Ayurvedic healing textiles
Posted: Sunday, February 17th, 2008
Last semester I took a course called History of Textiles where we studied civilizations’ earliest textiles from around the world. By the end of the semester we were looking at textile technologies and how textiles are being used in medicine, architecture, and contemporary art. We watched a video on these technologies where scientists in Europe were working on encapsulating fragrances, body lotions, or medicines into clothing fabrics. The capsules would be activated by the body’s heat and wear and the wearer would receive whatever was encapsulated.
I recently found another eco-blog, Organic_Clothing, which talks about the Ayurvedic practice of Ayurvastra. “Ayurvastra clothing is made from organic cotton fabric that has been permeated with special herbs and oils that promote health and cure special diseases depending upon the blends of embedded herbs and oils” Depending on the ailment, different medicinal herbs are used to dye the organic cotton fabric which is worn by the sick person.
This practice is similar to soaking cloth in herbal infusions to use as a poultice that would be applied to the body. Also, many of the plants used in natural dyes are medicinal and have been used as medicine by people all over the world until the early 20th Century when pharmaceuticals started to be manufactured for the masses. But that is another post.
Take some to look through Organic_Clothing’s site; they have gathered tons of great information for us and the content is similar to what I would post if I could. I like the textile-concentrated information and I’m happy to pass it on!