SOME IMPORTANT PROCEDURES OF NATUROPATHY
Naturopathy is a valuable and non-harming science. Mud packs, genital baths, sponging, hip bath, wet pack etc., are essential procedures of Naturopathy. Here are the details:
MUD PACKS
The best way to prepare a mud pack is to take clay about four inches below the earth’s surface. Ensure that the clay contains no impurities, like compost or pebbles. If there are any pebbles. Grind the clay and pass it through a sieve. Mix it with cold water and see that it has a consistency like soft dough. It should stick and not be thin enough to slide down when used in the pack. If the group is to be applied on the abdomen (from the navel to the pubes), spread the mud evenly on a piece of cloth. See that it is about half an inch thick. Then place it gently with the cloth and the ground touching the skin. Remove the fabric and put a thick woollen material on the floor. You may even let the cotton cloth remain over the floor but cover it with a thick woollen. If that is done, the patient can
keep lying down without covering himself with a blanket or a sheet.
The mud pack should be used for 20 to 30 minutes. After removing it, clean the skin with a soft cloth dipped in cold water.
Clay is found in different shades in different places, but it is equally beneficial, whatever the colour. If the mud is loamy and tends to stick to the skin, some sand can be mixed with it.
HIP BATH
You must have seen specially-made tubs for hip baths. The tub is oval; one end is raised, and he can rest his back against it. This is the ideal tub for taking a hip bath.
Fill the tub with cold water. The water level should be so adjusted that it touches your navel when you sit in it. Your feet will be outside the tub; you can support them by keeping a low stool in front of it. You can rest your back against the raised portion of the tub and remain in that half-prone position.
Rub your abdomen from right to left with a rough towel. Do it gently so that the skin is not scraped. Do not apply too much pressure in massaging.
A hip bath can be taken from 10 to 20 minutes. Thin persons should take it for only 10 minutes, and stout ones can continue for 20 minutes. During winter, the duration of the hip bath should be reduced by about 25 per cent.
In the beginning, the hip bath should be taken only for a minute or two; the time should be increased gradually to 10 or 20, as indicated above.
If it is too cold, rub your body with your palms for 5 to 7 minutes before entering the tub. A vigorous body rubbing will bring warmth, and y; you will not experience any discomfort when you start the hip bath.
Wipe your body with a towel when you get out of the tub, dress quickly and go for a walk or do some other exercise. Those too weak to engage in any such activity should get into bed and wrap a blanket around them and rest for half an hour to bring back warmth to their body. You can take a bath a couple of hours after the hip bath and not before.
GENITALS BATH
Keep a stool one foot long, six inches wide and six inches high in the tub. It would be all the better if a circular cut were in front of it. If a stool is not readily available, keep four bricks, two upon two, to raise the level and sit on them. The water level in the tub should be such that it is one inch above the stool. The water should be cold; during summer, the water of an earthen pitcher can be used for the purpose.
Take off your clothes and sit on the stool. Dip a piece of cloth in water and gently rub your abdomen with it for two minutes. Then take hold of the foreskin of your penis in two fingers and rub it lightly with a soft piece of cloth, dipping cold water often. This can be continued for 10 to 20 minutes. A lean person can do it for only 10 minutes, and the hefty one for as long as 20 minutes. After the rubbing of the foreskin is completed, rub the entire spine with a wet towel for two minutes. You can take the damp towel in two hands and move it up and down your spine.
Women should rub their abdomen. They should take a piece of soft cloth, pull up the lips of the vagina and rub them slowly. And in the end, they should also rub the spine as above. No hip bath or genitals bath should be taken at the time of menstruation.
You must take exercise, walk or lie down in a bed and wrap yourself in a blanket to restore the body heat lost due to water immersion.
If a tub is unavailable, this bath can be taken in the sum. In that case, spread a wet towel on your stool. As indicated above, keep a bucket of water near the chair and bathe.