“The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day” Hippocrates Father Of Medicine:
A warm bath helps the body let go and relax. Better still a warm bath ritual can be incredibly therapeutic and deeply restorative. Especially when you add healing ingredients to your bath water such as Epsom salts, vetiver, rose essential oil, grated ginger, baking soda, flower essences or cinnamon sticks. Not to mention how incredibly restful it is for a fatigued mind. I say it’s the ultimate meditation practice.
Once the bathroom door is closed you’ve officially given yourself permission to disconnect from everyone and everything.
It’s time to let go of that bossy voice inside your head, connect to the real you and “soak away” into feeling more peaceful and relaxed on the inside. Let the bliss begin.
The flow on effects are awesome. Resting the body will help trigger the relaxation response, calm your nerves and allow your immune and digestive system to strengthen. Perfect if you are recovering from an illness.
As Dr.Ian Gawler shared at a workshop I attended ‘When the body is given the opportunity to rest and release tension, the body will automatically start to heal and repair itself”.
Guidelines: Don’t hurry, relax your breathing and sooth all your senses with calming music, a soft flickering candle, aromatherapy oil burner or whatever else will assist in relaxing deeply.
Below is a list of some fabulous bath recipes and rituals I’ve collected over the years. Enjoy, and please feel free to share your own bath rituals and meditations. I’d loved to hear them.
Therapeutic Bath Meditations:
1. Chill out:
Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) sedates your nervous system. It relaxes your muscles, releases toxins and is probably best known for reducing swelling. Magnesium is a mineral your nervous system and adrenals need in order to relax.
Add one cup of epsom salts to your bath water, light a tea candle and turn out the lights. Follow your breath for the simplest of meditation practices.
2. Let it go:
“I let go easily and effortlessly” Carole Fogarty
Use your bath time to let go of unwanted, repetitive, worrying thoughts. See, feel or sense your worries dissolve and melt away firstly from your head, then heart and lastly your body. Use your exhale (if you need too) to help you physically release and let them go them. Repeat the above affirmation over and over again if it helps. “I let go easily and effortlessly”
Ingredients: 1/2 cup sea salt, black tourmaline and tea light candle. Black tourmaline is one of my favourite cleansing crystals. It has a very drawing effect on your aura and can transmute negative energies. The combination of sea salt and black tourmaline can help shift the negativity and leave you feeling uplifted and much lighter energetically. It’s like having the worries of the world lifted off your shoulders.
3. Detox heavy metals and radiation:
“I am healthy and filled with energy” Louise Hay
I found this great little recipe from Kris Carrs book Crazy Sexy Diet. Its a great remedy for detoxifying heavy metals out of your system or if you’ve been exposed to lots of radiation – think long plane flight or hours on a mobile phone.
Ingredients: 1 – 2 cups of epsom salts, 1/4 cup of baking soda and a few drops of lavendar essential oil.
4. Candle gazing meditation:
“It is only a thought and a thought can be changed” Louise Hay
Having trouble switching off? Try candle gazing. Grab yourself a gorgeous candle and ask your mind to focus on nothing but the flickering flame. Inhale and exhale into the candle.
Very soon the gentle flickering flame will draw you into its world and lull you into a sense of calm and relaxation. For extra relaxation support try vetiver. Vetiver essential oil is very grounding and helps me enormously in slowing down. Rub a few drops onto the soles of your feet before getting into the bath and add 3 – 6 extra drops into the bath water.
If you are having trouble switching off there’s a good chance your adrenals are working overtime. Licorice tea is excellent for you adrenals. Sip whilst soaking and candle gazing. Something else which may help you switch off is passionflower herbal extract. I use it often to calm myself down.
Ingredients: 1 large gorgeous candle, vetiver essential oil and one cup of licorice tea (optional extra).
5. Back and belly breathing:
“My breath is a powerful healing tool”
At the moment I’m really into “mindful breathing” whilst soaking in my bath. A 15 minutes session of back and belly breathing works wonders.
Most of us are used to breathing into the fronts of our body but what about our backs. It can be a little tricky at first but after a while you’ll soon be able to feel the back expand on the inhale and fall on exhale.
To practice back breathing place your hands on waist with your fingers resting over your kidneys. Breathe into your fingers and feel them rise slightly on the inhale.
It’s great for releasing muscular tension particularly in the middle to lower back.
More therapeutic bath ingredients:
Apple cider vinegar -1 cup added to your bath water is said to be very alkalizing for your body. Its also helpful for fighting bacteria, fungal growth and bladder infection. If you’d like to know more about apple cider vinegar visit earth clinic which is a great resource for natural remedies.
Grated ginger – 1 tablespoon added to your bath water helps to improve circulation, remove toxins and considered in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine excellent for your health. If the idea of grated ginger doesn’t appeal to you then add ginger essential oil or 1/2 cup of powdered ginger. A bath I have often in Bali is filled with grated ginger, cinnamon sticks along with other ground spices to help improve circulation and detox the body. Deepak Chopra recommends drinking at least 2 – 3 cups of freshly grated ginger tea a day, something which I particularly love sipping on in winter. So why not try sipping freshly grated ginger tea whilst soaking in your bath.
Epsom salts and/or baking soda help remove acid waste products from your cells and tissues
Rose oil – well known in the aromatherapy world as a wonderful anti-depressant to help with anxiety and mental fatigue. Its also fabulous for aged skin. My favourite essential oil for my face. Imagine smelling of roses all day.
*Photo by claire.
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What I’m reading at the moment:
Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr. Includes 21 day adventure cleanse. Packed with great chapters such as – Make juice not war. Go back to nature and back to the garden. Refined sugars and processed starches are the devil. Stress creates acidity so turn down the volume on chaos.
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Beside my bed:
If you love working with crystals then you will simply fall in love with this very detailed guidebook and 52 deck of crystal oracle cards.
They are beautifully produced.
Click her for the Liquid Crystal Oracle deck.
xx Carole
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Thank you for the reminder. I forgot about Epsom salts being a great way to relieve muscle tension, especially after a workout. I keep lavendar oil right by my bed, so a drop of that too would be bliss!
I also enjoy a drop of chamomile oil and lately have been using tea tree oil occasionally, too. The tea tree oil is very refreshing!
Thank you for a great article. I couldn’t help but notice that beautiful bath in the picture. Probably well beyond our budget, but do you know where you got that picture from so that I can find out?
How much tourmaline do you use for the ‘let it go’ bath?
Hi Ash, one piece of black tourmaline will be fine. Size doesn’t really matter. The piece I use is about 8 cm long and infuses the bath water with a lovely cleansing and protective quality. xx Carole
Hey Carole,
I have a knee injury combined with a broken heart and crushed confidence.
What bath do you suggest. haha maybe a swimming bath!
Love
sj