Scented Baths

Baden-Baden Bath

The Baden-Baden bath is a bath that you will want to repeat frequently. Its lovely pine scent and its carefully mixed ingredients will create a body of water similar to the curative mineral content of the renowned springs at the luxurious Baden-Baden spa in Germany. Select an album of Mozart’s piano concertos to play while you bathe. Pour yourself a tall glass of sparkling mineral water with a slice of lime or a dash of fresh lime juice. Place it tubside to sip as a replenishing tonic.

One-Half Cup of Borax
One-Quarter Cup of Sea Salt
Five Drops of Oil of Sage
Five Drops of Oil of Rosemary
Ten Drops of Oil of Pine Balsam
Loofa Mitt

While your bath is running, combine the Borax and the Sea Salt in a glass bowl, stirring with a metal spoon. Add the Oil of Sage, the Oil of Rosemary, and the Oil of Pine Balsam to the dry mixture in the bowl and stir thoroughly. Add this entire mixture to the bath while the water is still running and stir the water with your hands till it’s apparent that the Borax and the Sea Salt are completely dissolved.

Now it’s time to claim your just reward. Slip into the tub and journey back to your earliest moments of sensation. Give your conscious mind a rest, and allow your unconscious feelings free rein. Soak for at least twenty minutes, and breathe deeply of the healing scents surrounding you. The essential oils in the Baden-Baden bath are wonderful for restoring the body’s vital energy and stimulating the respiratory system. When you are fully relaxed you may use the Loofa Mitt to invigorate your skin and circulation. Do not use soap with this bath. If you can, let your skin air dry before you dress.

Clan of the Cave Bear Spa

The Clan of the Cave Bear Spa is a powerful, healthful ritual designed to purify the mind and body. Enter this prehistoric spa for a transforming retreat from the outside world. It will prepare you to embrace new situations with grace, and help you to accept life’s challenges with courage and confidence. Once you have experienced its magical properties, you will return to this spirit-renewing ceremonial spa again and again.

One-Quarter Cup of Powdered French Clay
Sage Smudge Stick
Pine-Scented Soap
Loofa Mitt
Pumice Stone

Warm your bathroom ahead of time so that you’ll be comfortable outside the bathtub during the spa ritual. Prepare your Clan of the Cave Bear mud pack by mixing the Powdered French Clay with enough water to make a slight runny paste. Take off your clothes, tie back your hair, and slather the clay on your face, neck and upper chest.

While the clay is drying and drawing impurities from your skin, light the end of the Sage Smudge Stick and wave it in the air for a minute or two until the bathroom is redolent with the earthy scent of the burning herb. Smudge sticks, widely available at health food stores, are bundles or herbs tied together tightly so that when lit, the stick will smoke rather than burn. Sage was burned ritually by North American Indians to purify and cleanse the environment. It symbolizes the virtues of strength and wisdom, and the forces of the earth that can be summoned to counteract negative thoughts and influences.

Extinguish the smudge stick and fill the tub to the top with comfortably hot water. By now the clay will have dried on your skin, so you may climb in and submerge yourself. Splash water over your face and neck to soften the clay, and wash it off your skin with the Pine-Scented Soap. Pine has a powerful resorative scent that brings to mind positive, secure experiences. After ten minutes or so, scrub your skin with the Loofa Mitt to remove dry, dead cells and smooth your body all over. Continue to soak for another ten minutes or so.

Now, pull the plug and let the water drain out of the tub around you. While you are waiting, rub the Pumice Stone against the rough areas of skin on your elbows, feet and hands – anywhere there are calluses to be smoothed away. When the tub is nearly empty, turn on the faucet to a cool temperature and squat in front of it, splashing water over yourself to rinse off.

You will now glow pink all over, purified from head to toe, mentally and physically. Rub your skin vigorously with a rough towel and let yourself air dry completely before you dress and emerge into the world, a more powerful entity.

Copyright © 1991, Maribeth Riggs