The bliss of a good bath
Continuing our musings on idleness we invited Kathy Nelsen, bathhouse legend and proprietor of Kabuki Springs, to share her thoughts on bathing the slow way. Enjoy.
In a recent Culture of Bathing post, Jane Withers praised idleness while bathing. I would add to this, as for me they go hand in hand, the absolute necessity for quiet to savor the bliss of a good bath.
Being subjected to others' chatter is one of the quickest ways I know to blast me out of my reverie of relaxation. This is the time to come home, to reflect, to be honest.
We each have our preferred personal ritual in the bath. Mine begins with a shower to wash off the city’s psychic and physical dirt. Then to the sauna, where I lie on my back with my feet elevated and a cool cloth over my eyes. Sometimes I imagine breathing through the chakras and each color spinning in harmony. I might practice alternate nostril breathing. Quite honestly on the first round, I often just try to settle down and say a little prayer asking for patience with myself and others.
‘scrubbing my body with salt, I ask for all negativity to wash down the drain’
Kathy Nelsen
After 10-15 minutes, I sluice off and do a minute or so in the cold plunge. (this is my ritual, kudos to those of you who match minute for minute, hot to cold), I repeat this two or three times, each time increasing the time spent in the cold water.
The final important step in this ritual is at the sit-down shower. While scrubbing my body with salt, I ask for all negativity to wash down the drain. Salt is one of the best cleansers for the auric body; a salt and soda bath will help with cosmic radiation after flying. The sensual joy of filling the basin and slowly pouring the warm water over my shoulders is delicious. This must be done several times to a) get all the salt off and b) because it feels so damn good.
After sweating out all of my junk, I try to seal in the goodness with either coconut or olive oil. Most spas offer body lotion and sorry, it’s usually crap. The largest organ deserves quality food.
‘another of the healing qualities of a public bath is the dreamy quality of being with other bodies.’
Kathy Nelsen
And, just as a post script, not that anyone asked, another of the healing qualities of a public bath is the dreamy quality of being with other bodies. As women we often have wildly inappropriate expectations of our body. Being with bodies of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages can help reset that body image. One of my prouder moments of managing a bathhouse for many years came when a young woman from the Midwest visited Kabuki Springs with her aunt and wrote to me and said she had never known that all women have a belly.
Kathy Nelsen
@kabukispringsandspa
One last thing
Our mood board for the weekend.
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this newsletter is a service to the world. i think my favorite thing to do is take a bath, and reading another's bathing ritual is so lovely. what a wonderful way to relate to each other.