Sweat Sesh
Yet another brilliant idea of mine involved high heat, thick socks and lots of reality TV. Sweat lodges have been around for ages and are now super trendy and accessible yet again. I snagged a three-sweat session voucher online and happily awaited my upcoming appointment. Walking in I immediately noticed the yogi vibe, lots of ambient light, wooden plank desks and smoldering incense ensuring that whatever happened next would be quite detoxifying. I was given the grand tour, which lasted all of 5 minutes in their cute but very small facility (that West Hollywood rent is no joke) and then given what looked like a county jail plastic tote filled with oversized sweat pants, a long-sleeved cotton shirt and thick socks. After changing I was “tucked in” to a plastic lined thermal heating blanket (imagine an x-ray vest over your whole body) and then propped up to a comfortable position where I would be for the remainder of my 50-minute sweat. I had a TV remote, alkaline water and a call button accessible to me and after a short intro video I binged watched terrible reality TV until they came over and placed a lovely lavender infused cool towel on my forehead towards the end. As far as how it felt…well let me tell you it was disturbingly intense at the end. At first the moderate heat felt great, but as it intensified I was less able to focus on the rich lady trash talk and couldn’t distract myself from the suffocating feeling of being roasted alive. The last 10 minutes were rough and yes, I cheated by unwrapping myself in a dramatic “get me the f@$k outta here” kind of way, only to coax myself back in as best I could once I realized I only had two minutes to go. Afterwards, I spend 15 minutes sipping turmeric tea in their relaxation room wondering why I did that and if by perfect coincidence their smartly written brochure answered that burning question and many more, ensuring me I made a great decision. The rest of the afternoon I felt more energized refreshed and yes, a little lighter. Win.
( Shout out to my friend Hilda for being a good sport and joining me for my sweat sesh)
