Pastor Kneipp combined hydro treatment with the old culture of bathing in aromatics and healing bath oils. ” Herbal bathing” is especially healthy because the healing power of herbs affects the body on different levels. The active ingredients of the medicinal herbs are absorbed through the skin and therefore directly into the blood. Up to 30 times more active ingredients are taken through the blood during a bath. The body will absorb so many etheric oils, that these are often enough for the treatment but without having any negative side affects on the digestive organs. Parts of the etheric oils are absorbed through the lungs when breathing. The herbal steam affects the limbic part of the brain through the sense of smell, which is regarded as the connection between body and soul. In Kneipp’s day, it was common for everyone to collect their own herbs in nearby forests, on field edges and in meadows.

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