To get away from the bitterly cold Arctic air hanging over southern Quebec on January 22nd we spent a day at the Strom Nordic Spa in Sherbrooke, on the banks of the Magog River. I had been doing a lot of snow removal up till then with my big 28 inch snowblower, often 3 or more hours at a time at least twice a week and my muscles were sore from walking up and down our 600 foot driveway. My body was screaming for some intense massaging. We had two certificates we had been hanging on to for years and, as Phil and Fer had given us another one at Christmas, we thought the time had finally come to take advantage. We decided on the
Lagom package which included a 60 minute Swedish massage, meal and the thermal experience. It was almost -20 Celsius outside when we ventured out after a wonderful massage into the hot tub, followed by the cold water immersion, Finnish sauna, a eucalyptus steam bath, more cold water, relaxation for 20 minutes in the quiet room (no talking!) and back into the hot tub. Based on the concept of alternating hot and cold cycles followed by a period of relaxation this therapy is supposed to eliminate toxins, relax the muscles, improve sleep quality and contribute to overall good health and well being. Well we certainly felt great afterwards, both physically and spiritually and plan to do it more often. Surprisingly the very cold temperatures weren't a factor and we thoroughly enjoyed the day there. If we had had more time we would have stayed longer, which I totally recommend. And now back to the old snow removal...
gws
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| off to the spa! |
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| steam bath, outside temp -18C |
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| paying with Phil and Fer's humungus printed gift certificate |
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| Ben stayed home and guarded the house |
