I had become burnt out, depressed, anxious, and I left my job, London, the monotonous routine. I finally realised I needed change and some time out so I gave myself some much needed space.
This is where my healing journey started. In those early days I felt called to be outside, and was spending more and more time out in the garden. Nature called me to be with her, and I loved pottering, beginning to learn about the plants, watching as they evolved and changed, and recharging in the sun - resting, reading, admiring it all.
But at the same time, I had always loved a bath - and now increasingly so. It became the only place I could actually allow myself to stop and fully rest. Here everything would stop. My body would actually soften, my mind finally quieten. And in that newly found silence, I began to discover something special.
The idea of bathing outside was a thrilling dream buried deep within. It felt exciting. It felt like it was calling me. And it got bigger and bigger. I would come inside after a nurturing time outside, ready to rest and relax and submerge myself in the warmth of the water - but always felt so torn between continuing the joy and connection I was beginning to find being outside, and the gentle warming embrace I needed from the water.
After many months thinking I can't do it because of x, y and z (the interfering unhelpful mind - mainly worrying about what other people would say or how they would react!), one day I decided to just go for it! I found a second hand bath on eBay for £20, hired a van, popped it on the grass - and the rest is history! One of the best decisions I have ever made!
Bathing outside quickly became my ultimate joy. It enabled me to combine two of my greatest delights - being outside and being in the bath. There really is nothing else like it. The combination of being hugged by the warm water whilst staring up at the sky and being surrounded by nature is simply and spectacularly magical. It takes me to another place, another world. It enables me to fully switch off from the busy outside world. It's time and space I can actually stop and rest. It is a beautiful holistic, fully immersive experience that I haven't experienced in any other way. Body finally finds rest, mind finally quiets - and as I began to discover - soul finally able to shine through. I feel connected and held. I feel happy and alive. That fusion of mind, body, soul nurturing and connection like nothing else I have experienced. It enables to me find creativity, pleasure. I move into a more feminine energy. I am able to be and feel and enjoy. No distractions. Just beauty. Beauty and bliss. Time and space for me. To (re)discover and return back to the magic within, and all around.
As I began to realise this divine connection and special, sacred experience with bathing outside, creating a bath outside became a ritual. A mindful, intentional process of preparing and enjoying this special experience. It wasn't about filling the bath with water and bubbles and getting in, having a flick through a magazine or my phone. It was so much more. Every part of creating the bath and being in it was so special. And in this experience I became more and more in tune with how I was feeling and why I was turning to the bath - sometimes it was rest and recharging, sometimes it was through joy and celebration, sometimes it was to feel more energised. Perhaps I was reflecting on letting something go or calling something in. Perhaps I just needed me time. I enjoyed the process of using the bath for these different reasons. I brought my crystals and my journal, my incense and my candles. My tea and sometimes even snacks! I started to weave in different flowers and plants from the garden - learning about their symbolism and properties - using oranges and lemons for a pick me up or roses and lavender for some calm. I started to connect more with the plants, earthing, smudging, cleansing, mindfulness, meditation, journaling. And all of this married so perfectly with the process of bathing.
Bath ritual then, is the process of weaving together different tools and practices with a specific intention into the bath experience. Its a holistic immersion for mind, body and soul that's about the process of creating the bath, being in the bath, and integrating the experience after the bath. The bath becomes the sacred space, the container for a whole range of special practices and intentions - various rituals to support us as we move through life.
If you'd like to experience bath ritual for yourself, check out the Self Love Bath Ritual Experience - a physical pack containing all you need to set up your bath and create your sacred space, along with audio guidance taking you through each stage of the bath ritual - creation, immersion, integration.