Could a Star-Bathing Retreat Help Calm Your Frazzled Mind?

I lie in an empty Victorian bathtub on heather moorland in the Yorkshire Moors in England’s north. Above me, more and more stars appear as the sky slowly darkens from blue to violet to navy. Beside me, in her own bathtub, my star-bathing guide Gemma leads a meditation.

“Allow yourself to be awed by the incredible sky view that you’re witnessing,” she says softly. “Appreciate that we are here, right now, on this beautiful evening. Focus gently on the sky… and your breath. Just be.”

I feel cold and self-conscious. I am trying to suspend the part of me that is deeply sceptical because I desperately want an escape from the anxiety that has plagued the past three years of my life. A search for relief has led me to wild swimming, drumming, yoga and now to star-bathing – an emerging wellness practice that is being offered in hotels and retreats around the world.

Star bathing is not about identifying constellations, it’s about losing yourself in the night sky; and a growing body of research suggests that it can help calm the nervous system, increase happiness and foster a sense of perspective.