Spring Equinox: Salt Bath Ritual for Cleansing
To prepare for the season of growth, it’s time to emerge from our cozy cocoons and shed our winter layers. This cleansing bath ritual will purify your body and make space for new beginnings this spring. What you’ll need:
A tub
20-minute playlist
Magnesium-enriched bath salts
Lavender and tea tree oil (optional)
Dry brush (optional)
Body oil or lotion
Preparing your space
To set up for this ritual, draw a warm bath and drop in one to two cups of bath salts. If you’d like to include essential oils, add a few drops of lavender and tea tree oil. I’m recommending the tea tree oil for its refreshing, focusing, and astringent qualities. Pairing the invigorating scent with calming lavender reminds us to be both relaxed but awake as we embrace the shift from winter to spring.
Enhancing your cleanse with dry brushing
If you’d like to go a little deeper for this cleansing ritual, you could add dry brushing prior to your soak. Dry brushing stimulates lymphatic flow for internal detoxification and will help slough off dead winter skin cells. Start at the furthest point from the heart at your feet and ankles and work your way up your legs. Then move to your arms beginning at your hands and brushing upwards towards your heart. On your limbs, you use light pressure and perform long, light, and brisk strokes a few times. Over your joints, do small circles. On your abdomen, follow the path of your colon for maximum detox. Begin at your upper right hip and gently brush up to the top of your rib cage, following the path of your ascending colon. Next, brush along the top of your abdomen from right to left to follow your transverse colon. Finally, brush down the left side from your bottom left rib to your left hip point–following your descending colon.
Relaxing into the release
Now that you’ve prepared your space and your body, put your phone on “do not disturb,” turn on your playlist, and place the device out of reach. Let your playlist be your timer. Settle into the water and close your eyes or maintain a soft gaze in front of you. Breathe and think about the following:
Envision three things that you can let go of this spring. What would happen if you released them? These can be material things, or it could be behaviors like negative self-talk or people-pleasing, or even relationships that no longer serve you. Be honest.
Find where you’re holding these specific tensions in the body. As you think about each thing you want to release, where is the tension showing up in the body? Are you holding relationship tension around your heart? Breathe into it. Are holding overwork between your shoulder blades or negative self-talk in your gut? Send them love and see if you can support a release.
Remain in the water until your playlist ends. Once you’ve completed your releasing ritual, you can nourish your skin with body oil or lotion. Relax, hydrate, and feel free to journal about your experience.
