Mugwort Ginger Foot Soak

Why people make this foot soak

Mugwort is a plant with a very long history in East Asian folk medicine — in the countryside, families traditionally hang bunches of fresh mugwort by their doorways around the Dragon Boat Festival as a protection against seasonal illness. Fresh mugwort is available at Chinese or Asian grocers and online. The flavour when taken internally is quite bitter, so the most practical approach is to combine it with ginger, boil it briefly, and use the water as a warming foot bath. For people who feel perpetually cold — perhaps from long hours sitting in air-conditioned offices, or after a bout of wind-cold — soaking the feet in warm mugwort-ginger water, followed by a cup of hot ginger brown-sugar tea, can produce a gentle warming sweat that helps the body settle.