Disclaimer: I’m obviously not a doctor, so this is for informational purposes only. If you have a health condition, talk to your health care provider before doing something like this.
A detox bath is a bath in which you add detoxification agents to help your body move and clear toxins through the skin. It’s similar in effect to sweating through exercise or infrared sauna, but done in a passive way. There are many “how to” articles online for this, so I’m not going to write those specifics here. However, I do want to make it clear to always start with a small amount of your detoxification agent and gradually work your way up to avoid a Herxheimer reaction. Common agents used are epsom salts, baking soda, sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, bentonite clay, and apple cider vinegar.
I started using detox baths years ago for health purposes, as I was really magnesium deficient. But as an energy sensitive person who spends a lot of time doing deep work with people, I started to realize that I was craving them after a long or particularly intense day of readings, especially the magnesium ones. All the agents listed above draw out toxins, but magnesium detox baths also help to restore magnesium levels in the body. And we are virtually all magnesium deficient. (Side note: hotter water is more effective for drawing out toxins, but when you’re using magnesium, if you wish to actually absorb it you want the water to be warm, not hot.) I use Epsom Salts a lot, and I also love these. It’s great to use a few different agents in rotation for maximum benefit.
But my focus for this post is how detox baths affect energy. A client requested this post, and I realized that many people I know could benefit from it. Healers of all kinds, certainly. But even people who are sensitive to other people’s energy (also known as empaths) can use detox baths to “clean off” old energy, negative energy, or other people’s energy from your own energy field. (Wow, don’t turn this into a drinking game where you take a shot every time I say “energy.” Yikes!)
Here are a few scenarios that energy sensitive people might consider using a detox bath for: If you just left Christmas dinner with the extended family and it was as tense and uncomfortable, or there was an outright argument. If you were on public transportation and someone next to you was an emotional wreck, and you’re struggling to shake off how it affected you. If you go visit a loved one in the hospital, and and you can feel the energy of the hospital and the people in it lingering with you. You get the idea.
Some people can just take the bath and get the effects of the old energy “rinsing off” very naturally. I have actually been doing this for the last 20+ years without realizing it. I’m the type of person who can’t ever skip a shower, and it’s common for me to bathe twice a day. As a teenager I wondered if I had some weird form of OCD that only affected my personal hygiene. (And for you astrology geeks out there, I have Mars in Virgo. This is definitely a factor!) But in recent years I’ve come to understand that I need that cleansing ritual to help maintain my own emotional equilibrium. Plus, water is a really powerful healing medium! Even immersing in the ocean or a clean lake is therapeutic. Lake Tahoe is my absolute favorite place to just *be* in the water.
Other people may want to make a ritual out of it. The key here is intention. There are several simple techniques you can try. The first is setting an intention before you get in the bath or shower that you are ready to let go of old energy, negative energy or the energy that belongs to other people, and that the water is going to help you do it. Then there is visualization. Close your eyes while in the bath or the shower and imagine the water running off you and down the drain, pulling with it those energies you’re trying to get rid off. You can add a mantra to this, if you want. For example: “I am releasing from my field all energy that belongs to my friend. I carry only my own energy.” You can use any of these three techniques, or all at once. As with all energy work, the more you do it, the more natural and second nature it becomes.
If you’re in a place or situation where you can’t take a bath or shower, you can transfer these intentions, visualizations and mantras to hand washing. Take a few minutes alone in a quiet restroom, whether at home or out in public, and go through these steps while slowly washing your hands and breathing deeply, all the way down into your belly. It may not be as powerful as a full shower or bath, but it certainly helps. You still have water and a drain to wash away that undesirable energy.
I also want to note that it’s somewhat common for empaths to feel guilty when they cast off the energy, feelings or emotions of others. I remember as a young adult, I felt like my tendency to experience intense empathy for those close to me was a way of helping them. But it really doesn’t. It can give you more compassion and insight into their situation, but that’s it. Anything beyond that and you’re just being brought down with them. The best way to help other people is to be grounded and centered within yourself, in your own energy. That’s where you can offer compassion and assistance that is rooted in truth and calmness. If you’re an empath and you don’t feel guilty and you’re ready to detox bath this crap away, awesome! Detox baths are great for your body, and an essential part of any empath’s toolkit.
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