(Note: I was looking for topics to write on and requested that some friends think of random ones. This is the first of several from those contributions.)
Bath or Shower?
My answer is both.
The Bath
The bath goes back to the womb. Baths have a nurturing element to them, taking the time to soak fully in the warm water. Baths have potential for shifting energy, in any direction. Baths have healing potentials, as well. I’ve used all sorts of stuff to shift all sorts of things with baths.
Another advantage of the bath is that the soak is usually long enough to soften layers of dead skin, so that it can be gently removed by loofah or pumice stone with little effort. Clearing the dead skin off gives a much healthier look to the body.
Here are the main bath versions I’ve tried and enjoyed:
Sea Salt
A twenty minute sea salt (1-2 lb per tub) bath (1/2 measure baking soda optional) will clear the auric field of the usual build-up of negative energies that accumulates in daily life.
Essential Oils
A few drops of essential oils (single notes or blends) can revive (mints, rosemary) or calm (chamomile, lavender). For women, there’s usually heart/emotional support with more floral scents such as roses. For men, sandalwood or vetiver is often supportive. (Be careful of slippery surfaces when using oils. Don’t overdo it- 6-7 drops is plenty for a tub. Do a little homework, some essential oils are not recommended for contact with mucous membranes.)
Flower or Other (Gem, Star, etc.) Essences
These are vibrational medicines, not oils, and they are usually ingested. However, here, the idea is to add the vibration of the essence to your bath. Again, go easy, a few drops goes a long way. It’s a gentle way to use the essence, and continue your work with it. Some of my favorite essence sources are:
Flower Essence Services
http://www.fesflowers.com This site is for one of the most widely distributed (in my experience) lines of flower essences. My favorite in their line is Yarrow Special Formula. It is the best essence I’ve found for sensitive folks who are uncomfortable having to deal with high-density situations, for folks who need help strengthening auric boundaries, for folks whose fields get fried by exposure to a lot of electromagnetic equipment (computers, wireless, etc.).
Pegasus Products
http://www.pegasusproducts.com Pegasus is one of the most diverse producers of flower essences I know. They literally have thousands of essences. They also have gem, inert gas, and starlight essences. The books by Fred Rubenfeld and Gurudas are excellent guides to the origins and uses for many of the essences.
Botanical Alchemy
http://www.botanicalalchemy.com
I like this line very much. What they do, they do very well. I strongly recommend both the delphinium for working on guilt issues, and the fuschia for getting to hidden issues. Most of the products are synergistic blends.
Australian Bush Flower
http://www.ausflowers.com.au/ A very different native Australian set of essences. I was drawn to using the Sturt Desert Pea essence for grief and it was more effective than any of the other remedies I tried including homeopathic ignatia. I also like their Meditation blend.
Korte Phi
http://www.kortephi.com/
This company has developed an essence that supports connecting with dolphin energies–Delph. During a time when I was strongly drawn to dolphin energies, I used it, and I recommend it for connecting more easily to dolphins. Korte Phi also carries an interesting and expanding line of flower essences.
Bach Flower Essences
http://www.bachcentre.com:80/ http://www.nelsonbach.com/ These are probably the 38 essences best known to Americans. Most folks learn about the essences through exposure to these essences and books on Bach’s work. My experience is that while generally effective, 38 of anything doesn’t quite solve all the various and diverse emotional needs currently arising.
Perelandra
http://www.perelandra-ltd.com/ Machaelle Small Wright heads up a sort of American Findhorn. She works extensively with the devic realms and produces several lines of essences at her center in Virginia. These lines include an excellent Rose essence group, a garden essence group, and a soul ray group.
Desert Alchemy
http://www.desert-alchemy.com/ Sort of like Australian Bush Flower, they make plant/flower essences from the Arizona Desert flora.
Seaweeds
Seaweeds are amazingly wonderful for skin detoxing and nurturing. I recommend the Crystal Star Hot Seaweed Bath. It’s a bit like the easier home version of the spa seaweed wrap.
http://www.healthyhealing.com/catalog/ProductFamily.aspx?id=88
I also buy a net shower cap thingy and use it as the seaweed teabag by putting the seaweed in and rubber banding it closed. (It also makes it easy to spread the seaweed gel stuff over yourself.) Otherwise loose seaweed will totally clog your drain and ruin your relaxing experience as you get aggravated trying to clear your drain.
Liquid Needles baths
DNR sells a variety of health related products. I use the bath line far more than any other line of their products. I have found them very effective per their purposes. I’ve even experienced meridian shifts while using them. It’s important to keep up with drinking enough water and otherwise treating yourself healthily while going thru any of these bath regimens.
http://www.dnrsite.com/store4.mv?AFFIL=4433905
And let’s not forget the simple delight of the bubble bath, a childhood favorite that’s easy to create and generally nurturing and cheering.
I’ve also tried some baths that achieved their purpose yet had an unwanted effect. For example, Buddha’s Palm bath is effective for purification/clearing. It combines limes and turmeric in the hot bathwater, but the turmeric soaks into your skin, rendering it indelibly yellow for a while.
Caveat:
Your experience for any of these baths may vary from mine. Please use common sense, your intuition, whatever discernment process you prefer.
Showers
Well, the first joy of showers is in its mimicking of the rain shower. Depending on its design, you can aim the spray at most or all of your body. It’s a very pleasant sensation.
It’s also generally much shorter than a bath and purposed towards a quick effective cleaning rather than anything further than that. When it goes longer, it often is about pain relief through using a directional spray of warm to hot water to help loosen the muscle and release the pain.
Given the tiny-ness of modern bathtubs, showers are also easier to share with a “special” friend for a sensual moment.
Adding to a shower experience
There are varieties of spray arrangements to meet any desire for water restriction or intensity. Lately, I’ve seen some great wide shower heads that more obviously mimic rain.
There are options to filter the water (especially for removing chlorine) at the shower head or add a vibrational shift at the shower head by adding crystals or stones into the shower head. Whether you use filters or stones, change them out on a timely basis.
As for adding an aromatherapy element, similar to essential oil baths, scented shower gels and soaps can add a brief lift/shift. (I’d look for organic versions if possible. You don’t need essence of pesticide mixed in.)
Conclusion
Baths and showers have their uses.
Showers are great for daily efficient cleaning. Taking the time for a bath on a regular basis can be quite therapeutic. If you take only one bath in a month, I’d make it a sea salt bath in the gibbous moon phase time – the 2-3 days before the new moon – to clear the auric field at the moon time of highest release possibilities.
Enjoy!
JoyandBeauty 