Did you know you can meditate while showering?
Shower meditation is a clever hack that combines your daily routine with a powerful stress-busting technique.
This article explores shower meditation techniques and their myriad benefits, providing you with a step-by-step guide on how to meditate in the shower.
Can You Meditate in the Shower?
You can meditate anywhere, and the shower is the perfect place to start.
While there are countless places and ways to add meditation to your daily routine, the shower is among the easiest of places to do it.
This is because showering brings all of your senses alive – hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, even tasting!
These elements make an experience more vivid, helping you relax and stay grounded, which is the essence of meditation.
Plus, if you engage in shower meditation, it means you’re likely going to do it every day or often.
Shower meditation may seem weird at first, especially if it’s your first time.
But that is mostly because of the myths which surround meditation.
Here are some of these myths:
- Meditation is for monks and for people who have the special power of being able to clear their minds from all sorts of thoughts.
- Meditation takes hours to do every day.
- You need perfect silence and stillness to meditate.
- It’s hard to meditate.
Meditation is for everyone, and it doesn’t require perfect stillness or silence.
It doesn’t mean that you have to clear your head of any thoughts, and it definitely doesn’t take hours to do.
Whether you take a 5-minute or a 15-minute shower, you can meditate behind those closed shower doors.
Why Shower Meditation?
Why give shower meditation a try?
- You’re alone. The shower is an optimal space for meditation because you’re truly alone and far away from any distractions – gadgets, kids, and a super hectic schedule.
- You engage all your senses. Showers are a full-sensory experience, and a huge part of meditation is intentional awareness of all your senses.
Using your five senses, even taste since it’s hard to avoid getting some water in your mouth when showering, helps bring you into the present moment.
- If you have the time to take a shower, you have the time to meditate. One of the challenges is finding the time to meditate.
But with shower meditation, you can easily fit meditation into your busy schedule, whether you take showers for three minutes or 15 minutes.
How to Meditate in the Shower
Want to give shower meditation a try?
There’s no “right way” to do it, as water meditation in the shower can look different for different people.
But if you want some guidance on how to meditate in the shower, check out this simple technique.
IMPORTANT: don’t try this in the shower if you’re feeling at all sleepy!
Prepare and Ground Yourself as the Water Warms
Start by setting your environment – leave your mobile phone out or switch it off.
Turn on your shower and engage your senses and notice every little thing around the shower.
Hear the sounds the flowing water makes from the showerhead.
Feel the air inside the shower and notice how it starts from cold to warm and feel as the steam fills the air.
Be present, aware of your surroundings, and try to be as calm as you can.
You can do all these with your eyes closed.
Take this time to clear your head and let go of whatever is making you stressed, anxious, or worried.
Focus on Breathing While Feeling the Water on Your Skin
Once you feel grounded, focus on your breathing.
Let every breath fill your lungs, and with every breath, feel your chest rising and falling slowly.
Also, feel the little water droplets run down your body as you continue breathing evenly.
Imagine every droplet washing your body as well as your anxiety, anger, stress, sadness, regret, negativity, or any other feeling you want to let go of.
Try to think of these negative feelings and emotions as dirt that the water slowly but surely washes away from you and down the drain.
Wash Your Thoughts as You Wash Your Hair
This time, wash your hair and imagine it like you are washing your thoughts.
Take the time to massage the shampoo into your hair, feeling how your fingers go around your scalp.
Rinse your shampoo and imagine like it’s you trying to rinse out all of the negative thoughts from your mind.
Feel the water cleanse your thoughts and wash them down the drain, leaving you with a lighter and clearer mind.
Cleanse Your Body and Relax
With your mind calm and lighter, start cleansing your body.
Take your time and feel your soap or shower gel on your skin.
Notice how it smells and how it feels, still breathing deeply and taking a moment to relax.
Start massaging your soap or shower gel from your shoulders and arms and work your way downward.
Make every stroke intentional and with dedication, imagining that it’s you trying to wash away any stress and tension in your body.
Let the water rinse the soap and the stress away.
Just Breath and Enjoy the Moment
Take the final moment to feel the water on your skin, letting it wash away any lingering negative thoughts and stress in your mind and body.
Keep still and continue with your even breathing, take note of how your body feels, and how refreshed you feel after the shower.
Consider this moment, then do one last rinse before you turn off the shower and embrace a lighter and clearer start to your day.
Water Meditation Techniques and Tips in the Shower
How can you make water meditation more relaxing and engaging?
- Create Relaxing Lighting. Calm colors like white, light blue and faint yellow are great for meditation.
But you don’t have to change the lighting in your shower, maybe just dim it a bit.
A dim-lit shower will help you feel more relaxed and concentrated.
- Embrace Aromatherapy. Using essential oils is grounding, which helps enhance your shower meditation practice.
There are lots of ways to include aromatherapy in the shower – putting drops of oil in your washcloth, adding a few drops in your body wash, or hanging a teabag infused in essential oil in the showerhead.
Some of the best scents for shower meditation include:
- Chamomile for calmness
- Lavender to ease anxiety
- Sage for cleansing and balance
- Peppermint for mental focus
- Ylang-Ylang for mood and energy boost
- Sandalwood for emotional healing
- Frankincense, Neroli, or Rose for self-reflection, enlightenment, and spirituality
Can You Meditate in the Shower Daily?
Shower meditation is a fantastic way to incorporate meditation into your daily routine, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t.
It doesn’t require you to spend any extra time than you normally do.
It’s doable even during hectic mornings and evenings.
You’ll thank yourself later for how meditation in the shower can help clear your mind, feel more awareness and sensitivity in every single moment.