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Hot Ginger Foot Bath Benefits
Feel Better – Sleep Better
A hot ginger foot bath is a feel-good remedy that supports sound sleep and helps calm the parasympathetic nervous center. Additionally, it promotes circulation, reduces inflammation and helps drive out bacteria and viruses. As ginger both warms and energizes, it is especially useful during cold weather. During hot weather, enjoy a tepid foot bath for its calming benefits.
I’ll show you how to extract ginger’s maximum benefits. I’ll also provide ingredient variations that help relieve a wide range of symptoms.
Recently my friends Nathalie and David and I soaked our tootsies. What fun we had! Here we are both during and after. In the post-soak shot, the pink-white border above our ankles shows the high-water mark.
Plunk your feet into a bucket of hot ginger tea, and as your skin absorbs the warming ginger essence, it permeates the meridians and energy channels throughout your body. In traditional Asian medicine the body is compared to a tree, with the feet metaphorically considered as the tree roots. As a tree declines, its roots wither. Similarly, as we age, or with chronic health problems, foot-related symptoms such as neuralgia, varicose veins and circulation or balance issues occur. A regular foot bath with herbs targeted to your specific concerns helps keep your roots strong.
Hot Ginger Foot Bath
You may enjoy a hot ginger foot bath daily and, if it’s near bedtime, it will support deep sleep. You’ll need a basin or pot deep enough to cover your ankles with tea that is about 104°F (40°C ) or as warm as you can handle it without discomfort.
Plan to soak your feet for about 10 minutes, or until you develop a light sweat. While a little sweat is good, as it indicates energy channels are unblocked, excessive sweat can drain your energy. The first few times you take this foot bath, you may not perspire. Do not soak an hour before or an hour after eating or consuming alcohol.
Instant Foot Bath
Fill a basin with water (hot water in the winter, tepid water in the summer). Add a tablespoon of dried ginger powder. Soak feet.
Traditional Foot Bath Recipe
To extract the maximum potency from ginger, use fresh ginger and simmer it. (Avoid boiling which would dissipate its essential oils and, therefore, reduce its medicinal properties.) While dried ginger may be used for a foot bath, fresh ginger is best.
2-inch knob of ginger, coarsely grated (about ¾ cup)
Place the grated ginger in a medium pot and add 1 quart of water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not boil.
Meanwhile, fill a pot or basin large enough for both feet half full with hot water. Strain the ginger infusion into the larger container with the hot water; discard the ginger. Ease in your feet, relax and enjoy.
As the foot bath cools, plan to refresh the pot with hot water to keep the temperature consistent. Have at hand a Thermos of hot water or an electric tea kettle.
Foot Bath Variations
Other medicinal ingredients ameliorate a wide range of symptoms. For pleasure as well as their healing properties, add a few drops of an essential oil like lavender or rose. You also may add ginger to any of the following decoctions if you also wish to enhance circulation and dispel cold pathogens.
- Simmer ¼ to 1/3 cup dried herb, like angelica or dandelion, for 40 minutes.
- Simmer up to 1 cup of fresh herbs, like rosemary, for 20 minutes.
- Without simmering, add directly to the hot bath: lemon juice, vinegar, Epsom salts, alcohol or 5 drops of essential oil (mixed into a carrier oil like olive oil)
Angelica root (1/3 cup) and dried longan fruit (2 tablespoons)—Supports relaxation, brightens skin and helps relieve skin pigmentation issues
Dandelion root—Dispels pathogenic heat and toxins
Epsom salts—Relieve constipation and fatigue; relax muscles
Rosemary—For warmth and to support memory
Tea tree oil (add 5 drops oil to a carrier oil like olive oil) or vinegar—For fungal infections; to counter foot odor
Vinegar or lemon juice—Softens callused feet
Vodka or whiskey (¼ cup)—Increases circulation (inexpensive alcohol works fine)
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Rebecca, please help. I bought ginger tablets for the foot bath. Do I need to dissolve them first? Please advise. Thank you.
I recommend fresh or dried ginger.
Rebecca….first of all….THANK YOU for sharing your wisdom & knowledge with us!! I am truly grateful!! You have given great detail about the Ginger foot bath I was needing info on! I will continue to tap into your site for more helpful direction on other health benefits. GOD bless You
Would you recommend ginger essential oil in place of fresh ginger? If so, how many drops for one foot bath?
What a great idea! It would certainly save time so do give it a try. Perhaps do a comparison to see which works best. It would be great if you care to report back to us. Regarding the amount of oil? That will also depend on the amount of water but I’d use enough to make it aromatic. Good luck.
What would you recommend for peripheral neuropathy?
In addition to the ginger, dandelion, vodka and epsom salts. Since writing this blog, numerous posts about Tibetan Foot Baths have appeared, refer to them for additional ideas.
Would it work to simply rub ginger into the bottom of your feet. It would be faster than doing a foot bath.
If your primary concern is time, then use powdered ginger rather than fresh. Ginger applied topically will help increase circulation and so perhaps it could help somewhat. Try it out and let us know. But then you’d be missing the soothing, relaxing pleasure of a warm foot bath.
Hi Rebecca, this regarding the article you published regarding pea flour, I couldn’t find a way to comment there, so am writing here. Sorry!
Is it ok if we soak the peas, boil it, dry it, and then make flour out of it??
Good question and at the bottom of the Pea Flour blog, you’ll find a place to query. Then I’ll gladly answer.
I wonder what would happen if you used the water infusions in a whole body bath?
What is pathogenic heat?
Excellent questions. Energetically there are subtle differences between submerging your whole body in an herbal bath or just your feet. As a comparison, imagine boiling one pot of carrots in water to cover versus steam cooking carrots in only 1/2″ water. The flavor, texture and “energetic essence” of each pot of carrots will vary.
There’s obviously no “right” or “wrong” way. It depends upon the results you wish. A foot bath energizes your feet and this concentrated energy then travels upward. Whereas in an herbal bath, the whole body opens to the herbal essence which increases circulation throughout but is, therefore, less concentrated and more diffuse.
It’s subtle. To develop a feel for it, try it both ways and note your experience.
Re. pathogenic heat. It is heat, like a fever, that is due to an infectious agent such as bacteria.