Taking time out for yourself to have a beautiful, soothing, healing bath is a real act of self-love. To set that intention that you will take this hour for yourself has such a great impact on your body, mind and soul. Now we are not talking about just jumping into a hot tub surrounded by bath toys and mess, a healing bath takes it up another level from there!
Taking time out for yourself is not a selfish act. It’s a necessary one, and not just for you, but for the good of the world. Imagine if every person took a little time each day for themselves. How would that change them? How would that change you? Now I hear you, I know your response, because that was once my response too… I don’t have time! Well then, my friend you are the person that needs it most!
Taking a little time each day for ourselves has such an amazing, positive impact on our lives. That could be 5 minutes sitting quietly, breathing deeply and allowing your mind to rest, it could be taking a walk, starting that book you have been meaning to read, getting creative, or it could be booking yourself in for a Massage, Reflexology or Reiki session, or, as we will delve into today, it could be a soothing, mindful bath.
Making that commitment to yourself that everyday, in one way or another, you will show up to an act of self-love will lead to a calmer mind with more loving, positive thoughts towards yourself and its going to have a massive impact on your stress levels. And once you start down the path of self-love your gonna get hooked on it! You will soon realise how great it makes you feel, and when you feel great the world gets the best of you, love and light is going to shine out of you like sunbeams, and just like us humans love the warmth and light of the sun, people will be drawn to your warmth and light.
As a parent to an almost teenage girl and twin boys I know all too well the importance of my mood on the family. Happy Mummy happy family.
Unhappy Mummy? Well its not the family life or childhood I want for my children. As parents we of course put the needs of our children right to the top of the list. But what if one of the most important need's of your child was that their parents are happy, healthy, balanced and full of joy! Because a parent that is full of all these things is going to be throwing around kindness and positive vibes like confetti! And those little souls are going to soak that up! Stressed Parent = Stressed Kid, Happy Parent = Happy Kid.
It’s a no brainer when you think about it. And it doesn’t take a lot to get off that starting block, I know time is precious and we feel like we have a million and one things to do, but your happiness really should be at the top of that list. Focus on being happy, and anything else you can get ticked off that list after that is a bonus!
Happiness does not just impact your mind or the life of those around you, it impacts your body. Every emotion we have gets stored up in our cells, the body wants to get those emotions out, to express them, so it’s going to push them out in a physical form. This is why medical research shows that almost every illness we have can be traced back to stress. So getting yourself in a less stressed place through some me time really is so important.
For me one of my fav self-love acts is taking a bath!
Setting the Scene
First up you want to take a few moments getting the environment right, so pack the kids bath toys away and all the shower gels, shampoos etc. And leave yourself with a space that is uncluttered and calm.
Phase two, if you have some candles you can safely have in the bathroom then gather them up, set them out and create some gentle lighting. Crystals? Yep, you wanna place those bad boys around too.
Next the bath itself, so I just love to add in some soothing homemade soaks to my baths, in doing this you are mentally setting the intention that you are going to do something lovely for yourself, and that intention of self-love is already feeding you body, mind and soul before you even get in the bath!
Two of my favourite bath soak concoctions is Lavender Oatmeal soak and Detoxing Salts.
Lavender Oatmeal Soak
This one is great for soothing skin, especially dry or sore skin.
1 cup of Epsom Bath Salts (these can be picked up cheaply in pharmacies, Asda, TK Maxx & many more stores!)
1 cup of Oatmeal which ideally has been blitzed in a blender (Just use plain old porridge oats!)
2 tablespoons of dried lavender
2 drops of lavender oil (optional)
If you don’t want to leave a mess and residue in the bath afterwards then a great idea is to pop all these ingredients (or as much as will fit!) into a paper tea pouches, you can pick these up pretty cheap on Amazon. Once you have filled the pouch just fold the top down and staple or buy the ones which have a drawstring top. After the bath these can be popped into your composter if you have one. I usually don’t bother with this though and just pop it all straight into the bath and deal with a quick clean up job after!
Detoxing Salts
Most of our bodies are overloaded with toxins from pollutions, chemicals in beauty products and processed foods. This detoxing mix is going to help to remove some of those toxins from your body.
1 cup of Epsom Salts
½ Cup Himalayan Salts
A few drops of your fav essential oil (optional)
I would advise having a glass of water to drink whilst in the bath, the salts will draw toxins out of your body, but its always a good idea to replenish yourself with fresh water.
So now you have created a calm and decluttered space, you have your candles, your bath is run, you have a glass of water at the ready, so your pretty much set! You want to aim to soak for 20-30 minutes, although if time allows I’m often in there for a good hour!
If you would like to tag another self-love practise onto your bathing ritual then a quick, easy and supper effective one is body brushing, check out my body brushing post to find out more.
Whilst bathing you may like to play some soothing music, for inspiration you can find my holistic play list on Spotify named Holistic Music: Lisa Allen, another great playlist is by my dear friend Joey at Horizon Inspired and is named Meditation Music: Horizon Inspired, whilst listening to this music take some deep breaths and soften your thoughts.
Alternatively take a book in with you, choose something which is going to feed your soul, one of my favourites is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
Or of course, just lay back and relax!
Lisa x
