Water can be used effectively in all three of its natural states:

Solid: Ice can be useful in cases of inflammation, phlebitis, and so forth.

Liquid: Water can be applied using specific temperatures in a variety of ways, including immersion, trunk baths, vital baths, and sitz baths.

Gas: Sauna and steam baths, local applications of vapor, and inhalations are all useful hydrotherapeutic applications.

Physical changes are produced in the body as a result of hydrotherapeutic processes. These can be classified as thermal, mechanical, and chemical.

Thermal effects are produced by administering water in temperatures hotter or colder than that of the body. The greater the extreme of range higher or lower than the body’s temperature, the greater will be the physiological effect produced.

Mechanical effects on the body are produced by the impact of water on the skin in a whirling or circling motion, as a spray or jet of water with rubbing or friction is employed.

Chemical effects are produced when water is used for drinking or for an intestinal water bath.

Even though all three of the above effects are worthy of mention, the thermal effect is the most important one. Disease in general is due to the digestive system being overtaxed by trying to cope with an unbalanced diet through either incompatible food combinations or nutritionally inadequate food. Illnesses are much more severe when the foods ingested have no nutritional value. Some such foods are digested with difficulty by the body, and what is left will obstruct the colon. When already overloaded by excrement, this organ is unable to function properly. Constipation is the result, bringing with it all kinds of ailments. In the intestines is where the processing of food substances occurs - separating those that can be assimilated from those that will be eliminated. When many impurities are circulating around the system, they become dangerous and deadly. The body then tries to rid itself of these impurities by causing a constant fermentation; when this fermentation is too strong, fever is the result.

Many diseases originate in the intestines; therefore, it is common to see a continuous state of internal congestion, inflammation, and fermentation. There is a never-ending “battle” in the body to disentangle itself from deadly matter. When the abdomen is immersed in cold water during baths, a reaction is formed between the cold water from the outside and the great heat from the inside of the body. The contact of the water provokes the flow of blood to the extremities. The organs of excretion finally become free of the overload of blood and their activities decrease. These organs that usually never experience rest, they actually come to a restful state during the bath. This is why the temperature of the water should be cold enough to provoke a reaction. The welcome period of “refreshment” will stop or diminish the fermentation of the deadly substances in the intestines. The low temperature of the water penetrates the body, giving it new vigor and energy, thus bringing a better health condition to the entire organism.

In hydrotherapy, no part of the body is as important as the abdomen because that is where the main organs of elimination are located. However, it is well to emphasize that the beneficial use of water is not limited to the abdomen only, but extends itself to the whole body, to all the nervous system.

The reaction of cold water benefits the flow of the blood and restores the circulation. The digestive system feels the benefits, and the digestive functions are activated and return to their regular pattern. After several baths, the real hunger which has not been felt for many years returns, for these baths not only eliminate impurities from the body but also reeducate the whole system to its normal and regular functions.

During the bath it is good to remove worries from the mind, keeping calm, and focused on the benefit to be enjoyed.

If after the bath we are curious to examine the water, we may observe that it has become rather “oily.” This means that it is full of toxins. We will notice also that the water has decongested the intestines and absorbed the feverish internal heat of the digestive organs. The natural bath acts powerfully in the body and brings rest. It decongests the abdomen and activates the circulation of the blood, giving vital energy. After the bath, the wet body parts should be dried and rubbed vigorously with a heavy cloth to reactivate the circulation. When the bath is completed, a sensation of lightness and well-being is felt. If this feeling is not present, the bath may not have been done exactly according to the therapist’s instructions. It is necessary to follow his or her directions carefully.

Through the sacrum (tailbone) the lower part of the spinal cord branches off; there ends the “marvelous tree” that encases the spinal cord. In certain kinds of baths, the base of the spine is submersed in water.What happens? Just for comparison, the same as what happens when we water plants at their roots. The roots absorb and transmit vitality to the whole tree, even to the uttermost leaf. This is what occurs in the bath; the spinal cordabsorbs the potential of the thermophysical properties of the water and transmits it to the whole nervous system, bringing it renewed life, energy, and strength. By acting on the spinal cord, the bath water works on the brain, which is the center of the intellect, on the thought processes, on the will, and on the cranial nerves.

Many baths are powerful remedies for a weakened and imbalanced nervous system. Through the ramification of the nervous system, every part of the body will be benefitted.

Fresh natural water diffuses its invisible benefits to all the nervous system and gives vital restoration to the whole body. Trunk baths, vital baths, hot-and-cold foot baths, and many other hydrotherapeutic measures are easy to learn and can usually be done in the convenience of the home. It is worthwhile to study more of this subject to be able to appreciate more fully the wonders of water for the body.

“The external application of water is one of the easiest and most satisfactory ways of regulating the circulation of the blood. A cold or cool bath is an excellent tonic. Warm baths open the pores and thus aid in the elimination of impurities. Both warm and neutral baths soothe the nerves and equalize the circulation.

“But many have never learned by experience the beneficial effects of the proper use of water, and they are afraid of it. Water treatments are not appreciated as they should be, and to apply them skillfully requires work that many are unwilling to perform. But none should feel excused for ignorance or indifference on this subject. There are many ways in which water can be applied to relieve pain and check disease. All should become intelligent in its use in simple home treatments. Mothers, especially, should know how to care for their families in both health and sickness.”1

“Every worker in whose heart Christ abides, everyone who will show forth His love to the world, is a worker together with God for the blessing of humanity. As he receives from the Saviour grace to impart to others, from his whole being flows forth the tide of spiritual life. Christ came as the Great Physician to heal the wounds that sin has made in the human family; and His Spirit, working through His servants, imparts to sin-sick, suffering human beings a mighty healing power that is efficacious for the body and the soul. ‘In that day,’ says the Scriptures, ‘there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness’ (Zechariah 13:1). The waters of this fountain contain medicinal properties that will heal both physical and spiritual infirmities.

“From this fountain flows the mighty river seen in Ezekiel’s vision. ‘These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live. . . . And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine” (Ezekiel 47:8-12).

“Such a river of life and healing God designs that, by His power working through them, our sanitariums shall be.

“Our sanitariums are to show forth to the world the benevolence of heaven; and though Christ’s visible presence is not discerned in the building, yet the workers may claim the promise: ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’ (Matthew 28:20).”2