Hay

What is the secret of hay and the components it is made up of? One thing is for sure: the higher the meadow from which it comes, the more varied the flora and thus the more effective in healing is the hay...

Documents from the time suggest that „Heubaldln“ (hay baths) originated as far back as 1871. On the Schlern mountain (2450m) in the Dolomite range, hay cutters would sleep on chopped up hay after a hard day’s toil and wake up the following morning recovered and refreshed and full of energy to start again. Soon the practice began to be copied by other folk of the region, initially as a way of refreshing themselves, and then later as a way of easing rheumatic pains. This was the beginning of the use of the South Tyrolean hay bath as for healing purposes.

Dolomite hay comes predominantly from leafy plants such as Lady’s Mantle, Artemisia, Arnica, Valerian, Sedge, Ryegrass and Fescue, which are reaped on high pastures such as the Shlern or Seiseralm. These plants contain essential oils, coumarin-glycosides and tannins, which help improve blood circulation and have an effect on internal organs via relax zones in the upper part of the body.