Long before LED therapy and 24-karat-gold facials, wellness often focused on rituals of water and heat in hot springs and sweat lodges. Buddhist monks popularized the concept of soaking in hot water in Japan when they arrived there in the sixth century. The word spa itself is an acronym for the Latin term "sanus per aqua," which translates to "health through water." The ancient Mayans and Aztecs would perform both healing and cleansing ceremonies in the steam of a temazcal, often a dome roofed structure made of stone or mud brick. And as much as these customs were about individual well-being, they were also about social health-providing spaces for connecting as a community.
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Harper's BAZAAR - US.
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This story is from the April 2023 edition of Harper's BAZAAR - US.
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