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Water
wellbeing in its earliest form
Hydrotherapy involves the use of water for soothing an aching body or speeding the recovery of muscular ailments.
The first person to understand the potential of water was the Greek philosopher Thales who saw water as a primordial
element, origin of all things. The first people to put into practice the benefits that water could bring to body and mind were
the Romans, who introduced bathing as a refined daily habit. Numerous thermal spas were built, enhanced by marble and
mosaics. The Middle Ages was a dark period when the use of water for enhancing well being was considered sinful but
between 1700 and 1800 many hydrotherapy stations flourished again. Water became synonymous with health and the most
diverse practices were designed to deliver various targeted benefits, from Thalassotherapy based on sea salt, to alternating
hot and cold water. It was at the end of the 19th Century that the quantum leap was made in Germany with the industrial
production of cast iron bath tubs after which followed the evolution that led to baths with integrated hydrotherapy systems
patented by Jacuzzi.
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