Do showers feel like work to you?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find myself pooling my daily shower into the same category as my house chores. Like sweeping the floor or dusting the bookshelf, it is not 100% necessary, I might be the only one who notices that I did it, and it’s not exactly enjoyable. Not bad, but not great.

Growing up, I’ve always had trouble sticking to a hygiene routine.

It has always been hard for me to feel motivated to floss my teeth, brush my hair, or drink my daily quota of water. To this day, I struggle with all of these things, which is why I have a thousand strategies for each one to help me complete them on a regular basis.

I have gotten a lot better at maintaining personal hygiene and house chores, and it is all because I create systems, games, and practices that help me enjoy them more and stay motivated.

Today, I want to share with you a practice I use to help me enjoy my showers more.

I will be giving tips on how to make your shower routine into a restorative practice so that it is no longer a chore, but something that you can genuinely look forward to every day (or however often you shower). So if you want to know how to make your showers meditative and renewing, read on for some tips on things to add to your shower routine. 

*Full disclosure: I don’t do a full shower every day. I have curly hair, so I only wash it once every four or five days. I do, however, like to have a quick shower for the rest of my body daily. 

Like Routines? Check out these other posts: Your Perfect Fall Morning Routine for a Better Season, How to Do a Digital Detox When You’re Overwhelmed, Amazing Ideas for a Comfy, Cozy Fall Night Routine.

Tip #1: Change the physical atmosphere of your shower. 

If you’ve ever been to a spa, you’ll know that the atmosphere makes all the difference. You wouldn’t want to go to a place that has loud noises and dingy scenery to calm down.

By changing the atmosphere, you will already feel so much more relaxed during your shower time.

Now, it’s not really necessary to go out and do a whole bathroom renovation. It really takes very simple changes to make a bathroom (and the shower itself) more conducive to relaxation. 

Maintain a clean space in your bathroom

Visually pleasing decor will do nothing for you if your bathroom is a dirty mess! Make sure that your bathroom stays tidy and clutter-free so that your shower routine can be done in a clean space. 

Minimize the clutter in your shower

Sometimes all you have to do to make your shower feel like less of a chore is to change the shower space itself. When you fill your shower with every bath product and cleaning tool you own, it can start to feel like a storage space for hygiene products.

I find that clearing out your shower space and only taking out the products you need each time is much more enjoyable.

I only keep two hygiene bottles in the shower. Everything else gets stored in the bathroom closet and taken out when I plan on using it. When I finish with my shower, they get dried and returned to the closet. Not only does this reduce clutter, but it also keeps any shower gunk from forming around products that have been sitting too long, and it even prolongs the life of shower tools like loofahs and razors.

It does take a little extra work to clean up after each shower, but I’ve personally seen a huge difference in how much I enjoy my showers because of it. 

Bring in lighting that softens the room

The nicest lighting for relaxation is warm and soft. You can get this kind of lighting with most lamps and with any candle. It doesn’t need to be expensive. If it’s possible for you, dimming the ceiling lights can also have the same effect. 

Decorate with pieces of nature

This is one of my favourite things to do because it really just requires you to go outside and take things from nature into your bathroom. If you have access to the beach, decor that involves sea shells or sand is nice. If you are from a chillier place, I would recommend actually putting plants in your shower. Yes, real plants that are potted in soil. Just find some plants that can survive in a shower and place them anywhere! It will make you feel a little like you are showering in the tropics!

If real plants are too much of a hassle, you can also get plastic greenery from the dollar store. 

Additionally, if you are wanting plants that offer some extra health benefits, buy some eucalyptus to hang in your shower. The shower steam will activate and release eucalyptus oil from the plant that can help you de-stress and breathe better in allergy seasons. 

Play calming music

Whether you prefer nature sounds, jazz, classical, or spa soundscapes, this step will make a big difference in making your shower routine a restorative practice. Decide on what sounds make you happy and press ‘play’! 

Quick tip: choose a playlist that you won’t have to touch. If you have to keep skipping songs or adjusting the volume, you will end up more annoyed than relaxed at the end of your shower. 

Make the room smell nice

The smell could come from candles, eucalyptus, plants, or even a hygiene product you like the smell of. Whatever it is, try to choose something that makes you smile or brings you comfort. 

I usually like to pick scents that fit the season:

• Spring and Summer: flowery, rainy scents or light, beachy scents
• Fall: pumpkin and apple cinnamon scents, or any other warm vanilla or spice 
• Winter: peppermint, chocolate, or warm vanilla scents, or even smokey, bold scents

Tip #2: Add a little extra body care before getting in the shower

One thing that can instantly make your showers meditative is to engage in a little self care before even getting into the shower. There are a few ways you can do this. You could pick just one, or if you have time you could do all of them.

Moisturize your body

Depending on your preferences, you will want to do this step at different times. If you are using body oil (sesame oil, coconut oil, or another oil product), then it is best to oil your skin before your shower. 

If you are using a cream moisturizer, apply it after your shower before you dry your skin. 

