Bathing Beauty
bathing beauty
The Healing Magic of Water
Water - graceful, reflective and nourishing, is an ancient and living-giving element vital to our bodies and the planet.
Water makes up roughly 60% of the human body (give or take an individual's size), with our brains and hearts made up of 73% water. Breathing through our lungs, which contain approximately 83% water, we nourish our body with oxygen. A watery oasis is found in 64% of our skin and even our bones contain 31% of this natural element.
Water has long been known to reflect emotion and intuition and its existence predates human civilization. In fact, the oldest water ever found was discovered two miles below the earth's surface in a mine - with the water estimated to be roughly 2.6 billion years old. And with the water we drink, depending on its source, potentially containing the same molecules that dinosaurs and Neanderthals drank, it connects us to mother earth and the origins of life itself.
In all of its forms, water is incredibly healing and is used in purification and healing ceremonies around the world. From the Oracle of Delphi, the most important shrine in ancient Greece, built around sacred springs thought to be the navel of the world - to the Hamman in Turkey, natural hot springs in Japan, and Balinese holy water rituals - water is at the heart of the world's most powerful ceremonies.
Life begins with water...
Born and raised in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so far away from any other land mass, I feel like water was born inside of me, the salt water coursing through my veins along with the crimson of my blood. As a child I used to think if I could be a fish I would, grow my own gills and never leave the womb of the water, even as twilight gave way to a speckle of stars.
Then, when I was 10 years-old, we moved to the mainland and living away from the Pacific Ocean for so long, it was like this constant remembrance of that feeling of being in the water stayed with me. As if I could feel all the blue of the earth, which makes up so much of our planet, was living and breathing inside me, asking me to come home to it. And while I loved the forests and the green of the earth, and how it grounded me to the mountains and land - the ocean? Oh the ocean, was always in my heart.
After high school, I returned to Hawaii for university, then traveled all around the world, settling in Switzerland, half a world away. Switzerland had it's lakes - cold and refreshing - but to me it wasn't the ocean. It was a lovely companion but could never compare to my true love.
Recently when I returned home to Hawaii after living abroad, I discovered a new relationship with water. One that would profoundly change the way I view self care and ceremony, and how it can be a part of our everyday life.
Not long after my return to the islands, I became friends with the Andrea Berset, founder of Zenziva Living. Andrea was the creator of an organic, handmade skincare line on Maui. The collection included a magical U'i Oil made with helichrysum essential oil, kukui nut oil, rose hip seed oil, coconut oil and so much more, all of which helped to heal my strange, dry peeling skin on my face due to chronic stress and overworking. The collection's Gold Dust was a gentle, exfoliating cleanser infused with tumeric, hibiscus flower, ashwagandha, orange peel, tulsi, neem and other natural goodness. While all of this was inspiring to me as I was just getting into my love of all things plant-based, it was her chocolate body scrub that really changed things for me and inspired me to explore bringing the art of bathing and the ritual of water into my everyday life.
Andrea would lead these incredible sacred circles at the beach, waterfalls or rivers in Hawaii. Women would gather in bathing suits and sarongs, and share prayers and intentions spoken over fresh flowers, and the chocolate body scrub would be scooped up and lovingly used to exfoliate arms and bellies, legs and toes. We would then bake in the sun like human chocolate chip cookies and jump in the ocean as all our flowers and dreams flowed back to us through the washing away of dull skin and things that no longer served us.
The power of intention and prayers whispered over water, the thoughts and love infused in plants from mother earth and the effect of taking a few moments to literally and figuratively wash away the cares of the world, had a profound impact on me. I realized sitting in sacred circle how few of us take the time to connect with ourselves, with what's really going on in our lives. We put on a brave face - for our boyfriends, our husbands, our parents or our friends. We "suck it up" at work or ignore our deepest dreams because we're afraid of failure or how we're going to pay next month's bills.
At the time, I was a poster child for the overworked, frazzled human being. Juggling multiple jobs and projects as the founder of a creative collective. It seemed my days were spent supporting and helping everyone else, there was little time left for myself.
