On a spring night five years ago, Dakota Hills and Sierra Brashear both drew baths to honor the Scorpio full moon, filling the tub with botanicals, bath salts and essential oils. They then immersed for a 30-minute soak, getting out to air dry so their skin could fully absorb the lingering effects of the bathtub’s contents before practicing breathing exercises and meditation.
The morning after the ritualistic dip, the two wondered if a simple bathing practice could help them, and others, connect with themselves and the cosmos. It started with a name: Moon Bath. It refers to the sacred act of bathing in the moonlight, as well as the ancient Ayurvedic ritual of immersing in water, salt and intention in alignment with nature’s rhythms.
Ayurveda, a historical and natural medicinal practice still widely used in India today, often uses natural plants and minerals for treatment, plus diet, exercise and lifestyle recommendations. And the ritual of bathing has a centuries-old history, too: In cultures and religions around the world, water wasn’t only necessary for washing up, but also represented purity, spiritual well-being and wisdom.
To continue the physical and metaphorical cleansing custom, Moon Bath’s Boulder-based co-creators Dakota, an artist and entrepreneur, and Sierra, a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner who grew up in the Rocky Mountains, created a line of sustainable and organic bath teas, salts, aromatherapy and body and facial rituals that are sold online, directly to consumers.
“We loved the idea of turning our bathtub into a warm tea, adding a little milk and honey, and then steeping our bodies,” Dakota says.
The two friends wrote a book together in 2019, “Moon Bath: Bathing Rituals and Recipes for Relaxation and Vitality,” that guides you through 16 bathing rituals using botanicals (which you brew like tea before adding to the bath water, which isn’t hot enough to extract the medicinal properties), salts and essential oils. The baths correspond with a new moon, waxing moon, full moon and waning moon for each season.
These four phases correlate to each of Earth’s four seasons and the elements that influence them. The new moon resonates with the season of winter, the cold air inviting us to turn inward and reflect. The waxing moon represents expansion and growth, corresponding with spring and the earth element. The full moon embodies summer, a season of activation influenced by the fire element. And the waning moon represents autumn and water as a time of harvest and releasing what no longer serves us as we prepare for the new moon.
Included with the bath recipes, the book contains journal prompts and self-care practices. Dakota and Sierra say they often feel the effects of the change in moon cycle and season in their energy level, desire to be social or instinct to go inward. With moon bathing and meditation, they harness these reactions, balancing the body with the elements of nature and the moon’s energy.
Sierra mentions the Ayurvedic concept of prakruti, one’s mind-body constitution, as a guiding principle for aligning our self-care with the elements within and around us.
“When we know our prakruti, we can more easily discern what is beneficial for us versus what is harmful, and which rituals and practices will bring us closer to balance,” Sierra says. “The moon’s phases are such a powerful representation of these natural forces.”
By understanding the lunar cycle and its associated seasons, Dakota says that “you become more attuned to Earth’s rhythms. And when that happens, you strive to live in harmony with the rhythms, creating space for the natural ebb and flow of the energetic tides within us.”
Moon Bath’s co-creators suggest setting the mood with a soft towel and robe, warm lighting and music before gently stepping into your tub to soak for 30 minutes and relax.
“Self-care is always crucial, and it’s the lack of this awareness that can result in us finding ourselves in a state of discomfort,” Dakota says. “We hope the moon bathing movement inspires folks to reconnect with nature’s rhythms and, ultimately, more with themselves.”