Today, Tammy and I got all hot.
We spent about an hour at Cedar and Steam, a spa/massage/sauna place near Southland Centre. We got to try four different sauna types. Here are the descriptions from their website:
- CEDAR SAUNA – This sauna originated in Finland and is our hottest sauna. Drizzle a little water on the rocks for a bit of extra heat. Make sure to check with the upper bench as heat rises!
- INFRARED SAUNA – Our most popular way to detox – infrared saunas are not as hot as traditional saunas so if you can’t take the heat, this one’s for you. Infrared light has the ability to penetrate human tissue which in turn produced a host of anti-aging health benefits.
- HIMALAYAN SALT SAUNA – Trending! Himalayan salt is best known for its anti-inflammatory properties and ability to fight infections. This sauna allows you to breath in the salty air while sweating which might make you feel like you’re ocean-side.
- STEAM ROOM – The most humid of all the rooms – reaching 100% humidity, our steam room allows you to melt away all your stresses. The humidity has a cleansing effect on the respiratory tract. Try taking the plunge while in our steam room – we’ve added a bit of fun with our plunge bucket!
We started with the steam room, which was very intense and with a strong eucalyptus scent. From there, we went from coolest to hottest and back to coolest, spending about 10 minutes in each. Tammy’s favourite was the Himalayan Salt sauna, the medium heat. I liked that one quite a bit, too. The infrared one was interesting to me. It wasn’t intense, but it was like being in a warm hug all over. It was dry (as in no stones to put water on) and dark. The cedar sauna was too much for Tammy. She left after a couple of minutes and retreated to the Himalayan one. I stayed longer. That one had a one-way mirrored window that looked out onto the traffic on Macleod Trail, which was interesting to watch.
At the end, we had quick showers and dressed and were on our way to Southland Centre Mall for a bit of lunch at IHOP and some quick Christmas pickups.
The genesis of today’s activity was me watching a show called Limitless with Chris Hemsworth on Disney+. It’s a show where Thor 🔨 gets put through the wringer by scientists and experts in various areas. It’s a lot about ageing and how to be healthy and strong for the long haul. Episode 2 was called “Shock” and focused on the shock of hot and cold, specifically the cold of Norway and traditional saunas and their effects on the human body. Tammy watched a bit of it, and I was curious about what it would be like to have a sauna. Turns out it’s an area of home improvement: you can even order home sauna kits from Home Depot. We don’t have the space for one (without making changes, anyways) but it was interesting to poke around on the Internet. Tammy found Cedar and Steam online and booked us a time so that we could try some different sauna types out.
Overall, my impression of today was pretty positive. It was expensive (about $75 for the two of us. We had two hours, but we were “done” after one.) but I can report that the mental and physical aspects of it were really quite refreshing. It was meditative. I don’t know if we’ll go back, but I enjoyed the experience.
