Sweatin'

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘sweat.’ Does it dredge up nasty visuals of hairy locker room guys? Maybe the visual you got was someone in a t-shirt with those telltale signs of pit sweat. Whatever leapt to the forefront of your mind, I’m sure it applies.

Did you know that the average person has around three million sweat glands that release fluids to keep the body cool? When we sweat, it is because we have become active, it is hot, or because we are stressed or anxious.

I recall thinking to myself years ago that I thought it was strange that I really never sweated. Is ‘sweated’ even a word? Either way, I didn’t. I was an avid baseball player, I jogged for about a month one time and even joined a gym where my reward after a terrific (but hated) workout was something greasy from a fast food place on the way home. Defeating the purpose? Ohhh that and far beyond.

Years later, when I started really paying attention to my health, I wondered why I didn’t sweat. The realization came to me one day when I was sitting in an infrared sauna.

Someone had suggested that I spend some time every day in one to help detox my system during a crucial time in my wellness. I have to admit it was a great experience that did wonders for me. Not only did I love the relaxation time, but it really improved my health…..but I remember not sweating and wondering why.

Hubby and I sat in the sauna that first day and it took him about 35 minutes to start sweating noticeably. That first day, I was in the sauna over an hour – I definitely felt it was hot in there, but I didn’t sweat.

The second day, I started to get clammy skin roughly half an hour into the experience. Were my pores so clogged with garbage that I physically couldn’t sweat? I had no clue, but that seemed logical to me at the time. Was my lymphatic system suffering and sluggish? Again – I didn’t know.

Several visits in, I was sweating my face off – and that’s exactly what it felt like. I initially felt miserable, an indication that my body was purging something. I could have revolted against all of this, but it had been my choice to go through it. Instead, I embraced it all. I thought of the positives to what I was doing.
I highly recommend the infrared saunas! There is a definite wellness element to them compared to standard saunas – feel free to Google the difference between the two.

Saunas are always a great way to relax, but I never had a clue that they could help me detox and get my health back on track.

Do you have a sauna? Tell me about it in the comments section.

 

Relax & Detress.

Hello, my name is Shawn and I’m a thrifty thrift store lover. I can think of no better way to spend an afternoon than getting amongst the treasures of a great second hand store! Thankfully, I have a family that loves the same thing!

Whilst thrift store shopping, I found a great book titled, ‘1001 Ways to Relax’ by Susannah Marriott. I am all for relaxing and never used to be able to do it.

So, every now and then I’ll grab a hint from her book and let you know what I’ve discovered. Her first suggestion in the book??

De-stress. Sounds great!

Find a way to quelch the chaos – even if it means telling others that you need to pull back on the hectic schedules and re-establish some structure instead of feeling like the roller coaster is heading off of the rails. We all have to do it – but once we do, when the dust settles, we are better for it – and far less stressed.

 

 

In love with the tub pictured? I am too! I found it here.

Some suggestion to deal with stress include;

1.> Think positive – if our attitude is positive, the day will be too. Things won’t get to us the way they do when we always think they will. Practice this! If you find negative thoughts creeping in – get rid of em!

2.> Rearrange your day – to ensure everything you intend to do in a day gets accomplished, rearranging a few things makes a huge difference. Learning to eliminate the things you feel you must do versus what you have to do and want to do takes a bit of time, practice and awareness.

3.> Take a meditation class. This is a great idea – and if you are like my family, where a mediation class would be a 2 ½ hour drive, you use YouTube. It’s there for a reason.

4.> Morning meditation. Imagine your thoughts as a projection on a screen, then imagine a blank screen. This allows us to reconnect with our positive side, brushing away the useless thoughts and focusing on the true intentions of the day.

 

Taking time for ourselves isn’t something we can shrug off – it is a necessity.

I used to be the type of person who would arrive home with a headache after work, have a nap after eating a heaping helping of some sort of micro-waved garbage and then lay around all night, miserable and in physical pain. I thought taking a day off from life and getting some ‘me time’ wasn’t deserved or warranted. I had a lot of confused thinking about stress and how to deal with it – especially since I didn’t believe I had any in my life.

There are so many wonderful ways to relax in this book – 1001 to be exact!

More to come soon!