In July of 2021, I was forced to face the fact that my nervous system was out of control. I was scared I would never get that sense of control back. Every doctor I saw said the same thing, "you have to start taking care of yourself" but what they really meant was anyone's guess. It had been so long since I even considered self-care that I truly didn't know where to begin. It was time for a change... but what? As a self-appointed DIY guru and process-improvement enthusiast, I set out to find easy and effective ways to show myself a little love.
After reading extensively about the health benefits of a warm bath, I cleared the laundry off the edge of my tub and got soaking. I started playing with various bath salt recipes, breathwork techniques, meditation, and mantra practices and my bathroom quickly morphed into a little healing lab... and I was the head alchemist.
Those moments of connecting with myself and responding to my own needs were my very first steps in reclaiming my power as the healer of ME. Fast forward and now I've added several other self-care activities to my regular routine but there is nothing that soothes me faster or more completely than my soaking ritual.
These days I get a lot of questions about my soaking ritual, all of which I LOVE answering!
Which of the Ritual Wheel Soaking Salts is my favorite?
That's like asking which child I love more, I can't possibly choose.
Do I really take a bath every day?
I may miss 2 or 3 days a month.
What kind of tub do I have?
The one that came with the house, but someday The Sundry bath display tub will be moving home with me.
Do I really like Turkish towels more than terry cloth?
I keep my favorite towel by the tub and use it for a bath pillow and for my hands and face while I am in the tub. It's my Soaking Ritual Towel and everyone knows that touching it will bring certain death.
So without further ado, here's the current Healing Soak Ritual of your friendly neighborhood healing alchemist. Let me know what you think!
Jess's Daily Soaking Ritual Recipe
Step 1: Smudge with Palo Santo
Why it's part of my ritual
Palo Santo has been used for thousands of years to purify the air and the mind. It has antimicrobial properties, tends to be calming to the nervous system, and reduces feelings of anxiety.
Step 2: Evaluate how I am feeling and what I am needing
Why it's part of my ritual
Integrating a proactive way to process what you're going through is the foundation of therapeutic self-care. Taking the time to listen for the whispers of your mind, body & soul is the first step in reclaiming your power as the healer of you.
My process for checking in with myself
Close your eyes and draw your attention to the air coming in and out at the tip of your nose. Breathe in for the count of 4. Hold for 2, and then breathe out for the count of 6 . Repeat for 3 breaths. With each breath, scan from the top of your head to the tip of your toes looking closely for sensations, moods, emotions, or feelings.
Step 3: Select a bath salt
Based on what whispers I heard
These days I am soaking with the batch of salts I made at The Sundry that day. It's the final step in my quality control process. :-) Today I will be making a large batch of Bring me Balance, which I make using one of my all-time favorite essential oil blends, from Restore Hope Oils. I somehow managed to talk the founder, Gavin Poulton into letting me use his top-tier essentials in Ritual Wheel products.
Step 4: Select an affirmation
Why it's part of my ritual
Affirmations are positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts by helping to develop a healthy sense of self and build a more resilient brain
How they work
A simple affirmation can increase the level of feel-good hormones, such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. This supports the brain to form new clusters of “positive thought” neurons, rewriting the negative thoughts that are cemented into our brains.
A few of my favorites
I am worthy. I am loved. I am enough.
I will honor my need to rest and recharge.
I am resilient and can get through anything.
I choose to respond to this challenge with grace and positivity.
I choose positivity. I choose happiness. I see both all around me.
Happiness is everywhere I choose to see it.
I will be present. I will be positive.
I am courageous, and I stand up for myself.
Step 5: Select a breathwork exercise
Why it's part of my ritual
Breathwork helps you feel connected to your body—it brings your awareness away from the worries in your head and quiets your mind.
How they work
Deep breathing exercise helps increase the supply of oxygen to the brain and stimulate your parasympathetic
nervous system - promoting a state of calmness.
A few of my favorites:
Pursed Lip Breathing
Inhale through your nose for 2 seconds
Purse your lips as though you were blowing out a candle
Exhale through your pursed lips for 4–6 seconds
Square Breathing
Inhale through you nose for four (4) seconds
Hold your breath for four (4) seconds
Exhale through your mouth for four (4) seconds
Hold your breath for 4 seconds
Resonance Breathing
Gently breathe in through your nose, mouth closed, for a count of six seconds.
Don't fill your lungs too full of air.
Exhale for six seconds, allowing your breath to leave your body slowly and gently without forcing it.
Step 6: Set a 20 min timer
While my goal is to meditate during my soak, my brain is often spinning with all the things still on my to-do list at The Sundry and what I need to do at home that evening, so I have to spend a few min winding down to get into a place where my meditation will be successful. I guess you could call the sequence below my meditation warm-up.
Breath
Affirmation
Breath
Step 7: Meditate
I will be covering my meditation journey in another post, but for now, if you want to try the method that taught me to meditate, check out, https://fitmind.com/the-sundry The founder Liam McClintock does the recordings and his voice TOTALLY sounds like Neo from The Matrix. :-)
Happy Soaking!
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