The word ‘spa’ comes from the latin expression ‘sannus per aquam,’ or ‘health through water’
Somehow over the decades, its explicit association with water has been lost. Especially in America, 'spa' is either a massage at a luxury hotel (which one might enjoy on special occasion) or the Koreatown baths - nothing in between. At the luxury level, the focus has been purely on treatments and an individual experience - the water piece missing.
The healing power of hydrothermal and steam bathing is both proven and intuitive because it makes you feel amazing. Water is restorative, sweating is cleansing, and interchanging hot with extreme cold can be one of the most invigorating and renewing experiences for the mind, body and spirit. This is the typical bathhouse or ’spa’ experience recognized by few today, but certainly it is a ritual which speaks to what we all want - the ultimate wellness experience which can be accessible for ritualistic practice.
While thermal therapy and purification rituals have been celebrated as sacred by various ancient cultures for centuries since the Roman and Ottoman Empires, they have yet to find their way in mainstream America.
'The role bathing plays within a culture reveals the culture’s attitude toward human relaxation,' wrote historian Sigfried Giedion. 'It is a measure of how far individual well-being is regarded as an indispensable part of community life.'
As well-being finally becomes integral to community life in America, its time we introduce these powerful practices to our everyweek routine.
