When you’re standing in the shower you rarely get to see the dirt and toxins wash off your body. Unless you’ve gone hiking, mud-running, or you’ve been digging a hole, we don’t usually get that dirty and in the shower the dirt just goes down the drain.
Soap is attractive, in so much as it attracts dirt as well as is attracted to water. That’s how soap cleans, but it only cleans your body – the exterior. What if you tried using mud to clean yourself?
Clay, Not Mud
Bentonite clay, named for Fort Benton, Wyoming where the largest deposit in the world is. Healing clays have been used for thousands of years, and a clay bath – still used today – was a staple of the spa.
With a simple Bentonite clay bath you can literally watch the toxins wash out of you. And this is just a foot bath. The clay has a strong negative charge and uses these negatively charged ions to draw toxins from your body. If at the end of the foot bath your water is darker and gunkier don’t worry – that’s just the everything that’s been cleansed from your body.
Bath Time
Start with a basic clay bath. I’m told that everyone should start with a relatively weak clay bath and build up gradually over time. Start with ½ a cup of Bentonite clay and work up to 2 cups, over time.
You Will Need
- ½ cup – 2 cups calcium Bentonite (green) clay
- Aromatic herbs (optional)
- Bathtub
- Bucket or water tub
- Water
Draw a Bath – Draw the Toxins
Fill the tub with a comfortable level of water. Make sure the water is warm, but not too hot – around 102℉
Mix your desired amount of Bentonite clay with a gallon of water or two to activate the clay* then pour into the bath water. Mix the solution into the larger body of water.
Now you can add aromatic herbs, essential oils, and other detox aids. Lemons are a good trick, as they add nutrients to the detox bath and their acidic nature helps draw toxins. Recommended essential oils are: Lavender, Rose, and Sandalwood.
*The healing powers of the clay are activated when added to water.
“Bentonite is a swelling clay. When it becomes mixed with water it rapidly swells open like a highly porous sponge. From here the toxins are drawn into the sponge through electrical attraction and once there, they are bound.” – Mountain Herb Rose
The Most Important Part
The most important rule in this entire post, is do not sit in the bath for longer than 20 minutes. After this long you are susceptible to stressful detox symptoms like nausea, dehydration, and worse. A clay bath is known as a “gentle detox” but it can turn harsh if you stay in too long.
If you have a chronic illness or have a weakened immune system, bathe for only 10 minutes. Once you’re done your bath, shower to remove all the clay. You don’t only need to have a foot bath – you can fill up the tub and jump in! But time permitting, a foot bath will do the trick.
This detox works to cleanse your body of free-floating toxins. It relieves your lymphatic system so much so that you can see the gunk and junk flowing out of you and into the bath water.
If you’re interested in learning more about Bentonite clay baths, read more here.
SOURCE: http://www.greenchicafe.com/how-to-make-detox-foot-bath-detox-diva
