Take The Damn Bath

Something very strange has been happening lately.

A pushing force has crept into my day. A momentum that isn’t aligned with my natural or intuitive flow, but externally driven, calling me to do more, produce more, create more, teach more, more more more.  Perhaps it's the fiery-ness of the crushing heat of Washington, or the impending big birthday I have on the horizon. 

And some of that push of creativity is good. But the the major problem with it is this:

It has prevented me from taking a bath.

Now, I know this sounds really weird…but baths are a true luxury for me. When I take a bath, I do it up. I add magnesium salts, dried flower petals, crystals. I light sage, I play mood music. Honestly, my hubby and my puppy are usually super confused as to what in the world is going on in there.

But for me, it’s magic.

It’s rest. It’s recharge.  And it's something I haven't been allowing myself (through pithy excuses) for weeks. 

There's always one more email I need to send, one more blog I need to write, one more client I need to schedule, one more thing I want to share Instagram. And I'm finally admitting to myself they are, though disguised, forms of escape. 

Because in the bath you are just there. With yourself. And if you have a large jacuzzi bathtub good for you, but for the capitol hill row house life it remains me myself and I. In all my birthday suit glory.

And there’s something so wonderful and slightly terrifying about that. I know for some of my clients who aren’t at their preferred weight, the idea of a bath can be an uncomfortable consideration. But whether it’s avoiding time alone with your body, your heart, or your mind, baths are such good medicine for facing what we actually need.

The bath is quiet; Some say the feeling of the warm water echoes a sense of womb-like safety and comfort. The bath is sensual; It reconnects you to the “soft animal of your body” (as Mary Oliver writes so well). The bath is clarifying; It forces you to take a moment away from the hustle to distill what’s working, and perhaps look right into the eyes of what’s not.

So, finally, after many excuses, I’ve taken that beautiful bath. It was good to spend forced time with myself, with my thoughts, with my excuses, and deliberately reconnect to the essence of who I am. I hope you're able to find that same respite yourself this week. 

To practice luxurious self-care and befriending your body, mind, and spirit, I look forward to connecting over a session.