changing our winter & our lives

it was monday. we had come back from michigan the day before, and i had just finished a long day at work (but it was only 3pm - i started work at 6am). alex texted me an address and said "meet me here as quick as you can." so i hopped on a bus, then another bus, and 45 minutes later we met up. as soon as we started walking, i put the pieces together. alex was treating me to an afternoon at our friend abby's house. this was joyous and healing and amazing for three reasons:

1. she's got a three-legged cat with no tail named arpeggi, who is actually the coolest cat i've ever met (sorry, lulu)

2. she cooked us dinner

3. two weeks prior she purchased a personal sauna, and she let us try it out

this personal sauna is a freaking miracle. as i discussed in posts from winters past, that season is most difficult for me not just because of the lack of daylight, or the snow. but i feel the cold on a deep level of often physical pain that doesn't touch other people. i don't feel like myself, and my body can never seem to relax, no matter how many hot yoga classes i go to every week. but i sat in this tiny, hot tent for 20 minutes and afterward my body felt totally renewed. i felt energized, but also calm and grounded. my muscles relaxed, and i felt loose and comfortable in my body. i loved every minute. alex tried it, and he felt different afterward too. we discussed how abby felt after doing it consecutively and routinely for two weeks, and she said she already noticed a difference in her mood. so we went home, convinced this was something we had to bring into our lives before winter began.

the saunas are very reasonably priced (this is the one we bought). we also ordered a bamboo stool and anti-microbial spray. abby has a small back deck off of her apartment, which serves as a perfect venue for hers. our situation, however, is slightly more tricky. we ended up rearranging our bedroom to create a little spa nook in the corner. while the saunas aren't the most aesthetically pleasing apparatus, we think we did an okay job. it also gave us an amazing excuse to work on a room that we've been putting off dealing with for two years. the bedroom has always been our biggest eyesore, and we finally feel a little better about it.

we've had the sauna for almost three weeks now and are loving it. right after we got it the weather took a pretty drastic turn, and it's been a huge mood-booster for both alex and i. surprisingly, i find that i like it best in the morning. it helps set an invigorated tone to the rest of my day. i typically use it right before bed, though, and it helps me warm up, relax, and clear my head before sleeping. we'll definitely be talking more about how we are incorporating this ritual into our weekly lives, and also about how we feel it's helping us cope with winter or helping us in general. i am really excited to see what the sauna does for us.