The case for… Baths

Photograph by Shaw + Shaw

There are many benefits of immersion: communality, spiritual purification, meditation. I’m not talking about ice baths, which gym bros insist build resilience. I’m talking about a lovely warm bath with bubbles, candles, essential oils, a zen spa playlist… I’m talking about an RnB music video bath. I’m talking about self-love. That’s hot. But let’s be honest, the best thing about baths is they feel like climbing back into the womb.

Showers? Handmaidens of capitalism. Efficient, yes. Slough the sleep off your body, climb inside your penguin suit, buy high, sell low. Don’t live in a big enough space to accommodate a tub?You don’t deserve to lie down anyway. This is the attitude of the shower lobby. Be grateful you get to sit on the toilet. Baths evaporate productivity and melt time.

I know a girl who soaks in a tin bath in her garden, while foxes watch from the overgrowth. Baths carve space for yourself, free from the demands of others. On holiday, we seek bodies of water to get into, which proves the point. Showers exist in nature, too, of course. But do you love it when it rains? Don’t lie. Or if you must, do it in your own filth.

Rhik Samadder is co-running a creative writing retreat in Tuscany, September 20-27th, open to all.