Infrared saunas. Have you been thinking about trying one? I was first introduced to this type of treatment at The Pearl in Laguna Beach. My friend Jennifer encouraged me to go to this weeklong retreat, full of beautiful hikes, yoga, and clean food. I love it so much, and I did it as a personal challenge. I had been in a lot of pain from chronic Lyme, and I had no idea if I could go the distance. But I had simply had enough limitations. I hit the wall and said to myself, I need to push harder right now and put mind over matter, and feel some normalcy in my life.
So, I got my hands on some Naproxin prescription grade stick-on patches and every morning put them all over my feet, took an over-the-counter pain relief medication and set out on the 3 hour hike. I was always coming in last but I took “one step at a time” and had a magnificent journey. At the end of the week I was shocked to hear I had hiked over 60 miles total! Challenged accepted and slayed!!!
Each afternoon, we were welcomed to take an Infrared sauna treatment. I had no idea what I had been missing! In addition to the instant joint pain relief, I began experiencing other benefits like detoxing through sweat, increased metabolism, immune system support and better skin. Daily sauna sweating can release heavy metals such as lead, mercury, nickel, cadmium and stored chemicals from medicine. Infrared saunas have been shown to affect the autonomic nervous system by putting the user in the parasympathetic (rest and digest) state, allowing the body to heal and restore itself. They relieve inflammation and soreness by increasing blood circulation and allowing the deep, penetrating infrared heat to relax muscles and carry off metabolic waste products while delivering oxygen-rich blood to the muscles for a faster recovery. It also helps warm the muscles for greater flexibility (some people even do hot yoga stretches in the larger saunas)! The Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia found that infrared sauna therapy can help keep blood pressure within healthy levels, lower cholesterol, reduce chronic pain and be of therapeutic value to patients with chronic congestive heart disease. Need I say more?!
There are many types of Infrared saunas and blankets, and you can see some examples of them on our Shop page (a percentage of our proceeds go to Lyme awareness and research). You will see many price and size options that can fit nearly every budget and space restriction. On a typical 30-40 minute session, you will sweat (typically in the last half) because it’s a DRY heat so it does not have the typical wet steam associated with it. It basically heats from the inside of your body to the outside.
Enjoy this amazing treatment. I found the investment was worth saving up for…now my family members use it just as much as I do!
xo,
Ali
