For those of you who equate a long, hot shower (without your kids rushing you) to a spa day, you already understand the healing, magical powers of water. Since more than half of our bodies are made up of H2O, using it as a holistic therapy to restore and replenish ourselves (and boy do mamas need some replenishing) is actually a natural way to boost our immune system.

“Despite its simplicity, hydrotherapy is an extremely powerful tool,” explains Dr. Joanna May of the Woodstock Natural Health Clinic. “Over the years, it has gone through many different forms and iterations—from mineral baths in ancient Greece to today’s massage beds. With the barrage of germs that come along with being a mother, I see a lot of moms get caught in the cycle of cold after cold after cold. Learning some basic at-home treatments that are safe and effective for everyone in the family can really help keep everyone healthy and happy throughout the year and not just during the cold and flu season.”

Aside from simply decreasing anxiety and increasing those warm and fuzzy feelings in your brain, hydrotherapy is definitely a practice that any mama can incorporate into her own in-home wellness regime. Here, May’s three quick tips to try at home.

-End your warm daily shower with a brief cold spray of water. It can give you some of the benefits of Constitutional Hydrotherapy, a modern application that, according to May, involves “alternating hot and cold towels to the upper torso with a specialized electric current machine (called a sine wave machine) to help improve blood flow and lymphatic drainage. In other words, it uses the body’s natural tendencies to dilate or contract blood vessels in response to different temperatures to move blood and nutrients to different parts of the body.”

-Do your own in-home CH practice (explained above) by using alternating hot and cold applications of water to help increase circulation of white blood cells. This is especially good if you or your little ones are fighting a cold or an infection.

-Don’t discount the healing effects of a good hot shower! It’ll give your body time to regroup and allow those overworked muscles and nerves to simply relax. We all know, you deserve it!