If you’ve ever settled into a bath at the begging or end of a long day, you know how beneficial it can be for putting both your mind and your muscles at ease. The rituals that go hand in hang with bathing— oils, candles, any maybe some relaxing music—all contribute to the overall experience. But the benefits of bathing go far beyond their ability to cleanse and calm you. In fact, bathing was widely used in ancient cultures as a therapeutic treatment for body, mind, and spirit.
While mineral baths, such as those offered at many spas, have a long curative history, baths that incorporate crystals and gemstones as part of hydrotherapy treatments are far less common. However, doing so is known to help calm, restore, and detoxify the body on a cellular level. Gemstones baths incorporates the healing powers of gemstones—good for detoxing, calming, and energizing—in several forms: actual stones, organic gem powders (such as crushed pearl), and gem elixirs.
The Warming Bath, which is my go-to bathing treatment during the cooler months, stimulates and warms the body while lifting the spirit. Ginger and cinnamon can help raise your body temperature and are enhanced when combined with warming and energizing stones like carnelian, rose quartz, or hematite. It’s perfect for a winter day or when you are feeling a touch under the weather. To heighten the experience, sip a warm water or ginger tea with lemon during or after the bath.
For more recipes, check out Elemental Energy
What You’ll Need:
- Suggested stone(s) and/or ½ cup gem elixir: rose quartz, ruby, carnelian, red jasper, bloodstone, and/or hematite
- 1 cup sea salt or red Hawaiian sea salt
- 1 tablespoon gold colloidal
- ¼ cup sliced ginger root
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 drops sweet orange essential oil (optional)
Instructions:
Begin filling the tub with lukewarm water and add your stone(s). Once the stone is fully submerged, you can increase the water temperature to moderately hot if you’d like. (If you’re using a gem elixir instead, add it once the tub is about a quarter full.) When the tub is a quarter full, add the salt, gold colloidal, ginger, cinnamon, and essential oil (if using) and mix them into the water using your hand. Once the tub is three-quarters full, stop running the water and carefully get into the tub. Soak for up to 20 minutes or to your desired comfort level. Drain the tub and wipe it clean. Remove the stone ad dry it with a soft cloth.
When you try bath recipes, pay close attention to how you feel so that you can modify them to achieve optimal results. Remember: everyone responds differently to certain stones, so finding the ones that resonates with you, and with which you resonate, requires some trial and error.*
For more recipes, check out Elemental Energy: Crystals and Gemstones for a Beautiful Life, available at sjalskincare.com