Whatever the season, don’t underestimate the power of your bath to boost your body and your mind. Habitual bathing can be traced back to the ancient Indians, who took elaborate dips three times a day in 300BC. Later, the Ancient Greeks crafted small footbaths, basins and even luxurious alabaster versions that have been subsequently excavated at Santorini.

Everywhere from Japan to the Middle East, Morocco, Mexico and Finland, a vast and varied array of incarnations have followed suit. And far from being a perfunctory means of dispelling direct, bathing practices have been celebrated for playing varied, essential and often ritualistic roles in their communities including spirit cleansing, body strengthening, beautifying, medicinal and community-building.  Here’s some suggestions from a great book we love on the subject, The Bath Project – The Art And Science Of Bathing on what you can do to get involved:

Help with anxiety

Life takes its toll. The more exhausted the body, the harder it is to soothe the mind. And the more frantic the mind, the trickier it is to give your body the rest itt requires. Break the cycle with a combination of:

Base: camomile and mint infusion. To make the base for this formula, steep two bags of camomile herbal tea in 100ml of hot but not boiling water for 5 minutes.
Aroma: 1-3 drops each of peppermint, bergamot and juniper berry aromatherapy oils.
Salt: 200g of Epsom Salts
Bach Flower Remedies: 3 drops of oak, of chestnut and rock water
Temperature: 41C
Time: 25 mins soak

To promote sleep

This bath restores calm and promotes rest by soothing the nervous system and minimising racing thoughts.

Base: camomile infusion.
Aroma: 1-3 drops each of lavender, marjoram and mandarin aromatherapy oils.
Salt: 200g of Epsom Salts, 100g of magnesium flakes
Bach Flower Remedies: 3 drops of rock rose, impatiens and vervain.
Temperature: 40C
Time: 20 mins soak

To boost low mood

Shake off negativity with this uplifting bath to stimulate and boost your mental energy and psychological wellbeing.

Base: St John’s Wort infusion. To make the base for this formula, steep two bags of St John’s Wort herbal tea in 100ml of hot but not boiling water for 5 minutes.
Aroma: 1-3 drops each of mandarin or orange, ylang-ylang and rosewood aromatherapy oils.
Salt: Dead Sea Salt as shown on packet
Bach Flower Remedies: 3 drops of rock rose, of gorse and wild rose
Temperature: 38C
Time: 20 mins soak

And finally, enjoy!!