Hydrotherapy: Hayflour Pack

Posted by Som Sun, 26 Aug 2007 03:47:00 GMT

I'm taking the hydrotherapy semester at school right now, and I am just adoring it. Even more than massage! I've learned some good, simple, basic stuff that almost anyone can do at home for regular health maintenance or to be more comfortable during illness. Right now, I'm using a hayflour sack.

Use of the hayflour (or hayflower) sack has been popularized by the Kneipp Institute in Germany. Consider it a pre-electricity heating pad with moisture and aromatherapy. Hayflour is what ends up on the barn floor after the hay (regular old hay, bailed up from a regular old field) has shed little bits and particles of itself all over the place. Traditionally, this is stuffed into a reusable cloth bag, steamed over boiling water, and placed either directly against the skin or over a dry cloth barrier. The advantage of the hayflour sack is that it can be heated to boiling temperature - 212 degrees Fahrenheit - without burning the skin, because it puffs up as it's steamed and creates an air barrier between the heat and the skin.

What I have is a commercially made hayflour sack from Kneipp in Germany. You can't get these in the US anymore, unless you're willing to pay shipping from Germany, because the US distributor no longer carries them, and I can't find another source. This is what the hayflour sack looks like:

Problem is, the only steamer I have is a bamboo one that fits inside my wok, and it's not nearly large enough to accomodate the hayflour sack, so I had to improvise. One canning pot + one round drying rack + four lengths of yarn =

Success! It worked out pretty well:

Theoretically, I could make these myself. All it would take would be a trip to my grandparents' haybarn, a little sewing, and some velcro. I'll definitely be posting instructions in the future if this works out. The smell of the hayflour sack is incredible - like a meadow on a hot summer day, or for me, like "home." The moist heat is intense, and it would be fantastic for cramps or sore muscles.

Yes, I really do need to figure out how to make these for myself. It's too awesome to do just once, and I'd really like to offer these to clients.