Home for Baths

Good Morning -

I love me a good soak in a great tub.

Having a tub is one of my non-negotiables when it comes to living space. I've turned down otherwise great rental spaces because the bathrooms only contained showers.

Much like how, from time to time, I need to sit by water and have water fall on me from the sky, I also need to submerge myself in water from time to time and let it cool my sizzling fire-element embers.

When I'm in a dream tub that is nice and deep and attached to a hot, well-working water heater, I stretch out and stretch up and stretch over and do all sorts of yogic calisthenics in the water. I don't care how limber or tantric you are, stretching in water beats stretching on dry land any day.

When I'm done with my gymnastics routine, I lay on my back and sink myself down until my face is just parallel with the water's surface (because, well, I can't breathe under water yet...) and listen to my heart beat through my submerged ears. Nothing centers me more than to just sit and focus on my heartbeat pounding through my body (usually the water is hot enough that, not only can I hear my heartbeat, I can feel my heartbeat).

I have discussed purchasing a stethoscope so I can listen to my heart beat whenever I want, but doing so wouldn't eliminate the need to soak in the tub from time to time.

Nope - I need a good, hot soak from time to time. It's that simple. Sometimes I add some Epsom salts or bath powders or honey or maybe a shake or two of an essential oil, but the key is the deep, hot water. Never is the bath about any sort of surface cleansing - soap would grey the water with film and shaving would create a little hairs stew, which I definitely wouldn't want to soak in.

We have a pretty good tub right now, but I dream of a claw-foot tub that I could attach a grey-water hose to because I know, I know just how much water I consume in my soothing soaks. I know.

While not being claw-foot, the Kohler tub pictured in the Virgen is pretty fantastic. I don't need it rowed down a river by a gondolier like the ad depicted, but it does have a great, deep basin and the faucets on the side eliminate the need to use one's toes to turn the water off and on. I could definitely do some good stretches and get some good heart time in that tub.

Here's to that. Here's to water calisthenics. Here's to heart time. Here's to recycling tub water and here's to good, hot, deep soaks from time to time.