That Year I Spent in My Bath Tub.

Have you ever been hit by a curveball that changed the rest of your story? Let me tell you about that year I spent in my bathtub. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but the truth is, there was a year in which my bathtub was my second home, and bath salts were my best friend. Welcoming our very first botanical bath salts in the studio has me reflecting on how the hardest parts of our stories often become the places we see God do his greatest work, the healing benefits of a warm bath salt soak, and how WE are the greatest advocates of our own health and well-being.

The hardest parts of our stories often become the places we see God do his greatest work. Let me take you back to the spring of 2017 when I had my 3rd son and was months away from the curveball that changed everything. That curveball came in the form of a neck injury while holding my 3 month old. Suffice it to say something was pulled from the top of my head down to my fingertip while talking to a friend at a large group gathering, and I left the friend at the coffee bar mid-sentence and ran for my husband and stroller like Jennifer Lawrence in a scene from The Hunger Games. Through slicing pain, I managed to get out the words in my lowest voice, “We need to leave NOW.”

I’ll never forget when my doc looked me in the eye and said, “You can’t hold your children for 3 weeks.”uuuhhh… say whaaaat???” With my husband going back to work, how was I going to do this “3 under 5 thing” without being able to hold anybody? My doc and chiro agreed to refer me to physical therapy and encouraged me to do all I could to reduce inflammation. 

Cue: that time I spent a whole year in my bathtub.

My main view of my children that year was from my tub. It wasn’t the way I had imagined rocking my new "mom of 3" gig, but it was a beautiful, blurry view that smelled of lavender and sounded like the voices of my children and the whispers of God ushering me into a new chapter of my life. The hardest season of motherhood wasn't the end of my story.  

2017 changed my life in a thousand ways for the BEST. I can’t even believe I’m saying that! Hindsight does us wonders, doesn’t it? My hardest year of motherhood set me on a path to discovering what sustainable well-being and soul-deep healing meant for me. It helped me build daily disciplines of nourishing myself in mind, body, and spirit. It weeded out things in my life that weren’t for me, and laid fresh soil to sew new seeds that WERE for me. In my hardest season, God was doing his greatest work. 

It's a true joy to introduce our first-ever botanical bath salts and the healing benefits they provide because healing is what I experienced from my year of super baths. When I wasn't in the tub, you could find me driving around to massage therapy and PT, icing my neck, cooking leafy greens, taking supplements, and drinking liquid iron because I was severely anemic my labs revealed. I soon grew accustomed to my odd, yet nourishing new daily rhythms, and I don't think my husband ever came home from work without a bag of lavender Epsom salt. After 3 pregnancies with hyperemesis gravidarum, my body was in serious need of replenishing.

So, I became a student of the human body, of MY body, and of how we truly heal, and found that warm salt bath soaks would restore much more than my neck injury.

Submerging our bodies into a bath filled with warm water and salt is proven to be one of the best ways to restore ourselves after a long day. This health-promoting ritual soothes the muscles, hydrates the skin, detoxifies the body, and relieves internal swelling. The macro and trace minerals found in salts can actually be drawn into the bloodstream during a warm bath, which can help to balance out the entire body. Our botanical bath salts have added benefits from lavender and eucalyptus essential oils and earth-given minerals from grey sea salt, Epsom salt, and wild Himalayan salt.  This magic combination works to reduce inflammation and nourish our bodies. Whether we’re seeking silkier skin, a better night’s sleep, or a little detoxification—bath salts can play a beneficial role in our day-to-day routine.  

Fast-forward 6 years later, and my view is of my 6, 8, and 11 yr old making bath salts in my kitchen that will be poured into the bath of someone else, and I wonder: what will their story be? What tender place will these bath salts enter? The postpartum days of healing after a long, hard labor? A moment to celebrate the victory after tucking the last child into bed? A healing remedy for a soar back and neck? I may never know the stories of everyone who uses our organic bath salts, but I know this: choosing a warm bath salt soak is one single brave decision listen to your body, mind, and soul’s need for restoration. Sometimes, taking another warm bath salt soak while your body is putting itself back together is the bravest thing you could ever do.

Friend, if there's one thing I want to encourage you with, it's that you are the GREATEST advocate for your own health. The year I spent in my tub taught me that nobody can make daily decisions to help me heal other than me. It was there, in my Epsom salt baths that I could untether myself from the noise of the world and quietly receive the invitation to cultivate a different life; one that made generous space for nourishment in mind, body, and spirit.

My desperation to hold my newborn baby made me choose that bath, that PT for the umpteenth millionth time. My entire world depended on choices nobody could make but me and me alone. The truth is, my daily decisions would have been a lot harder to make without community and regular check-ins.

Having women who were grounded in their faith and living in a stable and healthy place to regularly check in with kept me going. By surrounding myself with women who supported my wellness goals, I made incredible progress and got back to feeling strong, healthy, and confident.

Now, I'm helping other moms do the same.

So, friend, I’m curious. Have you had a few curveballs come your way over the years, too? Are you feeling more and more ready to make intentional decisions that nurture your mind, body, and spirit back to health?

Are you ready to get your energy back, dive into your seasonal goals (what matters most to you right now), and cultivate a nourishing lifestyle in mind, body, and spirit?

Would you benefit from creating a sustainable, customized approach to wellness that fits your lifestyle and empowers you to live nourished in mind, body, and spirit?

Are you looking for some accountability and encouragement in your faith and wellness?

If you answered yes to all of those questions, then I’d love to invite you to join my Summer Thriving Together Community. All you need to do is APPLY HERE (no application fee) to see if this might be exactly what you need to help you thrive! Consider this your first brave step towards a healthier YOU!

It's a true joy to help YOU thrive. If I can heal and get stronger, you can too, and it would be my JOY to be on YOUR team.

Girl, you’re amazing. Let’s do this!

With joy,

Katie