Since ancient times, people have looked for ways to increase their energy. Many ancient teachings were created precisely for this purpose: chi gong, yoga, wushu, and others. But far from everyone has the time and means to pursue these practices, for various reasons. In our busy age, you can use the simplest way of restoring your energy: you can do it while you sleep. For this purpose, unique woolen sleeping accessories have been developed, which preserve all the qualities of living wool.
A good day begins with ample rest the night before. We spend one third of our lives in bed. We are born in bed, we make love in bed, we die in bed… Healthy and restorative sleep is a precondition of a wholesome life. He who uses the night not only for pleasure, but also as a time for rest and restoration of vital energy, begins the day full of vim and vigor.
Healthy sleep is not only a rule of living, but also a way of preventing many illnesses, particularly problems with the back. Allow yourself the luxury of bedding made of natural wool—and take advantage of the chance to replenish your energy by using the unique qualities with which nature has endowed pure merino wool.
The small, modest sheep has played an enormous role in the development and existence of human society. It has changed the fates of nations. It has become the symbol of power and wealth. Much mysticism surrounds this symbol. According to the legends and practices of the ancient Scythians, the ram is a symbol of fertility. Women were given little figurines of rams in order to make them have strong and healthy boys as their first-borns. A great deal of golden ornaments with this symbol have been produced since ancient times until today. The Kabbalists used the ram’s head as a symbol of the mystical godhead, symbolizing astral light, the all-encompassing life-force. The Knights Templar used this symbol to represent an astral wind that could steer people to the ways of self-perfection. It was held that Baphomet—the horned god of fertility—was endowed with prodigious masculine strength. Baphomet was often represented in the form of a ram’s head—the universal symbol of fertility. The word “Baphomet” is deciphered as a phrase in Ancient Greek: “Baphe metioeis,” “baptism by wisdom.”
Amon—the Ancient Greek king of the gods, who was initially known as the God of fertility, the patron divinity of Thebes in Upper Egypt, and later came to be seen as the patron of the pharaohs—was often represented with the head of a ram with curving horns, which highlighted his driving force and crushing sexual power. The pharaohs wore an amulet in the form of a ram’s head around their necks on a thick string; the ends of the string hung over their shoulder blades, while a smaller ram’s head was suspended from its other end. Rams were associated with Amon, especially in Nubia, where he was worshipped.
The healing properties of sheep were described by Avicenna, Hippocrates, and other ancient healers. Hippocrates cured the terminally ill by using sheep’s wool, since sheep’s wool has a beneficial effect on the energy of the human organism and creates a wholesome environment. In the IVth century B.C., those who wanted to restore their health traveled to the temple of Ascelpuis at Epidaurus. Asclepius, son of Apollo and the river nymph Coronis, was the god of medicine. Pilgrims who hoped to be healed entered a hall—called the “Abaton”—and lay down on sheepskins to wait for instructions from Asclepius, who was supposed to come to them in their dreams. After waking up, they related the contents of their dreams to the priests, and the priests decided what cure was appropriate for them.
The Golden Fleece was the hide of a ram on whose back Phrixus and Helle, the children of the Athamas, King of Orchomenus, traveled to the shores of Asia, fleeing from their stepmother, Ino. After successfully reaching the shore, Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus, and gave the Golden Fleece that he removed from the beast as a present to Aeetes, the King of Colchis. Later, the fleece was stolen and carried to Greece by the Argonauts. From then on, the fleece became a symbol of power and wealth, and was sent to other parts of the ancient world. The legend of the Golden Fleece has real historical roots. Likewise, ancient legends about Odysseus describe the search for the Golden Fleece. Possibly, Odysseus was looking for the merino sheep…
References to the sheep are also found in the Bible. Abel, the son of Adam, was a shepherd, and the star of Christmas was first seen above Bethlehem by shepherds as well. The Biblical prophet Abraham prospered because of his enormous herds of sheep. The subjects of the King of Israel paid taxes in accordance with the number of rams they owned. These animals were especially prized in Greece, where they were given personal names. Everything was done to protect the most precious treasure—the fleece, which in that day and age was worth its weight in gold.
