Sunday Reading
An ode to bathing

At night, with dark windows and flickering candle flames reflected in the water. When the sun rises and scattered light at dawn dances over ripples that renew.  As a storm rages and rain droplets drum on the ceiling above, demanding entry whilst you stay cocooned in the heat. Seductive steam rises to meet the storm, condensing on the windowpane, star crossed lovers kept at distance by a whisper of something almost invisible.

Bathing. A moment of stillness, where the outside world dissolves and the mind, body and soul unite.

We’re not alone in finding solace in the ritual of bathing. Cleopatra bathed in milk and honey (the inspiration behind Cleo’s Paradise). Marie Antoinette indulged in a soak infused with nuts, linseed and sweet almonds. At the core of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian holistic healing system, bathing balances the mind, body and spirit, bringing dosha back into balance, uniting Kapha, Pitta and Vata in harmony. 

Where two worlds collide, something intensely private– a ritual unique to each individual - in turn becomes something shared, a connection through selfcare, re-birth and self-indulgence.

Some take it scalding hot with steam that billows, an intense heat to soothe your soul. Others wallow in the shallows, only emerging once the water has cooled, fingers pruned and mind at peace.   

We fill our baths with restorative salts, swirl them with fragrant oils, strike a match and soak in candlelight.  Skin is smoothed and selfcare indulged in, in the form of a face mask that transforms.

Not just a simple soak, but a ritual to be revered, a moment memorialised. And, as you sink in, as you savour, as if by osmosis ideas soak into your skin, emotions dissolve into the water and along with the water, worries disappear down the drain.