Steamy hot baths have become a staple in my life. Hot baths have carried me through good days, bad days, days I felt I was coming into my own and nights on which I couldn't tell the difference between my tears and the steam melting away on my cheeks. It seems as though there is nothing better than running yourself a hot bath, leaving everything that troubles you behind the bathroom door and taking some time out for yourself. The healing and cleansing power of water coupled with the warmth and loneliness that envelopes you is powerful enough to help you sort through and come to terms with many things that need healing in yourself, your relationships and your life.
The journey to self love has been a long and difficult one. Rewarding when I find myself in front of the mirror hugging all the parts of me I once wished away or when I feel the sun against my face and realize that I am beautiful. But challenging when life threatens to wash away all the positive thoughts I was starting to build up about myself. I bounce around from moments of deep self loathing to highs that leave me feeling like I'm a magical ethereal being. Lately, I've been trapped in the former. I find myself overlooking my beauty and power dwelling on all the ways in which I am not enough and so a self-love bath is in order. If you too have found that you've slipped off (or have been knocked off) your journey to self-love. Distracted by self-hate or self-doubt amidst the busyness and messiness of life. Get the water running and join me as we return back to ourselves with love and tenderness.
You will need
- A bath full of warm water
- Incense
- Candles
- If you can, spice up the bath with some oils, flower petals or bubble bath. Make it your own. This is your sacred space. Do leave the music off for now. You want to be alone with your thoughts and yourself. Meditating towards self-love.
Self-love is like a bath you take on a Friday night after a tough week.
You have to be ready to take the plunge. To rest and recover and most importantly to care for yourself unconditionally.
Do not rush into it, or you might slip and fall. But if you stay outside that bath hating yourself, life will be very cold.
That water is sacred. It is your environment. It is the people you surround yourself with and the experiences you immerse yourself in.
This water is meant to nourish you and nurse you back to yourself.
The temperature has to be just right.
If it is too hot, you will only be sent back out into a world of hating yourself with nothing but scars from scorched skin.
And if it is too cold, you will waste time and energy pouring warmth from the depths of yourself, trying to change a place (or person) that was never meant to be your home.
So, if that water isn't right, drain it.
Start afresh
Shake your life up, rediscover and redefine all that you are
Draining is hard.
It is lonely.
You will be left with a bath covered in dirt and all your messy bits.
Sift through the mud and the dust.
Crawl through the cracks in yourself and patch them up on your way out.
Remember, that a fresh start or a new beginning is always a drain away.
So begin again.
Fill your life up with warmth. With rivers of water that make you feel safe and secure.
Slip your hands across your skin with soothing oils for the tough days.
Have bubbles to play around with because life isn't always meant to be serious.
Don't forget to crack open a window and get some fresh air once in a while.
This journey is a lonely one. No one else can fit into the bath with you.
But always remember that it is worth it.
Cleansing yourself of self-limiting thoughts and destructive behavior is a step in the right direction when it comes to seeing the beauty in both your strength and powerlessness.
Adorn your body with affirmations.
Harness the power and appreciate the allure in your reflection
Emerge from that bath a new person.
Leave self-doubt, self-pity and any beliefs you have about yourself that diminish your worth in that water.
And always remember, whenever you feel yourself slipping, that you can run that bath and flow back into yourself whenever you need to.