WellGal

Looking for other ways to stay healthy? Did you know that there are some easy, at-home spa treatments that you can do for yourself to boost your immune system and enhance your overall health and well being? They help in several ways, such as reducing stress, toning the skin, and promoting sleep, so skip the spa and try one of these easy, therapeutic treatments at home today!

Putting massage oil in a small bottle makes it easy to warm up for abhyanga.

1.  Abhyanga

This ancient Ayurvedic therapy is simply self-massage with oil. It has many health benefits, including enhancing your immune system and decreasing anxiety, depression, and stress. Plus, it keeps your skin tone and supple. Best done with warm oil in a comfortable room, abhyanga takes just a few minutes to do and can be done before you shower or bathe. In the morning, it balances you and get’s your ready for the day. At night, it helps release stress and promote sleep. Fore more information, check out my post, “How to Do Abhyanga: A Daily Self-Massage Therapy Full of Health Benefits.”

Contrast showers — alternating hot and cold water — tonify your whole system.

2.  Contrast Showers

If you can’t make it to a spa with hot and cold mineral pools, try the next best thing — contrast showers. The next time you shower, try alternating hot and cold water — a form of hydrotherapy — for several seconds each. The hot water dilates your peripheral blood vessels and the cold water constricts them, thereby driving blood to and from your tissues and organs. This brings oxygen and nutrients to your cells and also helps carry away wastes and toxins. This increase in circulation also increases white blood cells thereby boosting your immune system. Over time, it tonifies your whole system. Doing contrast showers two to three times a week will improve your overall health and get you ready to fight any bug that may come your way!

Dry skin brushing enhances immunity, tones the skin, reduces cellulite, & more.

3.  Dry Skin Brushing

By activating and increasing white blood cells, dry skin brushing, which is a type of massage treatment that you can do yourself, supports your immune system. So if you’ve had a long winter of battling colds and the flu or are just feeling plain sluggish, dry skin brushing can be the perfect boost to your system especially when used in conjunction with essential oils, such as grapefruit. Not only that but dry skin brushing also has several other benefits as well, such as improving skin tone, reducing cellulite, and alleviating stress as noted in my post, “Reduce Cellulite and More with Dry Skin Brushing.” Dry skin brushing is best done before showering or bathing and all you need is one of those long-handled, natural bristle brushes you can find in any drug store. To learn how to do it, check out this post.

The probiotics in yogurt may prove useful in improving your skin’s immune system, which may play a role in fighting acne.

4.  Probiotic Facial

It’s well known that probiotics enhance your immune system when ingested, but did you know that research has been underway to explore how probiotics may improve skin health, such as treating acne, when applied topically? For example, this recent 2014 study published in Beneficial Microbes discusses how not only probiotics, but prebiotics may be useful in skin products. So, instead of waiting for years of research to be completed, whip yourself up a probiotic facial made of good, old plain yogurt to boost your skin’s natural immunity. Yogurt has proven moisturizing benefits and its lactic acid content naturally exfoliates your skin, thereby reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. So, there’s no harm in trying it now, is there? To do a yogurt facial, apply yogurt to clean skin and after about 15-20 minutes rinse it off with cool water.

Tired? Got sore achy muscles? The chills? Make this detoxifying bath and feel better in no time.

5.  Warming Ginger Bath

This zesty bath is best done as soon as you start feeling sick to kick start your immune system, but it can be done other times as well, such as when you’re stressed. Ginger’s warming and diaphoretic properties raise you body temperature and make you sweat, which helps kill germs, stimulate white blood cell production, and eliminate toxins through the skin thereby helping your body naturally fight off whatever is ailing it. It also eases any aches or pains and relaxes you so you can get a good night’s sleep. Check out the recipe. By the way, another great bath to relax, relieve achy muscles, and beat respiratory viruses is a mustard bath, which you can make yourself as well.

More Articles About Boosting Immunity You May Enjoy:

• Warm Your Spirit and Boost Your Immunity with Ginger Tea
• Top 3 Essential Oils to Disinfect the Air, Boost Immunity, and Treat Colds and the Flu
• Boosting Your Immune System is as Easy as a Walk in the Woods
• Boost Your Immunity With Blueberries and Red Grapes

Some Spa Treatment Articles You May Like:

• Revitalizing Himalayan Pink Salt Rose Bath
• Organic Lavender Body Scrub
• Pumpkin Walnut Body Scrub
• Make Your Own Mineral-Rich Spa Bath

Copyright © Karen Peltier and Well Gal, 2014. All rights reserved.
Photos © Karen Peltier and Well Gal, 2014