Spa Day: The Treatment For Getting Summer Ready
I was feeling icky. Not in a tv commercial for feminine hygiene products kinda way. It was more of an "I devoured a whole cheesecake the other night and now I can't zip up my jeans" vibe. Yup, it happened to me...Too much over-indulging, in things like cookies, cakes, wines, and cheese, and not nearly enough sweating. And suddenly none of my clothes from last summer were fitting. (Did the cleaner's shrink this navy linen jacket? The army green cargos? Nope. All me.)
That's how I discovered something called Infrared Sauna.
After reading online about how, with temps in the 110-125 degree range, it could help me ramp up my metabolism, lose a few pounds of that cheesecake and wine weight, and generally improve my quality of life significantly, I wasn't afraid and was actually super psyched. I mean at one point in my life, I'd taken as many as six Bikram classes a week, so some extreme temps weren't going to deter me or dampen my enthusiasm.
After Googling benefits of Infrared Sauna (What the heck did we even do before Google?), I found that unlike traditional saunas, an infrared one heats the body, NOT the air, which causes the heat to go deeper, into the cells and organs, helping to detoxify, strengthen the immune system, heal injuries quicker, promote minor weight loss (Hooray!), and more. It's also promoted as anti-aging (another obsession of mine), anti-cellulite, and anti-cancer. Check, check, and check. I was ready to sweat!
The only real issue then was where to find one in Rhode Island. My first stop originally had been Urban Sweat at Raffa Yoga in Cranston, where you can definitely unplug (No scrolling or selfies! I definitely would not attempt to take your smart phone in with you. It's a recipe for DIY diasaster.) and unwind in their Infrared. Other local spots include The Spa at The Biltmore in PVD (They got one last Spring.), Spa Fjor at The Viking (I tried theirs out during a Spa Day celebration for my sister's birthday.), and finally, The Bodhi Spa on Thames in Newport (We signed up for their Hydro Therapy, which includes time in the Infrared, and it was absolutely incredible, borderline life changing in fact. Highly recommending if you've never been.)
A Few Tips To Keep In Mind
- I'd definitely say to experience this alone and not with a BFF. Especially at first. After all, your hair is probably going to be up in a half-assed ponytail, you're 1/2 naked, and you're effectively sweating your butt off. Take advantage of the solitary time to maybe meditate on all the positive things the Infrared is doing for your bod.
- Stay Hydrated. Drink plenty of H20 before, during, and after because broken record time, you're sweating your *ss off.
- Infrared will help if you've fallen off the healthy food + drink wagon, but take note, you'll also need to cut out most sweets (including cocktails) and ramp up the cardio if you want to get back into your 'skinny' summer pants and shorts sooner.
Photo Credits: Photos above are from our day at The Bodhi Spa and are courtesy of PattyJ.com.