I woke up the second week of my raw vegan diet with energy levels at an all time low. I needed to get my circulation going and further my detox so I decided to schedule a few hours at the Wi Spa in Koreatown, Los Angeles for hydrotherapy, sauna, steam room and a full body scrub. If you have never been to a Korean spa it goes a little something like this:
You check in and are immediately assigned a locker number that directly correlates to the number on a watch that you are given to wear. After changing, and by changing I mean getting completely butt naked, you go into a large common area that is comprised of a sauna, steam room, hot tub and ice tub. About 40 women of all different shapes, sizes and ages are walking around towel-less going from one area to another. I decided F$!k it and jumped right into the first station which required raisingmy body temperature in a hot tub, which yields loosening muscles and opening pores in aiding the body’s detoxification process. After ten minutes in the hot tub I plunged into an ice bath for cold hydrotherapy. My body temperature immediately dropped and my heart rate began to quickly rise. Feeling a little nauseous, I decided to quickly get out and sit for a moment while I chugged a liter of water. The last thing I wanted to do was pass out in front of a group of strangers butt A$$ naked! In a strange way though, as nauseous as I felt, it was invigorating to go from one extreme temperature to the next! My adrenaline kicked in, endorphins were pumping and my organs felt revitalized!
The benefits of the hot tub are as follows: It opens up your pores, relaxes your muscles, activates sweat glands which guide in detox, and helps calm the nervous system.
The benefits of plunging into an ice bath afterwards are as follows: It reduces inflammation of the tissues and joints, it increases blood circulation, and the endocrine system organs such as the adrenal glands become more active.
I decided to meander the rest of the facility which is when I stumbled upon the three different infrared saunas: the jade room, the salt room, and the clay room. I wandered into the Jade infrared sauna which was designed beautifully and intricately with jade mosaics. Small jade rocks were laid out in a sand-box area. I walked in to find people lying down who were much to my surprise, napping and snoring. I chuckled a little myself until after 10 minutes I too was knocked out for a solid 20 minutes. The room is heated to 127 and the rocks are warm against your body which soothes your muscles and the infrared penetrates deep inside layers of your body to release toxins stored in your fat tissue. Jade is considered a powerful healing stone, so it doesn’t surprise me that I felt very calm, relaxed and peaceful after my time spent in the jade room. Jade also guides in the healing of disorders of the kidney and bladder. I felt rejuvenated and ready to conquer my full body scrub!
My mantra going into the korean spa was letting go so when I booked my full body scrub NAKED, I decided to let go and just run with it. The next 30 minutes went a little something like this:
I laid down on this pink bed that was wrapped in pink plastic. A Korean lady poured hot water all over my body and used a neon yellow loofah with a sandpaper-like texture to scrub me from head to toe. Rolls of dark, gray skin began to come off of my body and I at one point wondered if there was going to be any skin left on my body afterwards. I turned in every which direction I was instructed as she got every millimeter of my body scrubbed down to every nook and cranny. While at times I felt uncomfortable and ticklish, I kept coming back to my mantra and repeating all the benefits of the body scrub. By removing the dead skin cells, I was removing impurities, toxins and heavy metals from my body. While in the moment the scrub felt punishing, it was an oddly satisfying experience afterwards. My skin had never felt so soft, I was glowing from head to toe and felt rejuvenated all around!
Visiting a spa regularly helps lower cortisol levels to help reduce stress and lose weight. The Korean Spa offered a wide array of services that I highly suggest anyone try at least once for the experience. Would I do it again? Absolutely! If you decide to let go and step outside your box I highly recommend it. This is why letting go is NOT overrated. If I held on to any insecurities or held myself back from experiencing the Korean Spa because of fear of stepping outside my comfort zone I would not have felt so energized and rejuvenated!