When I left Minnesota for Jamaica, I was healing my lower back. The healing process was at about 80% healed, but I could still feel tenderness when sitting for awhile, and my first forward folds always pulled in my lower back.
I learned on this trip that salt water and sun were a terrific combination to heal achy muscles and bones. After a day of lying on the beach, we would head home for yoga before showers and dinner. I marveled at how great my entire body felt after the day. I would move through yoga with absolutely no pain. In fact, I had to be careful not to take my poses too deeply and risk re-injury.
I decided to do a little research on the topic of salt as a healing porperty, and I found that salt water is indeed very good for healing open wounds, mouth sores, and nasal passages. It also benefits muscles.
From homeopathologist John Claydon D. Hom:
Sea water has a history of therapeutic use. Its application to the body, warmed and usually combined with massage, is referred to as Thalassotherapy, originating from the Greek word thalassa. Both the Greeks and the Romans recognised the therapeutic effects of sea water. The immediate general effects of warm sea water application (it can penetrate the skin more easily when warm, and enter into the blood) is relaxing, regenerative and stimulating. http://www.harmonikireland.com/sea-water/
It makes me wonder if chronic pain sufferers would find relief living near an ocean. 🙂 In my reading, I did discover that sprinkling salt into warm water (to dilute the concentration, and just one shake of the salt shaker) can be therapeutic, according to several studies. But remember, too much salt (like any remedy) can cause very adverse affects, like depression, sleepiness, overreaction to situations, and mental and physical tension.
