Those with a history of heart disease or high blood pressure should check with a health professional before using the water treatments suggested below.

Now that you consider water to be a necessary part of your diet and a source of inner cleansing, look at some of the ways that it can refresh, cleanse, and heal you from without:

• Showers. Alternate hot and cold water to aid circulation. Showers are also great for washing away the accumulated tension and worries of the day as they relax your body and break up the psychic residue left by the negativity of others with whom you have interacted during the day.
• Baths. Nothing tops a bath to help alleviate muscle soreness. If your bath is warm enough to make you sweat a bit, it is providing the added benefit of releasing wastes through the steam opened pores of your skin. For relaxation, fill a tub with comfortably hot water and add a few drops of mild bath oil to moisturize your skin, or add your favorite scented oil. Light a candle. Burn some incense if you like. Have a glass of juice. Play some soft, slow music. Nurture yourself.
• Swimming. Regular swimming is a great form of aerobic exercise. Or you can exercise in water to achieve similar benefits. Whether you know how to swim or not, it is therapeutic just to get in the shallow water and splash out your frustrations or problems. Be a child again—play!
• Sweating (in a sauna, steam bath, or sweat lodge) or soaking (in a spa, hot tub, or mineral springs). These ancient remedies for stress and pain are as valuable today as they have been for centuries. If you can’t get to a spa, soaking your feet in the bathtub or a basin at home is a simple way to enjoy and heal yourself.
• Hot compresses. Grate some fresh ginger root and wrap it in cheesecloth. Place the bundle in a large pot of water. Heat the water, but do not let it boil. Turn off the heat and soak a towel in the water. Carefully remove the towel; let it cool until it is comfortable enough to handle, then wring it out. Apply the towel to any ailing body part. Leave it on until the heat is exhausted. Then do it again.
• Rituals. Compose a ceremony in which you use water to symbolically cleanse your body, mind, and soul from illness, darkness, “sin,” and painful memories. This is a beautiful way to love yourself.

Go get yourself a big glass of water right now. Drink it slowly and experience it with all your senses.

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