by Dayle Haddon
THE MAGIC BATH
I am often asked how to realistically find time for self-renewal
while trying to balance a busy life. My answer
is to take a 15-minute bath. If 15 minutes seems impossible,
try five. It still makes a difference. The bathroom
is the one place where we can close the door on the
world and experience “private time.” When I lived in
Europe, bathing was much more a part of life than it is
here, where we shower (like everything else) for speed.
Some of my European friends even read their daily
paper while luxuriating in a morning bath. They start
their day relaxed, refreshed and informed.
I hear over and over from men and women that they
don’t have time for what I believe is the infinitely
rewarding indulgence of a bath. Certainly we don’t have
time for everything but I believe this should come pretty
high up on the list of so-called “treats,” which actually
will help you re-balance your life and renew your
spirit. You have to begin by choosing the things that
make sense to you; you don’t have to do them all at
once, but pick one or two from time to time. For centuries
we have used the magical properties of water,
heat, salts, oils and fragrance to affect and influence our
vitality, beauty and longevity. In fact, all major civilizations
have considered the bath an important aspect to
maintaining health and preventing disease, religious
ceremony, private or social relaxation and self-care.
There is a high return on taking a bath. It’s healing, it’s
revitalizing—but most importantly, it’s fun.
If you have children, wait until they’re either at
school or in bed asleep. If you’re single, working hard
and exhausted, it may be more a case of finding the selfdiscipline
rather than giving up and flopping in front of
the TV. If you have dogs, put them in another room;
they’ve been known to jump right in. Turn off the
phone and give yourself a whole quarter hour. The dividend
on your time investment is huge. You will feel
you are valuable again.
I say fight for that time and make it special, for you
or your family. Drawing a bath for a child or spouse is
one of the simplest ways to share the rewarding pleasures
of relaxation with another.
After the most trying of days I find I can wind down
or rev up and completely turn my day around by taking
what I call my “magic” bath. The ritual includes bubbles,
bath oil, candlelight and music. For most of us,
showering is the fast and easy option but even a few
minutes in a bath can put a new spin on your life. I can
almost watch my problems swirl down the drain.
With the addition of herbs and oils a bath becomes
rejuvenating, healing and health boosting. It softens the
skin, replacing moisture, oil and acidity. A bath may
also lift your spirits better than pills or power walks.
STEP-BY-STEP TO THE MAGIC BATH
The goal of your bath is key. Do you want it to be
get-up-and-go bath or are you trying to combat high
stress? Would you like to reflect on and prepare for an
important day ahead, speed deep sleep or ready yourself
for a night out? With your goal clearly in mind,
draw your bath.
- Concoct your own bath potion depending on
exactly what you are feeling at the time.
Aromatherapists believe that the nose can lead you
instinctively toward what your mind and body need.
Sniff the bath products that you have and whichever
smells best to you is what you should be using at this
time. You can use natural bath salts, such as the
time-tested common epsom salts which is a
time-tested recipe for relieving
aching muscles and toning and
improving circulation. Adding a
tablespoon of oil—massage oil,
almond oil, jojoba oil—can fight dryness
of the skin. Sprinkling in seaweed
powder, which pulls toxins from the
body, has a relaxing effect and is like bringing the sea into your bathroom.
Bubbles spell luxury and the playfulness of
being a child again. Part of the fun is creatively
selecting and mixing all the ingredients
so that no two baths are ever alike.
- Next make a selection from your
favorite musical pieces. I like Mozart’s Piano
Concerto 21, Albinoni’s Adagio, Paul
Winter or John Coltrane to rev me up.
Keep a few CDs and a CD player in your
magazine caddy for those immersion
moments.
- On stay-at-home nights pour yourself
a cup of hot tea or sparkling mineral water
and lower the lights. To make it even more
comfortable, put a bath pillow at the end of
the tub to support your neck; a small, rolledup
towel works just as well.
- Light an aromatherapy candle distilled
from fruits, flowers, herbs, spices and woods
and designed to evoke various moods and
feelings. Consider clary sage, a warm, nutty
scent to uplift the spirits; lavender, which is
excellent for restoring a sense of balance in
the body; peppermint, which is said to aid
clear thinking; or rose. Long used as an
aphrodisiac, it exerts a powerful effect on the
circulation, digestion and nervous systems.
Often you can find candles combining two
or more oils.
- Keep your goal in mind when adjusting
the bath temperature: a little hotter if
you just want to let go and unwind, a little
cooler in summer or anytime you’re aiming
for refreshment and energy.
- Spend the first five minutes purely
relaxing, Then go to work with a body
brush. Starting from the toes, “polish” the
skin on the body in a gentle, circular
motion. This whisks away dead cells, leaving
skin soft and smooth to the touch. Polishing
also boosts circulation. Be careful if you have
sensitive skin as the heat of the water, combined
with the pressure of the brush, can
cause tiny capillary vessels to break. As an
alternative to the body brush or loofah, take
a small handful of a body exfoliant (natural
oatmeal or course kosher salt mixed with
almond oil are good for sensitive and dry
skin) and do the same thing.
- Next, take a pumice stone – a lump of
volcanic lava you can find at any drugstore –
and scrub the really dry areas: heels, soles of
your feet and (more gently) your elbows and
knees.
- Stand up and polish the parts of your
body you can’t reach sitting down. It’s best to
start from the bottom and work toward your
chest, in the direction of your heart.
- Bath time is a wonderful time for
stretching because your muscles are already
warm. Pull each knee to the chest. Life one
leg and with the knee to the side, gently pull
that ankle toward you. With legs straight
ahead and feet flexed, try to touch your toes.
Stretching in the bath, you will probably
find you can reach farther than usual.
- Rinse your skin with a little cooler
water, wrap yourself in a large, fluffy bath
towel or terry robe, and pat dry.
- Your “new” self is primed for a moisturizer. Men may find they like the consistency of a gel while women may prefer a cream or lotion for trouble spots: knees, elbows, feet and hands. Massage from your toes to your neck, working in the cream until it’s completely absorbed.
SALT TREATMENTS:
We are probably all very familiar with products
that contain salts and ingredients from the
“Dead Sea,” which has the highest concentration
of minerals in the world (10 times higher than
that of the Mediterranean or Atlantic). Salts,
especially those coming from the Dead Sea, are
used to draw impurities from the body, replace
depleted minerals, soften the skin and relax muscles.
These salts are also beneficial for those who
suffer from psoriasis and eczema.
Seaweed Treatments: The sea is full of minerals
and salts such as iron, potassium, sodium,
magnesium and zinc. Seaweed absorbs these
minerals naturally and stores them within itself
(becoming concentrated with minerals). When a
small of amount of seaweed powder is put into
bath products and then added to water, the minerals
are reactivated. These nutrients from the
ocean—the minerals and vitamins—are diffused
into the blood stream to energize the senses, pull
toxins from the body and moisturize the skin.
Milk Treatments: Milk has been added to
bath water since Cleopatra’s time. To soothe
inflamed and itchy skin and replace the natural
moisture levels, add three cups of whole milk or
two cups of powdered milk to running bath
water.
Bath Sachets and Bath Teas: You can create
your own bath sachets and bath teas with a piece
of natural cloth, a ribbon and dried flowers, or
with a tea ball. Place dried flowers, which you
can refresh with an essential oil, into the cloth
and tie shut (leave enough string to hang from
your bath faucet). The heat of the water will
release the aroma into the air. |
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