to do the same. When seeking to achieve wellness today, it helps to look back at how ancient medical practitioners used relatively simple methods to promote good health, and to consider those same applications in achieving wellness today.
Indian Ayurveda and Chromatherapy
In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means “knowledge of life and longevity.” As a health practice, the traditional Hindu system of medicine dates as far back as 6000 BCE, and is based on the idea of balance in the body, with wellness being the ideal state. Drawing from a theory of Indian Ayurvedic healers, chromatherapy is an alternative healing method that uses color and light to balance energy centers in the body, also known as chakras. Each of the seven chakras of the body is believed to have a corresponding color, a physical location and a distinct energy. Chromotherapy treatments are believed to target each chakra with the appropriate color in order to foster balance, leading to an increased state of wellness.
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Aromatherapy
Dating back to 2600 BCE, traditional Chinese medicine is based on the belief that a person’s life force travels throughout the body via different meridians or pathways, each of which is said to correspond to a different organ with an associated function. These meridians are believed to be accessed through the use of herbs and plants, including essential oils. When incorporating aromatic plant extracts and essential oils in massages, baths and showers, the body is absorbing those same extracts through the skin and nasal passages, which is believed to promote wellness.
Ancient Western Civilizations and Steam Therapy
The Ancient Greek and Roman empires believed that steam baths had therapeutic health benefits and promoted wellness. Moisture was popular for encouraging a relaxed state, which was believed to relieve stress and detoxify the body through sweat. Today, steam is said to warm the mucous membranes and lead to better breathing while soothing the throat and opening the nasal passages. It’s also been considered to relax the muscles, improve circulation, enhance sleep, boost the metabolism and rejuvenate the skin. The benefits of steam therapy have been associated with both healing and wellness throughout the centuries, all the way through today.
When used with the ThermaSol Digital Shower, ThermaSol’s SteamVection Steamhead accommodates essential oils for aromatherapy and allows for consistent and even temperature zones for optimal steam therapy. ThermaSol’s newly designed Serenity Light, Sound Rainhead, meanwhile, features a gradually changing mood lighting mode that generates a calming spectrum of color, with other chromatherapy settings corresponding to different chakras for an added sense of balance and wellbeing.
Whether it’s with chromatherapy, aromatherapy, steam therapy or a combination of all three, you can customize your digital shower to be your ideal, fully immersive starting point on the path to wellness.
