HEALTH || Here's What Happened During My First Infrared Therapy Session
It seemed like a creative way to spend some time alone AND detox at the same time, given all my usual fitness classes are canceled due to covid.
Here’s what happened during my first 45-minute session.
I skipped and jogged towards Shrink Wrap Urban Sweat Lounge located in Yaletown, Vancouver, on a sunny Saturday morning (because I was running late I had to pick up the pace).
By the time I got there, I am already sweating a little.
I checked in with the receptionist and was shown to one of the individual treatment rooms, where a Solopod was already set up and waiting.
The attentive staff gave me an extra 5 minutes on the clock so I could get undressed and slip into the Solopod.
45-MINUTE INFRARED HEAT THERAPY EXPERIENCE
With 45 minutes on the timer, I was comfortably settled in with my AirPods in and playing a relaxing playlist on Spotify.
10 minutes into the session, I was surprised that my entire midsection was already covered in sweat, and even though the pod only goes up to just below your shoulders, you will definitely feel the sweat on your brow.
At 30 minutes remaining, my entire face was sweating and so was my scalp. Needless to say by this time my entire body was sweating — hard. It’s also at this point that I think to myself: “there’s still 30 minutes left, how much more can I possibly sweat?”
With 25 minutes left, I decided to flip over. You can flip over onto your side or back as many times as you want, but I treated it like when you are tanning, I usually don’t move around too much, because I believe in letting the sun work its magic. Here I’m letting the infrared work its magic to help me burn fat and destress. By this time I feel like there’s sweat exuding from every single pore in my body. It feels amazing because I haven’t had a good sweat in SO. LONG!
To provide a bit of context, I used to go for yoga twice a week and also go kickbox once per week, where I get to sweat a fair bit. To sum it up, I have really, really, truly missed the feeling of a good workout sweat. Also, what better way than going for an option where you could be lying in bed the entire time while the infrared helps you burn as much as 600 calories in one session?
I glanced at the clock and with 15 minutes left sweat is dripping off my face. What a workout!
As this was my first session, I was surprised to learn that you could also choose an infrared “colour”, and each colour has a different benefit. You can find out about the science behind Chromatherapy and the benefit of each different color on Shrink Wrap’s Chromatherapy page. For example, Strong Pink can help to eliminate impurities in your bloodstream, while a Strong Blue lubricates joints, helps address stress, nervous tension, and infections. Given I had put on some weight during the lockdown from all the baking I did at home, I went for the most popular Red option to burn fat.
Next time I would try the option to reduce inflammation and see what happens.
An individual treatment room with Solopod. Photo: Shrink Wrap
FAQS I RECEIVED AFTER MY SESSION
After my friends saw that I had gone in for my first infrared heat therapy session, they all had questions. I’ve summarized my responses below.
Did you lose weight? I am writing this article the day after my first session and I feel great, in terms of my body feels lighter with less stress and anxiety, my waist and inner thighs do look (to my eyes) noticeably more defined. This may be due to the loss of water weight from sweating, but this is what I observe after the first session after 24 hours has passed.
The heat from infrared therapy also gives you a metabolism boost and continues to help you burn calories for up to 36 hours after your sweat session.Is it comfortable? I have described the 45-minute session in a lot of detail above, so you can see at which point the sweating becomes a relaxed sweat to a ‘profuse’ sweat, but the end result feels invigorating.
Do you gain all the weight back? From my perspective, the key benefit of infrared therapy are the other health benefits like reducing inflammation, relieving stress, getting a better night’s sleep, and just giving me the amazing sweat session I’ve been craving for months.
Reception area with bright sunlight
KEY TIPS FOR YOUR FIRST SESSION
Sweat in as little clothing as possible. Both for hygiene reasons and because you WILL sweat through anything you wear. I would recommend wearing a bikini bottom.
Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! Before hopping into the SoloPod, drink lots of water. I’m not saying the morning of, but try to hydrate properly even the day before by drinking 8 glasses of water. Personally, I drink 8+ glasses of water per day. From my past experience with other types of ‘workouts', if you are well hydrated, it also helps you expel toxins from your body via, you guessed it, sweating it out.
Eat a light snack before hopping in for your session. Since you are burning as much as 600 calories during your session, you want to make sure you aren’t running on empty. I had homemade peanut butter bread with butter (tasty I know, recipe to come next week!)
Want to learn more about infrared technology, how it works, Covid safety measures on-site, and how you can book your first appointment? Visit the Shrink Wrap Sweat Lounge website for all of this information and more!
