4 Easy Ways To Make Shower & Bath Time Sacred

Creating sacred space in our lives is always a topic of interest for us at Shanti Yoga Training School and LIFE ON EARTH PODCAST

Today we have a special guest blog on 4 Easy Ways To Make Shower& Bath Time Sacred by one of our beloved yogini's 200 Hour Shanti Yoga Training School graduate Sonja Haile, who is the founder of Satya Sage - Sonja creates beautiful candles, oils and smudge blends. Visit her website www.satyasage.com and treat yourself.

4 Easy Ways To Make Shower & Bath Time Sacred

Often times a busy schedule can deter you from slowing down and enjoying little things in life. We have to cleanse ourselves in the shower or bath, though… Why not be a little extra and make the most of it? Below I’ve put together a few suggestions that will bring your inner goddess out during bath time:

Clean Space – A clean, uncluttered space is the ultimate foundation of a clear mind. Take the time to recycle empty shower gel bottles or anything that no longer serves you in your bathroom space. Wipe off the bathroom countertops and sink, sweep the floor, and make sure everything is sparkling before you step into the tub.

Palo Santo – Palo Santo is an ancient practice used to remove negative energy and invite good vibes into your space. Light Palo Santo before you shower to clear the space. See our Smudging with White Sage post for details on how to smudge your house. As a bonus, Palo Santo has an amazing woodsy sweet scent. It’s one of my favorite smells, ever.

Candles – It’s not a mood if a candle isn’t involved! You can also use diffused essential oils to create a relaxing, goddess-worthy energy. Lighting candles creates a distinct ceremonial vibe when added to bath time.

Plants – Think eucalyptus, dry roses, and lavender. There’s something about the rich color of plants that’s sure to enhance your relaxation. I love to add roses or lavender around the bathtub, or hang eucalyptus from the shower head for a refreshing aroma while I shower.

From my sacred space to yours, 

Sonja

Healing & Meditating With Binaural Beats

WHAT ARE BINAURAL BEATS?

Many ancient cultures were aware of how sound repetition could be used to train and stimulate our brains, and there are many historic examples of music being used as medicine & therapy, such as the Native Americans and Africans using singing and chanting for healing rituals. Amazingly, even some languages exhibit a connection between healing & music – such as traditional Chinese, where the character for medicine includes the character for music!

Today, modern science also shows us how binaural beats can produce an effect on the train like that of meditation. Binaural beats are sounds in which the right and left ears listen to two slightly different frequency tones, however they may perceive the tone as one (the conscious brain will not detect the difference). Researchers believe that these beats help trigger subtle changes in the brain depending on which frequency pattern they employ:

• Delta patterns (frequency between 0.1 & 4 Hz, associated with dreamless sleep)

• Theta patterns (between 4 & 8 Hz, associated with sleep in the rapid eye movement or REM phase, meditation, and creativity)

• Alpha pattern (between 8 & 13 Hz, encourage relaxation)

• Beta pattern (between 14 Hz and 100 Hz, promotes concentration & alertness)

HOW DO BINAURAL BEATS WORK?

Our brainwaves change in speed, depending based on what we’re experiencing in life. When we’re resting, our brain enters a slow Theta state. When we’re running errands or working, our brain enters a faster Beta state. We cannot naturally control of our brainwave states, but binaural beats can help brainwaves shift into optimal states.

As we mentioned above, binaural beats play one specific tone in one ear and a slightly different tone in the other, and the difference between them causes an audio phenomenon called Beating, which is designed to vibrate at the same speed as the desired brainwaves (for whichever purpose). Then, our brain tries to make up the difference in beating tones by taking the form of the desired brainwave state.

Potential benefits of listening to Binaural Beats include:

• stress relief

• anxiety relief

• increased focus

• improved concentration

• increased motivation

• more confidence

• deeper meditation

• improved mood

Some recommend that listening or meditating to binaural beats should be a regular part of your practice, for 15-30 minutes per day. Practitioners share testimonials such as

“My mind has become clearer and I feel more focused. These beautiful tools gave my meditation a depth and calm that I had not experienced before.”

“These binaural beats transport me to a mind bubble where all of my thoughts are sharp and have clarity.”

Brain Waves & Meditation's Effect

What are Brainwaves?

The brain is an electrochemical machine that emanates electrical activity in the form of brainwaves. Or put another away, all of our thoughts, emotions & actions is a direct result of the communication between neurons in our brains. When masses of neurons communicate with each other they produce synchronized electrical pulses, or brainwaves.

There are five main brainwaves that are divided based on their functions, amplitudes & frequencies:

Gamma waves: High frequency – the fastest of brain waves. These pass information rapidly & quietly and was once dismissed as “spare brain noise” but recently it is speculated that a greater presence of gamma relates to expanded consciousness and spiritual emergence.

Beta waves: Active waves! These place the brain in states of alertness, awareness, extroversion, concentration, logical thinking, and active conversation.

Alpha waves: These waves represent relaxation, non-arousal, hypnosis, and states of meditation

Theta waves: Active when we are day dreaming, dreaming, using our creativity, in meditation, and also during paranormal phenomena, out of body experiences, ESP, etc.

Delta waves: Usually associated with the deepest stages of sleep (REM sleep)

So what happens in the brain when we meditate versus when we are simply relaxing? Science has shown that in states of meditation, there is more Alpha and Theta wave activity. These findings suggest that in a meditative state a person is more relaxed but maintains a sharp awareness. This increase activity is effectively like “exercising” those parts of the brain; building up more branches & connections and strengthening & thickening that part of the brain.  Studies have shown that these changes also linger over time, the more we practice meditation, and even if we stop meditation for awhile the effect lingers in our brains.

Not sure where to start with meditation? We have a gift for you: try our short guided meditation here!