What a 125° Sauna Has to Do with Grieving
Image source: Tru-Built Construction
As mentioned in my previous post, I'll begin sharing and talking about are specific things that are helping me recover in my own grief journey. These are not prescriptive, nor do they have to work for anyone else. These are things that have worked for me. Further disclaimer, I'm not endorsed by the companies that have produced products or services I've benefited from. It's just me sharing some things that have worked for me in my own healing in grieving. On this first one, I'd like to share something that has helped, which I'm still doing today.
After the first four months of losing my husband, I discovered something called HotWorx. It's a workout place where you do Isometric workouts in a small, three-person 125° infrared sauna. I loved it! It provided my body the much needed physical movement while in a hot environment. It felt so good on my muscles and joints. I didn't have to think about the workouts either because they have short video instructors in each sauna. Some are only 15 minutes, and others are 30. So I don't have to know anything about physical fitness or training; all I need to do is follow the instructions of the video trainers. That took a significant cognitive load off of me while benefiting me physically.
On top of that, I did this with my very best friend. She gets up with me in the mornings to go and spends 30 minutes in a hotbox to work out. We are always grateful we did the workout after we're done. Never regret it. Every time I leave feeling like I can breathe better. That was especially beneficial to me because early in my grief journey, breathing was the hardest thing for me at times. On top of that, this gave me the gift of feeling like I'd already done the most challenging task in the day, and so everything else I did would be gravy. I felt like the movement, sense of accomplishment, and knowing I could do hard things made my grief something I could walk out in this life.
Infrared saunas by themselves are wonderfully beneficial. I feel it has helped me sleep better at night, reduced muscle soreness, helped my complexion and skin overall, and helped against depression. The workouts also help by increasing strength, stretching my muscles, and improving my cardio health. The combination of these things and the benefits of being there with a dear friend have altogether helped me not become stuck in my grief.
I've learned to give grace to myself on the days I miss and choose certain days off when I feel my body needs the extra rest. This was a new way for me to learn how to take care of myself. Another way is that we don't always work out. Sometimes we crank up the heat and simply sit down. We talk about life stuff. We talk about the crazy dreams the night before or the things weighing on our hearts. I could cry on her shoulder, and she was there - consistently.
Losing someone, who was a part of your intimate, everyday home life, affects everything. Having this regular workout has helped me cope with having no one in my home, no one to tell my dreams to, no one to complain to about the hard day, no one to cry with, no one to hug. This has been one of my strongest anchors in my grief recovery. I receive the health benefits of the infrared sauna plus workout; however, I most importantly receive the human connection benefits because of my friend and her willingness to do this with me. This has been one of the most essential parts of my healing process. I still do this. It's been three years now, and I'm always grateful for it. (Not that it's easy!)