Creating a Bathing Ritual

In a fast-paced society hungry for our time and energy, cleansing the body often becomes a passing routine to start or end our day. At worst, it can even be a chore. 

As our days naturally shorten and slow down in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the perfect time to pause and reconnect… both to our bodies, as well as to the routines and rituals that involve our bodies.

Why focus on bathing? Cleaning ourselves may seem like an amusing topic, but historically, bathing habits have reflected deeper human understandings. From the nature-communion cleansing in coves and rivers, to the ancient recreational experience of bathhouses, to avoiding bathing altogether for fear of disease (ew… and true), bathing shows us a lot about how we, individually and culturally, relate to our bodies.

Where I’m from in Newfoundland, the neighbourhoods are quite old and historic, and many homes still contain the original clawfoot bathtubs. To this day, clawfoot tubs remind me of a simpler way of life: just myself, the warm soapy water, and the rest of the world fading away as my day is rinsed down the drain.

At Marmelo, our minimalist essentials mindset is all about stripping back to the bare necessities. Just as the clawfoot tub represents classic and simple self-care, we blend modern-day eco-minimalism with time-honoured beauty rituals to create unique skincare products that are nutritive, organic, effective, and simplistic.

What is the importance of bathing, and how can we use it to create connection and intimacy for ourselves? You draw water for the bath, we’ll bring the soap.

A (brief) history of bathing

To best appreciate how bathing can help us reconnect to ourselves, let’s (briefly) take a look at the role of the bath throughout history.

While the oldest known bath dates back to 2500 B.C., the practice of bathing dates back tens of thousands of years to the Neolithic Age when nomadic tribes would soak in natural hot springs to escape the cold as well as release toxins.

Bathing as a religious, healing ritual has a long history in Asia and India, however, it was the Greeks and Romans who popularized public bathing as a vital part of social recreation. Open to all regardless of socioeconomic status, the Roman baths were a primary place for men and women alike to gather, relax, and socialize.

Over time, the public bath spread around the world, evolving with differing customs and etiquette for each destination, while other cultures developed entirely distinct traditions around bathing:

• Turkish hammam: The hammam is based on having places of extreme cleanliness, and where purifying the body goes hand-in-hand with purifying the soul. Hammams were also spaces where major life events were celebrated, and bathing rituals were incorporated into weddings and births.
• Finnish sauna: The traditional Finnish sauna is a smoke sauna, heated by a wood stove with no chimney. After soaking in the heat, many locals head outside to roll around in the snow or jump into a hole in a frozen-over lake, since going from hot to cold is thought to stimulate blood circulation.
• Japanese onsen: Japanese onsen are natural hot springs (there are over 25,000 across the country due to volcanic activity), and the practice of soaking in thermal baths for healing, spirituality and rejuvenation can be traced to the introduction of Buddhism in Japan in the 500s.
• Turtle Island sweat lodge: Participants gather inside a dome-shaped hut or tent, where a pile of heated rocks lies in the middle. A sweat leader tends to the rocks and may pour water on top to fill the lodge with steam. Unlike other bathhouses, sweat lodge rituals can last up to several hours. The ceremony expressly focuses on the spiritual with an emphasis on pushing through physical and mental limitations. 

Across the globe, bath culture was maintained as a source of cleanliness, disease prevention, social connection, and spiritual rejuvenation. 

While the importance of a cleansing bath has remained steady in many places, bathing fell out of fashion in Europe for a few (smelly) centuries. In the Middle Ages, the church frowned upon bathhouses, and by the 16th century, most Europeans believed that steaming or submerging skin in water opened up pores to disease. 

People took up waterless cleansing, applying ointments to the feet, hands, mouth and genitals. For hundreds of years, many Europeans believed that merely changing their undergarments regularly was sufficient.

Things began to change around the 19th century (water treatment, sewage management, and indoor plumbing, to name a few) and bathing began to return to Europe and America. With new knowledge identifying germs and the hygienic benefits of soap, bathing became more popular, but it would take until the end of the century before “bath rooms” were commonplace for the average family.

