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Summary
On episode 161 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Paulette Sherman, a clinical psychologist, Reiki master, and life coach who has written more than 20 books, including The Book of Sacred Baths.
Paulette distinguishes a sacred bath from an ordinary one: it’s not about washing, it’s a short ritual for mental, emotional, and spiritual reset that borrows from bathing traditions across nearly every culture, from Russian banyas to Jewish mikvahs to Cherokee water ceremonies. Each ritual combines an intention with prayer, meditation, visualization, essential oils, and a crystal, all pointed at the same goal, followed by tea and journaling to carry the insight into the rest of the day.
Allan and Paulette walk through three specific baths, self-care, return to peace, and commitment, and discuss why naming something a commitment rather than a resolution changes how seriously people treat it.
Links
- https://sacredbathing.com
- https://dr.paulettesherman.com
Key Takeaways
- A sacred bath is not a hygiene routine. Paulette recommends washing and shaving before or after the ritual, so the bath itself stays focused purely on mental, emotional, and spiritual reset.
- Ritual bathing appears across nearly every culture. Russian banyas, Turkish hamams, Jewish mikvahs, Japanese sentos, Cherokee water ceremonies, and Mayan healing baths all use water and ritual for purification, showing the practice isn’t a modern invention.
- Each bath combines several reinforcing elements around one intention. Setting an intention, prayer to a higher power, meditation, visualization, matching essential oils and a crystal to that intention, and a candle color for the element of spirit all work together rather than as separate techniques.
- Intention is what keeps the ritual from being watered down. Without one specific focus for the 20 to 25 minutes, the other elements, oils, crystals, meditation, don’t have anything concrete to reinforce.
- Oils and crystals are chosen to match the goal of the bath. Lavender for peace, jasmine for self-confidence, rose quartz for self-love, and black tourmaline for grounding are examples Paulette gives, framed as symbolic and enjoyable additions rather than medical treatment.
- Journaling afterward bridges the ritual into daily life. Sitting with tea and writing down whatever guidance or self-care habit surfaced during the bath, then tracking progress over time, is what turns a relaxing 20 minutes into an actual behavior change.
- Commitment is a stronger word than resolution or willpower. Paulette and Allan agree that people forgive themselves for breaking a resolution but hold themselves to a higher standard once something is framed as a commitment, which is why the commitment bath has you name what you’ve already succeeded at before setting a new one.
- Self-care doesn’t require finding new time in the day. Paulette built her ritual into a bath she was already taking as a busy working parent, showing that stacking a new practice onto an existing habit makes it realistic to sustain.
“This is not just a book about baths. This is an experience and this is a gift to yourself.”
Paulette Sherman
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