In the XVth century, the Duke of Burgundy established the Order of the Golden Fleece in honor of the sheep. Its badge depicted a crown, a tuft of wool, and a golden ram, and it was awarded to men for displaying courage in battle. The order symbolized manliness, power, and the principal treasure of Burgundy—its countless herds of pure-bred sheep. Later, this Order became Austrian and Spanish.
It is known that until 1765, taking merino wool out of the Kingdom of Spain was a crime punishable by death. Articles manufacted from of this wool were intended only for the royal court. Only in the XVIIIth century did the English succeed in transporting merinos to Australia, where the conditions turned out to be ideal for raising these animals, and the broad industrial utilization of their wool began in earnest. Today this continent is the world leader in the production of sheep’s wool. The sheep population of Australia reaches 200 million.
Sheep’s wool is a genuine high-technology product that was created by Nature itself and is impossible to imitate. Sheep’s wool is an antibacterial product, conductive to the rapid healing and restoration of human tissue. Merino sheep wool is also a superb anti-depressant. Thanks to its natural, organic structure, wool operates as an automatic thermostat, protects the body from over-heating, and maintains warmth. Because of its high level of hygroscopy (it absorbs moisture to the amount of 33% of its volume), it keeps the body dry, ensuring a comfortable and relaxing climate for sleep, and protects against excessive humidity, which is the source of all the problems of the human organism.
For tens of thousands of years, wool played an enormous role in the life of man, since it was processed using only ecologically clean methods. Only in the last two centuries have aggressive chemical ingredients and dyes, containing chromium and heavy metals, been introduced into the production process. Today, the wool we use is missing 90% of its natural qualities due to dying, chemical processes, and heat-treatment.
But now, new and unique production technologies have appeared that make it possible for people to make use of ancient experience on a modern level. Of all the breeds of sheep, merinos—which are raised in Australia—are considered to have the most advantageous properties. First, their maintenance and feeding meets ecological norms, thanks to the quality of the pastures and climate. Second, this is the only breed of sheep who wool has a scale-like structure, which acts positively on receptors in the skin, and therefore also on practically all inner organs.
The hairs and fibers in the wool rub against one another and produce an electric field, which forms positively and negatively charged particles. Many studies have confirmed that the greatest health effects are obtained specifically from the wool of Australian merino sheep.
The state of an electromagnetic field is greatly influenced by various ordinary electric appliances, including televisions and computers. We can no longer prevent this influence, but wool that has been processed using special technology—namely, air alone—neutralizes these effects, acting as a powerful anti-stress influence on the organism. Bedding made of merino wool that has been processed using such technology creates something like a cocoon, which not only normalizes the electric field—which is the foundation of all physiotherapy—but also produces the effect of an acupressure massage, and restores immunity and aura, which is particularly effective during sleep. The individual becomes much calmer, more balanced, which gives him self-confidence, a sense of psychological comfort, and reliable protection against corruption or the evil eye. Acting on the skin, the fibers in the wool help to improve circulation, facilitate the penetration of creams and ointments deeper into the skin (night creams are more effective when used by people who sleep on a wool pillow), and gently massage nerve endings, which has a beneficial impact not only on the skin—making it elastic and resilient—but on the whole organism as well. Wool exerts a beneficial influence on muscles, joints, the backbone; it alleviates pain and stimulates blood flow, facilitating the healing of wounds and fractures; and it reinforces the aftereffects of massage.
At the present time, the influence of electrostatic and magnetic fields on the organism is the object of intensive research. This is one of the causes for heightened interest in the properties of merino wool. At the very least, we know for certain that the impact of electrostatic fields with a low charge, as well as the constant influence of the natural magnetic field, has a positive effect on longevity, and makes the organism healthier and more youthful. Any prolonged illness disrupts the electric potential of the organism. There is no medicine that can restore it again: only merino wool possesses the unique capacity to bring it back into balance, considerably speeding up recovery.