So I began to use the chocolate body scrub at home, in my shower. On days when I barely had time to get to work, I would look forward to those few minutes in the shower. I would let the hot water cascade down around me, that same feeling of immersing myself in the ocean. I would lovingly smooth out my skin, the richness of the chocolate and coffee, Hawaiian kukui nut and sandalwood oil nourishing my skin with hydration. As I scrubbed away the dead skin cells, I would feel gratitude and love for this body, this body which helps me to live, to walk, to sing, to hold things, to move. I would send love to each part of my body, even the parts that weren't my "favorite" thing about be or had gotten soft from lack of use sitting at a desk all day. This was my body and it was serving me well. It was I who was not always there for it.
I would promise to use my body more, to run wild in nature, to feel more free in the only home I would truly live in forever. It was the one time during the day that I paused long enough to say thank you to my body, to the life I was living with all its good times and bad times, just thank you. I can walk and talk and sing and dance and no matter what's working or not working, we are each of us, miracles in any given moment. The millions of things that need to go right, just for you to be born, just for you to be here worrying about what to do next.
I would send feelings of love to each part of my being, and in those busy times, it felt like a miracle, just to be. It was then that I understood the power of taking time for yourself and that however short the time may be or however small your action may seem, how big that moment of self care actually is.
From then on, I use body scrubs and baths as a way to treat myself and provide a moment of peace and calm in my everyday life. A moment of reflection. In native Hawaiian herbal medicine, La'au Lapa'au, one of the 7 pillars of good health is "pondering" or "reflection". I found that to be fascinating as in all of my studies, I never came across this concept. That "reflection" is a part of good health. But now I know this to be true, if you don't stop and nourish yourself each day, you will burn out quickly. And that the power of reflection, whether it's through quiet contemplation or seeing yourself in the glassy surface of water, helps you to re-center yourself and come back to what really matters. It helps you to release the cares and worries of the day, and start anew with a fresh perspective.
Perhaps this is water's power, it holds us until we feel weightless. It's the closest you can come to walking on air. Whether you're overweight or have joint problems, lack flexibility or are nursing an injury or broken heart, water welcomes you. It welcomes you home to your true well-being, your deepest knowing. It supports you and lifts you up, cleanses you and asks nothing in return.
Whether you're a water baby or a land lover, taking a special bath once in awhile or staying in the shower a little longer to use a decadent body scrub will do wonders for your body and your soul.
Body scrubs we love will leave you smelling like roses or indulging in chocolatey goodness.
And, a favorite bath ritual infused with rose quartz, Himalayan sea salt and fresh flowers -
Rose Quartz Bath
Ingredients:
Candles
Music (My favorite playlist)
Rose Quartz
Crystal Quartz
Pink Himalayan Salt
Epsom Salt or Magnesium Flakes - Salt is detoxifying while magnesium is relaxing. Our bodies are often missing magnesium and it's a magical cure for sore muscles and weary hearts
Bath bubbles of your choice
Fresh flowers - even a few vibrant blooms can feel decadent
Instructions:
Set the mood with candle light and turn on some soft music in the background - or opt for total, delicious silence.
Fill up your bathtub with warm water. As you scoop the salt or magnesium flakes into your hands, say a silent prayer, think of what you want to release and what you want to call in. As you place the salt/magnesium into the water, speak to the water and say whatever you would like it to do for you, I often simply say "heal me" once with my heart in prayer and begin to pour the salt into the tub. As I'm pouring the salt and bath bubbles, I think of what I want to call into my life. What I most need at that time. It's kind of like wishing at a wishing well. Bring me grace....clarity...peace....or rejuvenation....
Then place the rose quartz and crystal quartz across the floor of your tub. I like to place it in a little mandala shape but sometimes you may feel called to put the pieces in different positions.
Gently lay the flowers at the top of the tub before you get in.
Enter into your own personal oasis, a place where no one with bother you, well, at least for awhile.