Practice Dry Brushing

This can be a great way to stimulate your entire body and make you feel refreshed even before you hop in the shower.

All you will need is a dry brush and a bit of time. There are lots of inexpensive options on Amazon:

Some people like to do this activity daily but you don’t have to do it every day if you don’t want to.

Here is a great poster to teach you how to do dry brushing at home:

Massage your body, or just one part of your body

This might sound complicated, but it’s really not. Based on how much time you want to spend on this, you could do a few different things. 

• Give yourself a hand massage
• Do a foot massage
• Massage your face with your hands or with a jade roller
• Stretch your body
• Massage your scalp with your hands or a brush
• Pick one part of your body that’s sore and massage that area

While you are massaging your body, be mindful of what your body does for you every day. Practice gratitude towards your body and be thankful for all it does to help make your day easier. 

Tip #3: Play around with different positions in the shower

When I visited Japan, there were a lot of cultural differences that impressed me, but the one I loved the most was their bathing routine. They had these facilities called an onsen, and it was basically a communal bath. It had hot spring water in a small pool, and the room also had a series of faucets with stools beside them. When you walked in, you were expected to clean yourself properly before entering the bath (onsens are highly sanitary). You would sit on a small stool and lather yourself completely, then rinse off, clean your space, and hop in the bath.

I have never enjoyed showering more than I did in Japan.

Every day, I was eager to visit the onsen to take my bath. You may only be used to standing in the shower, but there is something very pleasing about sitting on a small stool and washing up instead. If you are looking for a way to make your shower experience more pleasant, it might be worth it to try out a shower stool, or maybe even sitting in your tub while showering. It might help to make your shower routine into a restorative practice rather than a chore. 

Tip #4: Shop mindfully for shower products that bring joy. 

When you finally become an adult with the choice to buy your own hygiene products, it’s your turn to decide what you personally care to have in your hygiene arsenal. Do you want something more environmentally friendly? Something high-end? Or do you prefer more bare-bones efficiency of a product?

Whatever your preferences are, accommodate them! There’s no need to throw away the budget, but be mindful of what you decide to bring home with you. Don’t just pick up the first body wash you see. Consider if you’d prefer liquid or bar soap. Think about the smell- would you enjoy using it? Or maybe you would prefer DIY products? 

Buy the products that you know you will love. It will not only give you a renewing shower routine, but it will make you less likely to go out and buy more products because you are unhappy with the current ones. 

Here are some products you can think about getting: 

• Shampoo, conditioner, and hair masks/deep conditioner
• Face wash, face exfoliant, and face masks
• Body scrubs, body gel, or soap
• Loofahs, exfoliating gloves, or pumice stones
• Moisturizers and oils for hair and skin
• Razors and shaving cream

Personally, my product preferences are all about simplicity, so the less I can get away with owning, the better. I buy shampoo, conditioner, and razors, and then I DIY the rest of the items with ingredients from my kitchen. You can check out how I do this in my article all about how to use kitchen items to replace bathroom products! 

Tip #5: Meditate on cleaning your soul as well as your body

With all of the distractions available to us, showers are one of the only places where we are free to roam amongst our own thoughts. It feels almost impossible to come out of the shower feeling upset.

Why not take advantage of the time we have underneath the soothing stream of water and try to reap its benefits fully?

Instead of trying to make a to-do list of your day in the shower, try to take that time to reflect on your heart. Search out the parts you want to ‘wash away’ and try to replace them with more positive notions.

Here’s a quick explanation on how to do that: 

• Search your heart for any negative thoughts or emotions
• Ask yourself why you are feeling that way
• With patience for your emotions, let the feeling go and replace it with something positive and loving
• Move on the the next negative emotion and repeat the cycle

For example, the other day, I was feeling upset about a comment a friend had made about my desire to live a quieter, simpler life. I started my shower feeling less-than-perfect, and this is what happened while I meditated on my thoughts: 

• First, I searched my heart and the upsetting memory from that day popped into my head immediately
• I asked myself why I was feeling so upset and angry about the comment
• I realized I was upset because it made me feel ashamed about the simple life I was trying to live. When I said it out loud to myself, I realized that I only felt ashamed because others have tried to make me feel that way in the past. It didn’t mean that I actually had anything real to be ashamed about. In fact, I was proud of the life I lived!
• I let go of the shame and the anger and replaced it with thankfulness for the peace I had found in my own life. I left the shower feeling joyful and proud of who I was.

To me, the act of meditating so intentionally in the shower has deeply affected the rest of my day. Now showers don’t just cleanse my body; they cleanse my soul. It gives me energy to be the best I can be every day. 

Related Post: How To Talk To God: 9 Creative Approaches To Prayer

Conclusion

I hope that this shower routine is one you will try. Making a few small changes to your routine can turn the chore of hygiene maintenance into a restorative practice. You can make it happen today, no matter what your budget or time constraints are. Try it out and notice how much more renewed you feel afterwards! 

How about you? 

Do you enjoy your showers? Are you a morning or night shower person? Any tips on things you can do to make your shower routine better? Comment below with your answers! I’d love to hear from you!