Doing meditation and yoga at hot spring is a new experience
Thanh Tan hot spring in Phong Son commune (Phong Dien) is about 30km to the north of Hue. Though it seemed that the winter was cold, making the hot springs quiet, it turned out that many people also "enjoyed" soaking in hot springs in this winter.
The weather on the day we went there was about 16 - 17 degrees Celsius. After changing into bathing suit, with a towel wrapped all over, I still felt cold. At that time, I thought I was wrong when I decided to go.
Thinking that, but it would be nonsense if you went to the place without taking a bath and just watching people bathing. Fortunately, the operator took care of guests quite carefully, giving instruction to warm up the body for a while, then taking the guests to the hot springs.
The instructor at the hot springs advised to soak first in a bath with body temperature (37 degrees C). Before taking a full body soak, put the feet down for a moment to get used to it. Then, slowly soak the whole body into the hot spring.
After the "prelude" that seemed complicated, when my whole body was soaked in the hot water, I felt very relaxed. The temperature was gradually equilibrated so that there was absolutely no feeling of cold but warmth all over.
After that, our group moved to the other spring sections, one after another, with higher temperature. The steam rising and being trapped by the moisture of the air on the surface of the water created a unique scene.
From a medical point of view, hot spring bathing brings about many health benefits
According to the scientific documents, in winter, the weather is often cold and dry, as the skin and the whole body are affected by the weather, they will have to "bulge" to cope with the weather. Hot mineral baths would help the body relax and recover.
In medicine, hot spring bathing is one of the therapeutic methods of hydrotherapy, thermotherapy and mineral therapy. The minerals in the mineral water are absorbed through the skin, giving therapeutic effect and improving health; enhancing blood circulation, due to the changing pressure of water, facilitating blood flow from the venous system to the heart.
Hydrotherapy also helps recover respiratory and cardiovascular functions, thanks to its effect of increasing blood circulation, facilitating respiration, which is beneficial for people having asthma, bronchitis common in cold winter; chronic heart-lung disease in the elderly ...
Thanks to this effect, hot spring bathing is also good for people with chronic joint disease, those suffering from paralysis or muscle weakness due to neurological diseases, helping to rehabilitating joint, muscle and nerve function.
Medical professionals also recommend that when bathing, it is important to note that the temperature of mineral water is not too high or bathing for too long will lead to the opposite effect. Take it slow when you get out of the water. Especially in the cold season, the elderly should note that after soaking in hot water and getting out of water suddenly, their body will suffer from heat stroke, since the blood vessels and skin cells encounter sudden heat and cold causing adverse effect easily.
After soaking in the hot water for about 1 hour, the duration considered to be the best for our body, we went ashore. Bathing in hot springs in the winter was obviously different, such a time for real tranquility and relaxation. I will go to the hot spring for bathing many more times for sure.
In Hue, in addition to the Alba Thanh Tan hot springs, My An hot springs, just away from Hue city center about 7km, along the way to Thuan An beach, is also under construction and about to be operated. It is known that there would be not only bathing service, if tourists demand, there would be meditation services, yoga in the hot springs, Onsen bathing ... becoming the different and unique service of Hue in the future.
Story and photos: Duc Quang