HOW TO TAKE A SHOWER

Cleaning your body in a safe and efficient way is very important.  Here is a procedure to follow:

GENERAL IDEAS

1. Cleanliness.  This is very important, so plan on showering daily.  If you are sweaty or do physical work, a second shower is okay.  I do not suggest more bathing than this, for the reasons below.

​2. Yin.  Water is quite yin in macrobiotic terms, so overdoing on exposure to water is not helpful for your health.

3. Chemical exposure.  Exposure to almost all water today also exposes your body to dozens of toxic chemicals and toxic metals.  This is a second reason, in addition to the yin quality of all water, to limit the duration of your showers and baths.

Bathing in a tub exposes the body to much more water than a shower, making the body even more yin.  For this reason, I suggest bathing in a tub at most only twice weekly.  Shorter baths and showers are also preferably for the same reasons.
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4. Sit, do not stand, when taking a shower.  This is for safety and is quite important.  Many people lose their lives due to falls in the shower.  Sitting is also more relaxing, and it allows you to clean your feet much better.

Women with long hair often want to stand up to wash and rinse their hair.  However, a shower stool can be placed so that one can sit and wash long hair in a much safer and more relaxed way.

If you do stand up, do not bend over sideways.  This is often how people fall in the shower.

OUTFITTING YOUR SHOWER

If you don't have a built in shower bench in your shower, I suggest you buy a four-legged shower stool.  A simple one costs about $50.00 in America.  Some stools have only three legs, but these are less steady.

TAKING YOUR SHOWER

You'd be surprised to know that some adults have no clue on how to wash and take a shower.  The following are suggestions to consider: 

​1. If possible, warm up the bathroom.  This will help you relax and enjoy your shower more.

2. You can turn off the water when applying the soap. Turning off the water while you soap up reduces exposure to chemicals, and actually helps a person relax in the shower.  The only exception is if the bathroom is too cold.  Then keep the water turned on.

Soap.  Excellent soaps are Grandpa’s Pine Tar Soap (a bar) or Black African Soap (sold either as a bar or in liquid form).  These soaps contain souls, although that may sound unusual.  They will go to work cleaning the body in unusual ways.

J.R. Ligett’s bar shampoo is also pure, but not as good as the first two soaps above.  Other pure soaps are available.  Do not use fancy, smelly soaps, as most contain chemicals that are not helpful.

Better brands of body products include Jason, Aubrey Organics, and a few others only.  The rest are full of chemicals, even in the health food store.  

3. Rest a few minutes.  After you apply soap, sit quietly for at least two minutes to let the soap do its work.  If you just rub the soap on and then quickly rinse off, you will not benefit nearly as much as if you sit quietly for at least a few minutes before rinsing.  You can shave in the shower while waiting for the soap to work, if you like.

Be careful, however, if you shave with soap on the body because you will be slippery and could fall.

4. Brush the skin.  After soaping up, brush the entire body with the body brush or loofah.  This can be done quickly, and it need not be painful.  The idea is just to brush off dead skin and gently stimulate the skin. 
 
Start with the head, and work your way down the body.  This way you are less likely to forget an area.  Places most people forget are:

a) the neck – all around the neck.

b) the crotch, especially in back.  Men are sloppier about this than women. 

c) between the toes and all around the feet.  Be sure to do the top of the feet.

d) the elbows, wrists, and behind the knees.

5. Remove callus and dead skin.  If you wish, you can rub off the thick callus that most people have on their heels.  This requires a pumice stone.  Women love to do this, in part because they often wear sandals, while men wear them less often, and care a little less about the appearance of their feet.

Other parts of the feet and body may also have some thick dead skin that can be rubbed off with your fingers or with a pumice stone.

6. Wash your fingernails.  This is quite important, at times, especially if you have long fingernails.  Use a nail brush for the best results.

7. Turn on the water and rinse off.

8. Dry off.  This is best done inside the shower stall or tub.  Just sit and rub the body with the towel.  This should feel good, and is another skin brushing, when done right.  Once again, start with your head and work your way down the body so you don’t miss any areas.  Common areas that people forget to dry are their hair, neck, under the breasts in women, and the crotch and legs.

9. Dress.  While you can leave the shower now, some people like putting on underpants inside the shower.  This way they come out dressed a little, and do not have to walk around naked, which some do not like to do.

​SAFETY
 
1. Never make any quick moves in the shower or tub.  Always move around slowly and deliberately.  If possible, hold on to railings and hand grips when getting in and out of the shower.

2. If your shower or tub is slippery when wet, use a bathmat or paste non-slip strips on the bottom of the shower stall or tub.

3. Be careful in the shower whenever you bend over, or twist your neck.  Some people become a little faint, and could fall over and have a terrible fall.

4. Don’t move if your feet have soap on them.  If your feet have soap on them, any shower surface will become slippery, so get the soap off your feet and body before standing up or moving about.

5. Sit during your entire shower.  This is a repeat of an earlier warning.