And here we are today, with bathrooms an essential part of our everyday lives, and a renewed focus on what it means to truly “take care” of our bodies. 

If bathing is more than just cleaning ourselves, what does it mean to “bathe” in our society today?

The benefits of bathing

If you’ve ever emerged groggy and peaceful from a steamy bubble bath, you probably understand the benefits of bathing… but it turns out that researchers have been able to quantify the powerful effects of a good bath, too.

A study found that regular submersion in 40°C/104°F water reduced stress, fatigue, and pain, as well as improved a general sense of well-being. It was suggested that regular bathing improved blood flow and helped increase metabolic waste elimination. The good news: the study concluded that bathing for just 10 minutes per day was enough to see improvement.

Another study found that increased blood flow resulting from baths has also been shown to lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, as baths contribute to blood being pumped through the body more efficiently.

And on top of the benefits of some quiet, relaxing alone time, baths have also been proven to help with depression.

The benefits of bathing can transcend the physical and psychological, too, depending on your intention. By giving yourself the time and space to be present with your body, you create space to process, integrate, and heal your body, mind, and spirit. This is why creating a ritual out of bathing has the potential to be so incredibly powerful.

Create your own bathing ritual

To get the maximum restorative benefit from bathing, there are a couple of practical things to keep in mind before you personalize your ritual.

First, water temperature is important. As romantic as a hot, steamy bath may be, water that is too hot won’t work. Grab a thermometer, and aim for water that's around 40°C/104°F.  

Second, stay in the bath for at least 10 minutes—according to the research, that's how long it takes for your body to get the feel-good benefits.

No bathtub? No problem. Showers can work just as well—just turn the shower on warm for a few minutes to get the shower a little steamy, and then turn it down to the perfect 40°C/104°F before you get in.

Building your bathing ritual is about creating space to be with yourself, so other than the temperature and time requirements, play around with what feels good to you. Make this a practice you’ll look forward to!

Here are a few suggestions for crafting your perfect bathing ritual:

How to do it:

1. Set the mood: Turn down (or turn off) any artificial lights. Darkness, candlelight, or natural light will be the most supportive. Light candles, incense, or an essential oil diffuser if you desire, and turn on music if that feels relaxing. If you’re adding any Soap or other supportive products, place those close at hand.
2. Set your intention: Ask yourself what your body, mind, and spirit need. Set the intention that this bath will help facilitate healing and peace.
3. Get in the bath: Remember, a steamy shower or simply soaking your feet counts, too. Aim for 40°C/104°F and 10 minutes minimum.
4. Be present: As you soak, focus on your breath. Observe how you feel, allowing what comes up to move through you without judgment or resistance.
5. Notice: As things flow through, notice where healing is needed, and then imagine that healing occurring right there, in the bath. Try sending your breath into those areas that need healing, or use any visualizations or meditations that are supportive.
6. Cleanse: Use your Marmelo soap bars to help focus your healing intentions and provide both aromatics and soothing skin benefits: 

• Coastal Hygge: An elevated, moisturizing soap infused with adaptogens, invoking nostalgia, comfort, and calm. Containing Chaga tea, oat milk, and raw organic, ethically-sourced cacao powder, it’s a luxury superfood soap power combo for promoting hydrated and clear skin.
• Rosetta Salt Spa: Give yourself the gift of an exotic eucalyptus salt scrub. Spa minerals and softening pink salt conveniently in bar form replenish tired skin for that rosy post-scrub glow. Provides gentle exfoliation and minerals to help increase circulation in the skin and encourage healthy new skin cells. Beneficial for sloughing dead skin cells and leaving skin silky soft and smooth. 

1. Close the ritual: Sit for as long as you need, and when you're ready, close out your ritual bath. Let gratitude flow through you, and acknowledge the healing that took place. If anything needed to be released, imagine it flowing down the drain with the water.