When we think of the word ‘spa’, we usually envision a remote, tranquil bathing house: filled with integrative therapies, Romanesque baths, chimed music and trickling waterfalls: infiltrating our mind and body. A place where we can simply lie back, close our eyes and breathe along with natures elements – of air, water, earth and fire.
These days, a spa is more than just a building with baths. It is restorative sanctuary, a sacred destination: home to a myriad of wellness treatments, mindful therapies and health and fitness offerings – balancing our mind, body and soul into a deep and restful new mode: of Zen.
Considered to be one of the oldest health practices in the world, let’s take you back to the beginning of time and across the globe- to discover the history and traditions of bathing culture.
Culturally speaking, the bathing process was deeply connected to an ancient civilisation’s religious practice, possibly developing a belief in the healing powers of mineral waters, particularity in Ancient Mesopotamia, in the Minoan civilization and in Egypt. In fact, one of the earliest bath houses traced back to 2500 BCE, in Mohenjo-Daro, in the lost city of the Indus Valley civilisation – in Pakistan.
Even in Ancient Egypt, the locals were extremely fond of their bathing tradition, washing themselves several times a day using an aromatic paste made from ash and clay -believing that cleanliness brought a person closer to the gods and was vital for entry to the afterlife.
A water-led culture appeared to be brewing, when in 900 BCE, in Ancient Greece – it appeared that hot water tubs and hot air baths called ‘laconica’, were first created, along with the term, ‘thermae’ , the Greek word for heat. In fact, Greek philosopher, Hippocrates, who was alive between 460 – 370 BCE, thought that the cause for disease came from the body’s imbalance of bodily fluids, thus declaring that the cure for this was to immerse oneself in an aromatic bath and massage on a daily basis. This process, known as balneotherapy, was the founding principle of what is known today as spa bathing.