The nervous system and the skin have a very close connection. The nervous system develops from the ectoderm, one of the three layers of embryonic cells that grow into the newborn organism. The ectoderm develops into the nervous system, the skin, the hair, and the nails. This is the basis of reflexotherapy, acupuncture, physiotherapy. All traditional Eastern medicine s founded on the connection between the nervous system and various regions on the skin. And everything in our organism is subordinated to the nervous system: through it, we can influence our internal organs.
Our skin is a living and breathing external protective organ—an organ just like all our other organs (liver, heart, lungs, etc.). The skin needs oxygen, and when toxins accumulate in it and no oxygen reaches it, the skin becomes unhealthy. The skin breathes more when the temperature of the environment rises, under physical stress, during digestion, during increases in atmospheric pressure, and when inflammatory processes occur in the organism. The breathing of the skin is closely linked to the work of the sweat glands, which are rich in blood vessels and nerve endings. Cosmetics and make-up that form a film over the skin are very harmful to it: they make it difficult for the skin to breathe, and consequently impair natural physiological processes. Therefore, one must wear clothes and sleep in bedding that are conducive to this important function of the skin. To live a wholesome life, a human being must have clean, oxygen-rich air. When the body comes in contact with wool sheets and blankets that have been manufactured using special technology, the density and resilience of the fibers creates a layer of air around the person that ensures continuous air circulation around him. Continuous air circulation is what maintains the body’s natural thermal equilibrium through any shifts in temperature. It also ensures that the body will always have enough oxygen, which allows the body to breathe and stimulates its physiological processes.
Merino wool is the most hygroscopic of all wools due to its scale-like structure. It is capable of absorbing the greatest amount of moisture, dissipates it freely, and is always dry to the touch. It is also capable of neutralizing the toxins that the organism releases when it perspires.
It has been proven that sheep wool influences people energetically. Merino sheep experience the greatest amount of positive emotions when they are shorn. The same cannot be said of wool overcoats, which are manufactured from hides that have been removed from dead animals, and are heat-treated and dyed.
The principal defect of most bedding is poor air-penetrability. Poor air-penetrability prevents the enrichment of the skin by oxygen, impairs heat circulation, and thus leads to the so-called greenhouse effect, when the skin is forced to breathe using the products of its own evaporation. This gives rise to pains, headache, weakness, and a sense of fatigue. Feather down and synthetic bedding are excellent at preserving moisture—up to 25%. Under the influence of our body temperature, they create favorable environments for the formation of bacteria, fungi, molds, and give rise to various rotting processes. Such an environment is conducive to the proliferation of ticks, whose excrements are one of the strongest allergens. Wool, on the other hand, is a natural antiseptic endowed with antibacterial properties. The dryness and air circulation that wool ensure prevent the formation of environments that are favorable to the proliferation of such organisms.
In its structure and function, the skin of the newborn child is significantly different from the skin of the adult human being. After birth and during the first months of life, the skin of the baby looks pink and tender. This is so because the infant’s skin is very thin and blood vessels can be seen through it. The infant’s skin contains much more water than the skin of the adult, while the horny layer—which plays a protective role—has yet to develop. The baby’s sebaceous glands function weakly, since they do not yet release fat. The sweat glands aren’t yet capable of fulfilling their function in controlling the body’s temperature. The protective acidic covering of the skin, which forms a natural barrier against harmful substances and pathogenic microorganisms, forms at a later age. The epidermis and the actual dermis, immediately below it, are not yet tightly connected in the body of the infant: therefore, friction easily gives rise to irritations on the baby’s skin, making the child anxious. Anxious children calm down in woolen bedding and fall asleep much faster, because woolen sheets and blankets exert a calming and relaxing influence, as modern research has shown. Woolen bedding maintains proper heat circulation and improves blood flow, which facilitates the painless release of gasses in the child—the same effect as when we take a baby in our arms and press his belly against us. If a child is kept in a woolen bed, he develops much faster, has a stronger immune system, contracts viral infections much more rarely, and stays dry, which prevents various diseases of the skin. The extraordinary softness and warmth of wool calms the little one: the child derives pleasure from coming in contact with the sheets and blankets.