After a long day, it’s natural to feel wound up and stressed out about the week ahead. The idea of going to sleep can seem like a steep climb into restlessness. It may do you some good to prepare a goddess serenity bath ritual with natural mood boosters like essential oils, candles, and herbal tea while practicing mindfulness and visualization with pretty rocks. Follow the instructions below for my stress relief bath ritual that can help you wind down.
Below is an excerpt from my book, The Mood Book, of a bath ritual for stress relief:
“Humans need to feel loved; sometimes we feel pain because we don’t have a partner, and everyone around us seems to have someone special. Other times, we’re sure about our feelings for someone who intimidates us, or is a person with whom we’re afraid to express intimacy. It’s also hard to be in love with someone miles away, or with someone who does not feel mutual lust. Partnership is tricky, and loneliness aches.
If clichés about desirability are true, we must care for ourselves before expecting a feeling of worthiness to come from another person. Preparing a steamy bath for yourself is a lot like gifting yourself a romantic date. Using the divine power of precious crystals and herbs, this bath ritual will unclog your heart chakra and break down barriers built up from trauma. Like cholesterol on the arteries, an unhealthy heart chakra has psychological issues slowing it down: sadness, loneliness, long-held grudges, betrayal.
You might feel anxious, unwanted, ashamed, or resentful over physical and/or emotional intimacy and not know how to address those thoughts. The smell of rose, as well as the assorted rocks, represent gateways to the heart chakra, located in the chest. Traditionally, pink and green correspond to the heart chakra, which is why you will light pink candles, drink green tea and center yourself with two pieces each of pink and green gems.
Materials required
Pen and paper
One or more pieces of rose quartz, jade, green aventurine, and pink tourmaline
Rose otto essential oil
Jasmine essential oil
Four pink candles
Rose soap
Decaf jasmine green tea
Dried hawthorn berry
Getting Started
Of the wide selection of green teas on the market, jasmine is one of the most delicate and flowery variants. In a French press or pot of boiling water, combine tea bags or loose-leaf jasmine green tea with dried hawthorn berry, found in health food stores. Next, make sure to strain your tea when the color becomes noticeably green (after around 5 minutes). As you sip the brew, focus on mindfully consuming your beverage, making sure the tea does not disappear without actively appreciating its taste and warm feeling on your hands.
With mindfulness as a priority in this stress relief bath ritual, power down your devices. After this has been done, take the time to withdraw into a cocoon of soothing scents and sensations; whether you’ve been talking all day to an exasperated lover or you’ve been isolated for weeks, . Dim your lights. Think about the connection your mind has to your body and immerse yourself in the present moment. Start running the bath; undress and wrap yourself in a robe. Take out the pen and paper and, taking a deep breath, prepare to become emotionally exposed and vulnerable. You are safe; you are in control.
Practicing affirmations and mantras
Write down on a piece of paper a mantra or prayer that gives you hope. It can be an affirmation, like “I am beautiful,” “I am sexy,”
“My heart is open and I enjoy pleasure daily.”
For inspiration, dwell on this bit of wisdom from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh:
“Words can travel thousands of miles.
May my words create mutual understanding and love.
May they be as beautiful as gems,
as lovely as flowers.”
Or these lines from the poet Rumi:
This is what I see.
The world is green,
And everywhere there is a garden.
I see your face,
luminous like a rose.
I see you happy,
you are laughing.
Everywhere there is a gem,
inflamed from the Beloved’s mine.
Everywhere there is a soul,
connected to another soul.”
Slip into the warm water and get comfortable.
Wash yourself with rose soap; don’t worry about shampooing and conditioning your hair, just make sure your body is clean and pure. While finishing up your bath, practice gratitude for the tea, the sweet essential oils, the crystals, and the bathtub itself. Even as you step out onto the bath mat and into a fresh towel, relish the texture of dry cotton. You’ll feel refreshed, revitalized, and markedly less anxious and stressed out than you were earlier. The ritual ensures you get an amazing night’s sleep, as well. Sweet dreams!
