Our mission is to empower natural mineral water communities and stewards with research, education, and resources to promote therapeutic uses that enhance health and well-being.
Balneo “to bathe” -ology “study of” Verb (Medieval Latin)
Pronounced: (bal nee OL uh jee)
Balneology is the Science, Art and Culture of therapeutic mineral water use
The Core Pillars of Balneology
DRINKING
Drinking water from a free flowing source of concentrated minerals is beneficial for homeostasis by improving metabolic, digestive and urinary imbalances.
Water hydrates to quench thirst and to balance physical systems for activities like exercise and workouts.
There are many waters from around the world to choose from making this practice an enjoyable exploration in wellness.
SOAKING
Soaking/Bathing in mineral waters is the most recognized form of balneology.
By immersing in mineral waters one can receive multiple beneficial effects for body systems including: circulatory, immune, skeletal, nerves and the skin.
Timing rhythms in and out of the waters, including rest, make this a high quality practice towards wellness.
STEAMS & SAUNAS
Steams are gaseous mineral waters generated from thermal springs taken for inhalation therapy and to promote sweating for releasing toxins. Different mineral compounds effect the upper respiratory system impacting allergies, hearing loss, lung disease (COPD) and asthma which benefit from steams - a practice widely used in Europe.
Wet and dry saunas promote sweating to calm nerves, release impurities and to reinvigorate body systems.
MUDS
Heated muds, otherwise known as peleotherapy provide naturally sourced matured earth from geochemical, biological, and geological processes that consist of clay and other minerals, various microorganisms, gases, and different chemical composites hydrated with mineral waters for therapeutic effects.
A wellness practice from antiquity, the application of muds benefits vascular and neuromuscular systems, balance skin conditions and calm nerves.
Upcoming Live Community Zoom Presentations + Q&A
Wednesday January 28th 2026
11am PST / 12pm MST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST
Join us on the ZOOM Community Call
Wednesday February 18th 2026
11am PST / 12pm MST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST
Revelations of Hydration:
The 250 Years of History and Culture of Capon Springs, West Virginia
Join our Guest Speaker Jonathan Bellingham 3rd Generation Family Member and Mineral Water Enthusiast as he shares the full Capon story.
Cape-cape-de-hon The Shawnee word for “healing waters” meaning ‘medicine waters’. People have been drawn to Capon Springs to drink and “take the waters” for hundreds of years. And long before that, Native Americans recognized the healing qualities of the water and marked the location where the spring comes to the surface with petroglyphs (sacred images carved into rocks). But, many of you may be wondering… what is it exactly that makes Capon Springs Water so special?
In 1986, he went to work at the historic springs resort his grandparents resurrected in 1932, as the first distributers of the famous Capon spring water. For over 30 years, he has provided to resort guests a weekly history tour of the spring house, describing how the mineral spring has literally flowed through the American experience.
Over the last two decades, Jonathan has served as a judge at the International Water Tasting Festival. In 2024, Jonathan participated in the International Spa Heritage Festival in Saratoga Springs and was selected as a delegate to the Global Wellness Summit, held in St. Andrews, Scotland, where the theme was “A watershed moment in wellness”.
Locally, he is currently working on creating a “taking the waters” trail connecting the five remaining historic springs resorts in the Appalachian region. As an active BANA member and supporter, he also is building international connections with European historic thermal towns.
“If you use your imagination, you can picture Capon water flowing into the creek, which flows into the Capon River, which flows into the Potomac, which flows into the Atlantic. In that sense, Capon water really is everywhere!”
More Info:
https://www.caponsprings.net/capon-through-the-decades/
Join us on the ZOOM Community Call
Hydration - How can we do it better?
with guest speaker Gina Bria
Gina Bria is the co-author of Quench with Dr. DanaCohen, MD, a groundbreaking work that challenges conventional hydration myths and introduces a paradigm-shifting insight: true hydration is not about drinking more water. Instead, Quench reveals how water is structured, stored, and delivered through the body via the connective tissue network known as fascia. Drawing on cutting-edge science and interdisciplinary research, Bria—alongside her co-author—offers a compelling and accessible explanation of what fascia is, how it functions as a fluid communication system, and why it is central to cellular hydration, longevity, and vitality.
She is a cultural anthropologist researching ritual, ritual foods, and food strategies for over twenty-five years. She is Founder and Executive Director of the Hydration Foundation and CEO of HYCHIA, LLC. Trained at Columbia University, she is a former Berlin Fellow with the Social Science Research Council, a National Endowment for the Humanities finalist and has been featured at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She weds ethnographic strategies to the new science on hydration to serve the elderly, school children, athletes and hydrating while traveling. She has coached many of TED speakers on better brain performance. An innovator and inspiring speaker, her work has appeared in such diverse places as the New York Times, Grand Central Station, Harvard University, and the Wissenschaftskollege, Berlin. She is the recipient of the Buckminster Fuller Institute Design Science Award.
Join Our Live Community Zoom Presentations + Q&A
Learn from community experts and share your knowledge in our Q&A sessions every third Wednesday of the month at 11am PST. The live community calls are free to join, so please join our email list to get an invite to them.
Join our BANA community as we swim back In time together for stories of health and rejuvenation from the mineral waters of the 1800s. This presentation covers many topics including the westward push after the Civil War in 1864, which led to the discovery of numerous hot springs in the region. European settlers observed Native Americans using these mineral waters, and pioneers soon began to self-medicate with thermal waters. This led to the prescriptive uses of mineral water in the west, with 21-day treatment regimes becoming popular. More elegant pioneer resorts offered treatments such as needle baths, while drinking the waters for health benefits and the therapeutic uses of mud baths were also common practices. Additionally, the marketing of mineral water therapies played a significant role in promoting these treatments.
Become a member to receive a password for our Live Community Presentation Archive HERE!
BANA Best Practices
Balneology is a science, art and culture that embraces the climatology, temperatures and hydrogeology of geothermal locations, and is backed by significant research that proves the health benefits for people who seek the waters for wellness.
Our leadership team brings years of experience to guide the strategic application of the TRIQUETRA which identifies and integrates the Ten Domains, Cultural Best Practices and the BANA Flow Formula at Site-Specific-Sources.
Are You a Hot Spring Owner or Water Steward?
Hot spring owners and water stewards can benefit from joining BANA’s national registry for therapeutic mineral waters to stand united as a community in the face of state and federal guidelines that impact the use of our therapeutic waters. Join our coalition of water sources registered with BANA to proactively address regulations affecting the operation of hot springs across North America.
Janet Abbott and the Language of Mineral Waters
Insider’s Guide to Spas —
by Mary Bemis
Janet Abbott is a passionate advocate for the transformative health and wellness benefits of natural mineral waters. As the co-founder of the Balneology Association of North America (BANA), where she serves as Vice President and Director of Mineral Water Language, Janet inspires others to “discover the art of water through mindful, creative practices, as our ancestors have demonstrated throughout history.” She shares how water, with its timeless ability to both energize and soothe, can guide us to find our own balance of strength and serenity.
“Spa Cultures already exist and have existed since the beginning of recorded history and now is a time to research, rediscover, relearn, and re-mainstream the arts, sciences and cultures of Balneology into the practices of mindfulness, wellness, health-care and therapies.”
— Dr. Jonathan Paul de Vierville, Director of Spa Cultures, Board Vice President