Illustration: Dasha Yarzhambek. KunstGroup Pictures

- Coltsfoot, mint, linden, oregano, cornflower, knotweed, wild rosemary, hawthorn, dandelion, plantain, motherwort, sage, string! - Director of SPA Palestra Evgenia Linovich lists with feeling the herbs that have a beneficial effect on the body exhausted by the city heat in June. “We found hereditary herbalists, they explained to us when which herbs should be collected and when it is best to use them. Next month we will change the herbal mixture. In July there will be calamus roots, St. John's wort, nettle, raspberry, juniper, calendula, tansy, parsley, rosea rhodiola, horsetail and celandine. And in August - toadflax, sundew, heather, rowan, wormwood, pine, blackberry, rose hip, caraway. Yes, and again the line!

I know the order. It is recommended to bathe nervous babies in a decoction of the string at night, especially if they also have diathesis or prickly heat. And it is recommended to buy diapers for them not from cotton, but from fine linen, because almost mythical healing properties are attributed to flax.

And also, says Zhenya Linovich, she and her husband read old Russian medical books and found a lot of references there to a procedure called “wet shirt” or “Spanish cloak”. The person was wrapped in linen cloth soaked in herbal infusions, and covered with blankets and feather beds on top. The man lay there for a couple of hours and sweated, and all his illnesses went away! Wet flax drew out “painful juices” (the same “slags” that are now considered the root cause of all health problems). The “Spanish cloak” was used to treat fevers, colds, mental disorders, even the dance of St. Vitus - that’s what epilepsy was called. And a bunch of skin diseases - “skin suffering”, as they said then. And insomnia, in general, everything in a row. This procedure was also very popular at water resorts. It was used by Sebastian Kneipp, the doctor who, one might say, founded all modern spa therapy. Zhenya and her husband tried the “Spanish cloak” on themselves and discovered that wrapping in wet sheets, if done wisely, is not at all painful and is even very pleasant. And if, for example, you use goat’s milk instead of water, then the cosmetic effect will be extraordinary.

“Goat’s milk,” says Zhenya, “is simply a royal product for the skin, it contains so many vitamins and nutrients, it is so well absorbed.” Flax, goat's milk and Central Russian herbs. A wonderful combination, in my opinion. In general, we have long dreamed of coming up with some of our own, original procedures...

Linen wrapping at Palestra works like this. First, the spa therapist rubs me all over with honey mixed with salts and herbal extracts. “The skin needs to be prepared so that it gives away everything unnecessary and accepts everything useful.” It stings a little, but it's bearable. Then I lie on a warm bench in the Turkish steam room and quietly meditate, trying to communicate with my vital juices: come on, I say, the painful juices go away, and the healthy juices calm down. After 10 minutes, wash off the salt and honey in the shower, and the most important thing begins. They bring a shiny basin containing 3 liters of warm goat's milk. The milk was heated in the microwave and bought at the supermarket - there is a limit to any desire “back to nature”; Palestra has not yet gotten its own goats, but the herbs, they swear, were brought from the most environmentally friendly regions of the Volga region, Siberia and the Baikal region. Spa therapist Anna pours a decoction of the first portion of herbs into the milk - those that are designed to “draw out painful juices.” He drops a piece of linen there, which quickly absorbs almost all the liquid, and then spreads this linen on a bench in the hammam, lays me on it and literally swaddles me. He puts a pillow under his head and leaves it to warm up. I think I'm 5 months old. I wonder if I already know how to roll over onto my side or not yet?

Half an hour later Anna prepares a new portion of milk. This time the herbal infusion smells different. “This is a nutritious, energetic composition, it should remain on the skin,” she explains and warns that the milk this time is cold. “The pores will close and blood circulation will be activated. Hot, then cold - it’s like a contrast shower effect. Cool linen on hot skin - what could be more pleasant? This is where the procedure ends: “No cream. Why waste the skin - it’s already got its due.”

I carefully stroke my hand: the skin, nourished with goat’s milk, has a rustic shine and smells like a hayloft. In general, it feels like I didn’t go to the salon for a body wrap, but went to my aunt’s dacha, steamed in the bathhouse, bathed in the dew and drank tea on the veranda...

WHERE IS LINEN WRAP MADE?

“SPA Palestra”, 10th anniversary of October, 11, metro station “Sportivnaya”, 245 61 13, www.nextlevel.ru . 1 procedure - 170 USD

Goat's milk has a good reputation. The main Greek god Zeus, according to myth, was fed the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. In the writings of Avicenna it is said that goat’s milk is the most “balanced”. It contains a lot of minerals, and the fat is light and is quickly absorbed. Goat milk even helps you lose weight - athletes often drink it before weighing. Cow's milk quite often causes food allergies in people, but goat's milk does not. A goat is generally healthier than a cow, because it is very picky about food and, like a cow, does not eat everything.

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