Posts tagged infrared sauna
Self-care at The Wellness Refinery with Elle

Originally posted by Elle Levi on She Comes To Life Blog

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If you’re due for some self-care, you came to the right place! This past Friday my friend Ryann & I spent our morning at The Wellness Refinery in Olde City, Philadelphia. Let’s just start by saying this place is SO stinkin’ cute and 100% Instagram-worthy!

As soon as you walk inside you’ll notice the Tonic Bar where you can order lattes and smoothies fortified with adaptogenic herbs, healing mushrooms and superfoods to enhance your overall functioning.

After a stressful week, I was so excited to check out the Infrared Sauna. An infrared sauna is a dry heat sauna that doesn’t use steam. It’s much more sustainable for you to stay in longer. It’s different from any other dry heat sauna because it has infrared lights to heat the cabin which mimics the infrared light waves from the sun. Our bodies absorb those light waves to reach our cells and help them regenerate.

Some benefits of using the infrared sauna are muscle pain relief, detoxification, stress reduction, restful sleep, weight loss, immunity-boosting & skin purification.

 
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The infrared sauna also uses chromotherapy light to stimulate the senses, the body, and the mind. There are about 6 different colored lights you can cycle through – we put ours on auto for most of the session. Each colored light focuses on something else. We started with orange since it’s great for muscle cramping + spasms, and since we workout a lot, this was extremely beneficial.

The infrared sauna is located at the upper level. As soon as we made our way upstairs, we had ice-cold water awaiting us, fresh towels, face towelettes, and even a cute handwritten welcome sign, how cute! Another perk about this sauna, in particular, is that you can connect your phone to the speaker and play music/listen to a podcast or whatever you like during your session!

We changed into our towels, put some music on, and just relaxed. A 30-minute session was just the right amount of time for us. I felt like I was sweating out toxins and stress – my body felt at ease.

 
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After our session, we got dressed and made our way downstairs to the Tonic Bar to sip on some delicious lattes! I ordered the “Super Mocha” with chaga (a type of mushroom), coffee, cinnamon, cacao, cacao butter (for immune support, vitality). All of the lattes are made with homemade coconut, almond, or oat milk! I ordered mine with almond milk – yum.

We left The Wellness Refinery feeling so relaxed and ready to start the weekend. If you haven’t tried the infrared sauna I highly recommend you give it a shot! Especially if you’re like me, always on the go, antsy, and unable to relax and unwind. This helped me a lot. And not to mention, the lattes are a treat!

 
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“Happiness is the new rich. Inner peace is the new success. Health is the new wealth. Kindness is the new cool.”

-Elle Levi @ellelevi Shecomestolife.com

3 Infrared Sauna Prep Tips

New to the infrared sauna game? Excited to get your glow on, but don’t know where to start? Take time to prepare for your infrared sauna with these 3 prep tips to be sure you’re getting the most benefit out of your sweat sesh.

  1. Stay hydrated: Drink as much water as you can leading up to your sauna. And if you think you drank enough, drink more! You'll be sweating in the infrared sauna cabin so its important to keep up with your water intake prior to your sweat sesh to avoid dehydration. If possible, avoid coffee prior to your session as it is a diuretic and can contribute to dehydr ation. Be sure to continue to hydrate after too! At The Wellness Refinery, we provide filtered water for you to sip on before, throughout and after your session.

  2. Wear loose fitting clothes: Jumping into those tight high-rise jeans after you've been sweating in the sauna for the last 30 minutes... we're tired just thinking about it! Wear loose fitting clothes (or bring a change for after!) so that your body can breathe. You'll continue to sweat and detox for about 30-45 minutes after so you want to be sure you're comfortable.

  3. Wait 1 hour after your meal: You'll want your body to be in a rested state while sweating in the sauna. If you have a full stomach, your body will be focused on digesting and less on detoxing. Enjoy your kale salad, falafel or tacos from your favorite food truck (we’re not judging!) at least 1 hour before your session. You can always sip and enjoy a smoothie or green juice from our Tonic Bar post sweat!

Have more questions about infrared saunas? Visit our FAQ page or send us an email.