Archive for the ‘Leisure’ Category

Hot Tubs, Paper Tigers

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

When you have the ability to come home from a long day’s work, and unwind in your own personal spa, you’ll see the rewards right away, and wonder why it took you so long to make the decision to make room in your living space for this wonderful feature.  A hot tub can add charm and mystique to your days and nights, and it never gets old.  There’s no doubt that the human body loves water, loves to be near it, and loves to soak in it.  Since we’re made of mostly water, the cells respond to it very favorably.  You might never notice all these things going on at the molecular level, and only realize that hot tubs are simply amazing.

It’s a gorgeous feeling when the stress of the day starts to disappear, and your muscles start to relax and respond to the hot water and the jets.  It’s something you can do all by yourself, a solitary treat and retreat away from it all, or it can be a way of inviting more people into your life, and turning it into a party.  With some of the ambient lighting features, you can add a dash of remarkable style and flair to any party, or you could even use the lighting all by yourself.  Relaxing in a spa is a way of reminding yourself that you have arrived, at least for the moment, and being in the moment is all that matters.

There have been some scientific studies of late that suggest that our reflex for fight-or-flight is overdeveloped, especially for the contemporary age.  It is an old survival mechanism that was extremely useful for when life was much more difficult, with threats like wild tigers at every turn, and the lifespan was shorter.  As our lives got longer, and threats of immediate harm became less frequent, the reflex didn’t change.  As a result, we have a tendency to overreact to simple everyday stimuli with the old reflex, which comes out when we’re not necessarily conscious of it.  One of the most effective ways to deal with any pressure is to be in the moment fully, which allows us to respond with clarity and good judgement.  Spending some time every day soaking in a hot tub is a fantastic way to develop the capacity to be fully in the moment, fully present in the physical body, which is a practice that helps to calm this old reflex and start building healthier responses to the events that we come across during our days, whether the tigers are paper or real.

The benefits of hot tubs spas

Monday, September 28th, 2009

I have been reading up on the benefits of hot tubs spas. There is a lot of mounting information available as to the benefits of what they call hydrotherapy, soaking in hot water. The body is very receptive to this hydrotherapy. The hot water is very relaxing and comforting to the body and mind, The swirling jet action of the hot water relieves tension and aching muscles from over work, working out or general daily stress. The heat causes the body’s blood vessels to dilate and therefore increase circulation and blood flow opening the body to natural healing and energy flows. Stress reduction alone will help the body tremendously and the use of a hot tub or spa, coupling the heat and messaging effects of the water together make for a perfect combination for relaxation and body health improvement.

I began to look into getting a hot tub and found there are a lot of choices and prices to choose from. Small single and double tubs are available ready made and you can go up to a tub of any size and shape with a custom one and enough money to afford it.

In my situation I am looking at something on the smaller side. With limited space for it I am looking to put in a tub not larger than about three to four hundred gallons. There is an electrical hook up on my back patio that will accommodate the hot tub but I will need to get the plumbing put in for one. This is scheduled for early next week. Once that is in I hope to have the tub delivered within a month and up and running just in time to take advantage of hot water soaking as the winter arrives.
Blue Adder Use Only

Hot tubs and Spas: Speaking to an Ancient Indian Tradition

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Life takes a gorgeous turn when you decide to bring a new hot tub into your back yard. It speaks of a commitment to pleasure and fun, and marking these as high priorities in your life. Hot tubs and spas are, fortunately, constantly giving back more than you put into them, making their positive effects known immediately. It keeps growing too, and it gets better, where you’re constantly learning new things and experimenting with new possibilities for your backyard parties. Just knowing the spa is waiting for you at the end of the day is enough, but there’s more. Hot tubs have enormous health benefits, and it seems as though new positive news about them comes through the wire every week.

Perhaps it’s no surprise, as hot tubs and spas have been used for centuries, and all over the world. There are various forms of hot tubs, and you could easily include the Roman baths as well as the Onsen in Japan as types of hot tub, in structure or in its effects. And it’s also possible to connect these with bathing rituals, and when the ritual is connected to health, be it mental or physical or spiritual, then there is a relation to portable spas. There are many excellent examples of the ritual use of bathing in India to suggest a link to how we see the therapeutic effects of water here.

There are drawings and sculptures from Karnataka from at least the 13th century that show ritual bathing, and it’s certainly been something in practice for much, much longer. There are many ritual uses for bathing today in contemporary India that could easily connect to antiquity. At the beginning of the year, millions are drawn to the place where the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers meet, to wash in the waters and break the karmic cycle. And again at Pongol, there are many instances of ritual washing for the big harvest festival. This all speaks to the healing powers of water, here used for purification. There is also a huge social aspect to these gatherings, of course, and the feeling of being in the water next to someone you care evokes fantastically powerful instincts. Even if it is just gathering together to watch the Big Game.