Recipe for a ritual bath to address unworthiness.

I’m pretty lucky to have an outdoor bath

After giving a shiatsu massage I often send my clients home with a jar of epsom salts, and a herb or two that had been calling out to assist with their healing. Soaking in a bath of magnesium salt and plant medicines is a wonderful way to dose magnesium directly into your muscles and benefit from the spiritual support and wild grace of herbal medicines.

I'm not here to make healing claims about soaking in a tub of herbs and salt. This is not a physical healing but a spiritual and energetic one.

Creating a ritual bath (aka medicine bath, healing bath) is more about intention than having the exact ingredients listed and performing elaborate opening and closing rituals.

Unworthiness is the scourge of the west, I heard a zen buddhist teacher say. Nearly all western people have a sense of unworthiness because it is ingrained in our culture and core beliefs. We may know intellectually we are worthy and deserving simply for existing, but feeling that in your core is another matter however. I had been planning a bath to address this, today was that day.

1. First, I needed epsom salts, but I was all out. I ordered some from the supermarket for ‘delivery now' along with the usual groceries for the week. I poured this in as the water cascaded from the spout.

2. I chose some crystals that jumped out at me.

3. Citrine was my first choice, I felt my solar plexus could use the most support. I found one, not the one I had in mind, perhaps a better one, a piece of white quartz, my Herkimer quartz and some rose quartz. I lined them up in the bath to correspond with the first 5 chakras.

4. Next I sprinkled my latest tea blend; chamomile, elderflower, rose, licorice and mugwort into the water until I felt like there was enough. When creating your bath at home you might like to place put your herbs in a tea strainer or muslin bag so they aren’t floating loose in the water.

5. I gathered some roses from my garden, mostly yellow roses, some burgundy and pink and placed them in whole, with some additional petals.

6. And finally 4 drops of a Pine Bach flower essence, which is all about worthiness. I chose a singing bowl and chimed it over the water.

The kids threatened to join me but I begged them to give me 20 minutes which they did, Evie actually gave me 30 before climbing in, and John John forgot all together.

Then I soaked for 40 minutes. The herbs and flowers scented the water, and my relaxing massage music played in the background. My muslces loved the warmth and the magnesium salts . I let the thoughts play through my mind.

After quite a while my roses were going soggy and were covered in wet bits of herbs and brown spots, and I wondered if this soaking in plant materal was helping at all. I observed my skepticism. I went to my breath, I thought about the vibrational essences of the herbs I had included. How warm and loving they felt. I closed my eyes and received.

I place the crystals over my chakras, and used the Herkimer to perform a crystal healing, it's been a while since I'd given myself one of those.

I am kind to myself least of all, in most ways. I've learned to go outside to read oracle cards in the mornings and write in my journal. I eat wonderfully healthy foods practically always. In other forms of self kindness and care I am not terrific. I frequently stay up too late (currently re-watching Sex and the City, I'm up to season 3) I don't look after my skin enough, I've lost my yoga practice lately and I don’t have enough nice baths.

Laying back and looking at the clouds, I realised I was actually feeling wonderful.

I sunk back in.

Afterwards I observed how I was feeling. The emotional rawness and wounding I was aware I had been feeling in my heart earlier was more …. resolved. The sharp edges were smoothed over and there was no energy leakage via rumination over events of the very recent past. I felt ...better, warm hearted, open.

On reflection, my ritual bath was actually very effective. I highly recommend. Sometimes in the moment you can be unaware of the benefits being bestowed, but later on you realise you feel much, much better.

You can put together your own healing bath from epsom salts, crystals, herbs and flowers you have in your home and garden, providing they are safe to come into contact with your skin. Remember that intention is everything. Better yet, come see me for a Shiatsu massage and create a healing bath at home with your complimentary herbal bath soak. A sprinkling of your medicine tea is perfect for a ritual bath as well.

Libby is a naturopath, herbalist and shiatsu massage therapist in South Fremantle