Daily Ritual: The benefits of spas and bathhouses
All over the world people incorporate bathing into their day-to-day rituals. In Korea, every neighbourhood has an indoor bathhouse where you can exfoliate, soak, have snacks and socialise. In Turkey, the hammam (or steam bath) is visited by groups for scrubbing, sweating and relaxation.
In Melbourne, building bathing into your routine might mean going to your local pool for a swim or just lying by the water with a book at Brunswick Baths. For something more substantial, visiting a bathhouse like Sense Of Self can be the perfect way to unwind.
Guests who visit regularly often share reflections on the benefits of incorporating the bathhouse into their busy lives. We’ve sketched an overview of some of the benefits of spas and bathhouses they remind us of.
Warm water can reduce stress
Studies have shown that regular bathing can help relieve stress and dissipate feelings of anger. Meditation teacher Tara Brach talks about the need to move from celebrating “survival of the fittest” in our culture to “survival of the nurtured”. Nurturing yourself for success might mean finding rhythms and rituals that enrich your everyday life.
“The difference between a routine and a ritual is that you fall into a routine, and you step into a ritual,” says celebrant Megan Sheldon.
There is something inherently ritualistic about carving out two hours for yourself. In the bathhouse, you can move through different temperatures and experiences, listening to your body and giving it what it calls for. Time dedicated to completing a practice has also been referred to as enjoying ‘suspended time’.
Stepping into a curated space, where the sole purpose is to relax, can bring balance to the strict calendars and to-do lists many of us have in life and work.
Regularly bathing can increase creative thinking
At Sense Of Self, we believe idleness is essential to activity, but what does that mean? Coming to the bathhouse during busy periods of your life can offer a moment to stop, pause and consider what feels like meaningful ways to spend your time. Gather your thoughts and reevaluate.
Rex Jung, a self-described ‘existential neuroscientist’, says that downtime is essential to being creative day-to-day. We need “downtime where your brain is not engaged in ongoing cognitive activity,” he says. “Whether it’s induced by a warm bath, walk, meditation, exercise, yoga.”
Bathing reduces tension
The benefits of immersing in hot water are almost known in our bones. Drawing a warm bath feels inherently good, so why is it so therapeutic to soak?
A few benefits of bathing can include:
Warm water increases blood flow to the skin, which can also open up the chest and lungs.
The expansion of the blood vessels can help relax tight muscles and ease joint and muscle pain.
Soaking in warm water increases circulation.
Our large, magnesium-enriched mineral pool is heated to 39 degrees. Particularly when paired with the cold plunge, these benefits can help create a ritual that feels nurturing and physically brings a sense of calm.
Spas give you time to switch off from technology
There is growing evidence on the importance of taking a ‘digital detox’. It is important to carve out screen-free time in your day. In recent years, ‘self-care’ has become so competitive, this time away from our phones invites not only quiet - but a break from all the noise. At Sense Of Self, there are strictly no phones in the bathhouse.
Your devices can rest safely in the lockers by the front door while you look after yourself. How often can we indulge in two hours away from devices and distractions? Soak it up.
Bathing can give you time for yourself
The bathhouse can be enjoyed alone or with others. In an increasingly digitally-connected world, there is seldom time not only to switch off but to truly be with yourself.
The first and last sessions of the day are often the quietest at Sense Of Self. If you are looking for some silence, our Quiet Mornings can be booked from 7am-12pm as well.
If you’re looking for a recommended ritual, we often suggest:
Booking your two-hour session at a time that feels most restorative for you; a quiet morning or at the end of a busy week.
Enjoying the process of putting your phone on silent and in a locker
Changing and showering in our large waterfall showers
Starting in the hammam if you’ve purchased the Sud & Mud Kit (this preps the skin beautifully for the rest of your ritual)
Enjoying the benefits of bathing in our large mineral pool
Sweating in the Finnish sauna
Rinsing off and hopping in the cold plunge
Sitting in the hammam to soak in stillness
Enjoying the contrast of warm steam and cold water in the hammam
Treating yourself to a cup of relaxing tea in the relaxation lounge.
How you move through the bathhouse may look different for you. Your experience at Sense of Self is unique and entirely yours. One of our values is that everyone is welcome, everyone belongs.
Further reading
Creativity and the everyday brain, Rex Jung on Onbeing
The art of creating rituals, Katherine Brabon
Turkish baths, illustrations by Anna Roberts
Reparenting the self, Tara Brach
Soak and the city, photography by Yael Malka
