Blue Hammam

The sun sets behind the walls of our blue hammam. The hanging lights in the courtyard flicker to life as the ambient light fades away. When you venture inside the unassuming stone gates of the hammam, you will find that it is a place of quiet beauty. The courtyard radiates with peaceful activity and the smell of fragrant oils. Lemongrass, jasmine, citrus drifts out from the main bath house. Feel free to take a seat on one of the low sofas nestled in one of the several open air alcoves. The velvet has been dulled by ware, but is still plush and inviting. Attendants pass by this area regularly with steaming cups of apple tea to help relax the body and ease patrons, like you, into a sense of tranquility before your bath. Inside the hammam, an ornate class stone scatters the last trace of light across the water. The corner of the room is a large fountain, it's basin filled with warm water. The fountain's age shows in the patinated bronze, now turn to turquoise by years of flowing water. Roses float lazily on the water surface, drifting and gathering weightlessly alongside the bathers. I have known of this hammam and its wonders for years. And tonight, with great joy, I will tell you about them. However, before I do, I think it's nice to begin with a little wind down exercise. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. So when you are ready, let's begin. So no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to put everything down, to let go of any inner chatter and find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and to be still. And when you are ready, take in a big, deep breath. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, allowing the body to sink down into your bed. Feeling the weight of the body. Allowing thoughts to come and go. Now, imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight. Flowing down through the body. Dissolving any tension, any discomfort, as it begins to fill the body. Starting with the toes, moving up through the feet. And the legs being filled with sunlight. The qualities of warmth, space and ease, as it continues to travel up through the body. Up past the waist. Through the back and the stomach. It's as though it washes away any discomfort. It continues up through the chest and the upper back, into the shoulders and down the arms, all the way to the hands and fingers. A sense of relief in the body and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and the throat. Into the head and face. All the way to the very top of the body, until there is nothing other...