Water is the most therapeutic of elements: its buoyancy lifts the spirits and its all-over embrace gives freedom to body and mind. Having a bath together is a great way to relax before making love. When sharing a bath, make the mood luxurious by lighting candles and scenting the room with a sensual essential oil in an oil burner. Jasmine, ylang-ylang and rose are both soothing and stimulating. Gentle music turned down low and a deep tub full of warm water piled with your favourite bubbles will help wash away the tensions of the day along with dirt and grime. Revitalizing weekends splashing about at a health spa allow some couples to get away from it all to enjoy facials, mudbaths, saunas, seaweed treatments, whirlpools and steam therapies, but you can pamper your partner with some of these treats inexpensively at home.

The Japanese practice of taking a hot bath followed by a brisk cold shower can give a tingling feeling of all-over vitality. Or, while your partner sits in a bath perfumed with oil of basil (good for headaches, anxiety, depression and fatigue), make him a face pack of avocado mashed with a little olive oil (you can lick it off afterwards), and put cooling slices of cucumber on his eyes. Try a seaweed body mask (many seaweed products are available commerically) followed by a long soak, then a refreshing shower and a brisk towel massage. Wrap him in a thick warm towel, then use another to rub him dry from ankles up to buttocks and hands to shoulders. Dry his back by holding a towel behind him and pulling on it from side to side, and pat any remaining damp skin gently dry.

Another way to enjoy water together is to shampoo your partner's hair. Wet the hair thoroughly and rub a blob of shampoo between your palms. Massage it gently into the scalp, describing little whirling motions all over the head. Squeeze the suds through from the roots of the hair to the tips, rinse thoroughly, then dry lightly with a warm towel. Take a tip from the animal kingdom and rediscover the delights of grooming each other — an art most humans now feel they have to pay for.