Rosemary Cleansing Bath
For Emotional Balance and Relieving Anxiety
How to prepare and enjoy a rosemary cleansing bath to promote overall emotional balance and relief from stress and anxiety.
When it comes to emotional balance, rosemary is perhaps the best herb to consider using medicinally. Similar to how detoxing with an Epsom Salt Bath helps remove toxins from our bodies, Therapeutic bathing with Rosemary can be helpful to detox our minds, and facilitate greater brain health.
Rosemary and Emotional Health
How does rosemary contribute to emotional balance?
Research has demonstrated that simply inhaling rosemary aroma lowers levels of the deadly stress hormone cortisol in the saliva. High cortisol levels are caused by stress and anxiety that may be precipitated either by negative thought loops or actual events. Interestingly, the subconscious is unable to tell the difference! In short, cortisol is a very powerful “fight or flight” hormone. Historically, rosemary was well known for its brain-balancing effects, particularly with regard to clear thinking and memory.
Even today, rosemary is sometimes burned in the homes of students in Greece who are about to take exams. When cortisol levels are high, clear thinking is a challenge, which rosemary can help remediate. It is always delightful to see the marriage of old wives tales with scientifically demonstrated effects!
Why a Rosemary Bath?
Is a rosemary bath the only way to enjoy the emotionally balancing effects of rosemary? Definitely not.
However, the pleasant physical stimulus on the skin of sitting in a warm bath is inherently relaxing.This enhances the therapeutic herbal effects.
During warm weather when a bath isn’t so appealing, a cup of a rosemary herbal infusion (warm or iced) may be more desirable. Rosemary is readily available in capsules, tincture, and essential oils for aromatherapy.
I personally prefer and suggest using fresh rosemary as practiced in folklore as the best approach:
Herbal infusion (Summer)
Pouring the infusion in a relaxing warm rosemary bath (Winter)
How to Prepare and Enjoy
A therapeutic bath of fresh rosemary is quite simple to prepare.
Ingredients:
The only thing you need is a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and hot filtered water.
You can purchase fresh rosemary from the refrigerated produce section at your local grocery store! Look for cooking herbs.
There are commonly small packages of fresh rosemary sprigs (like these) available for purchase that cost about $2.
Rosemary Herbal Infusion
With your fresh rosemary ready, simply place 2-3 sprigs in a quart sized jar.
Add boiling water to just below the rim.
Screw on the lid and allow the herbs to infuse in the water for 1-4 hours.
Turn the jar every hour or so if possible.
Soaking Method
Once your rosemary herbal infusion is ready, open the lid and take one or two deep sniffs of the lovely aroma. The infused rosemary water will look like the picture above when it is ready to use in a bath. Notice the light green color of the water. The sprigs will have drifted toward the bottom of the jar as well.
Pour the whole lot, sprigs and all, into a tub filled with water that is hot but not overly so. Enjoy the aromatic and medicinal experience as quietly and peacefully as possible for 30 minutes. I suggest no electronics, especially AirPods or wireless headsets of any kind that over-stimulate the brain. Soothing music in a darkened room lit only with a small infrared light or salt lamp is lovely to include if desired. When your bath is complete, step out of the tub and towel dry without rinsing. This will leave a residue of rosemary oils on the skin for continuing benefit.
Repeat as often as desired!