Help us help needy children in the Puget Sound area have a bright holiday.  This year it’s more important than ever that we collect enough toys so that no child goes without. Please bring new, unwrapped toys when you visit any of our stores or the Service Center before December 21^st.  THANK YOU from all of us!

OUR GREATER PUGET SOUND LOCATIONS. Click on the store name for address, hours and driving directions:

SEATTLE

EVERETT

FIFE

ISSAQUAH

LACEY

SERVICE CENTER

Thanks again for helping!

Foot or hand reflexology is a great thing to do while in the hot tub or taking a sauna. It helps you relax and gives added beneficial massage to parts of the body experiencing extra stress and pain.

A terrific place to learn reflexology is Seattle Reflexology & Massage Center. They’re giving a class for people new to reflexology this coming Saturday designed to offer basic reflexology techniques that you can use on yourself and your loved ones.

In Improving Your Health with Reflexology, Karen Carey will present reflexology techniques to help you keep well this fall season and beyond.  Utilizing the reflexology map, specific point work and techniques for common ailments, she will give you ideas of how to prolong the effects of your sessions and to help yourself with issues such as sinus congestion, headaches, back pain, TMJ, fatigue, digestive problems, infertility and general stress.

When: Saturday November 14, from 9 am - 1 pm.

Cost: $60/person or $100/couple.  To sign up: Contact Alida at Seattle Reflexology & Massage Center as soon as possible at (206) 284-8389 to register.  Visit their website for more information about classes and reflexology massages.

Highly recommended!!

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health through Water.

Hand reflexology is not as well known as foot reflexology, but the principles are the same. There are points on the hands that correspond to areas of the body. The following diagram shows those areas.

LEFT PALM

HOW TO GIVE A HAND REFLEXOLOGY MASSAGE: Gently massage each point in turn starting at the head (around the thumb area) and working down across the neck, throat, and chest down to the feet. Hand reflexology has an advantage over foot reflexology because it can be performed anywhere.

There are useful techniques to learn for the treatment of simple every day complaints. (Never use it if there is likely to be an under lying injury, or medical condition.)
Here are a few:

HEADACHE:
If you have a headache you may find that stimulating the top of the thumb and the part below which represents the neck area will help relieve your headache.

EARACHE:
Stimulate the little finger and the ring finger of each hand in turn.

STOMACH UPSET:
Gently massage the heel of the thumb and the area across the center of the hand. If there is pain, stop immediately because this may indicate something deeper that requires medical treatment.

LOWER SPINAL PAIN:
The point where the center of your hand joins your wrist can be stimulated to give relief from lower back pain.  This is a perfect antidote to backache caused by sitting at a computer for too long. Always seek medical advice if you don’t know what the problem is.

Try hand reflexology in the sauna or hot tub. It can’t hurt, feels good and who doesn’t like to hold hands with your partner??  Let me know how it goes!

SAUNA-The Good Sweat.

We got out and watched a Japanese samurai movie until 11. By that time our body temperatures had re-set to normal after being heated in the hot tub.  As the body cools, it’s a signal that’s it’s time for sleep. Sometimes after going in the tub right at bed time, I get so hot and wide awake, I can’t sleep for awhile until I cool off. But Monday night the hot tub soak was perfectly timed.  We slept like babies and woke up feeling really refreshed. That’s one of the top blessings of having a hot tub! Sleep, blessed sleep.

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health through Water.

According to the American Diabetes Association, over 15.7 million Americans are diabetic. Tight control of blood glucose (sugar) levels is the only defense against the many problems and side effects that come from diabetes.
Since November is Diabetes Awareness Month, I thought it would be a good time to shine a spotlight on a serious disease that leads to potentially life-threatening complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputation.

Studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine give new hope to the millions who suffer from diabetes. “Hot tub therapy” helped a group of Type 2 diabetics reduce their blood sugar levels and improve sleep patterns. Hot tubbing was judged beneficial because the effects of partial immersion in a hot tub simulate the beneficial effects of exercise. Physical exercise is recommended for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Soaking in a hot tub is beneficial for Type 2 diabetes according to an independent study done by  Dr. Philip L. Hooper at the McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colorado. He studied a group of Type 2 diabetes patients for three weeks. The patients were required to soak in a hot tub for thirty minutes a day, six days a week, for the duration of the study. The results were astounding! The patients’ average blood sugar levels were reduced by an average of 13 percent. Hooper also explained that one of the subjects was able to reduce his daily dose of insulin by 18 percent after only ten days of the study.

In reference to these findings, Dr. Hooper and others state that hot tubs are especially helpful for patients who are unable to exercise, and recommends that hot tub treatments should be included as regular therapy for patients with diabetes.

Important Note. It is highly recommended that those with diabetes consult with their physicians prior to beginning hot tub treatments.

If anyone you know has diabetes, please share the good news about hot tubbing and help for Type 2 diabetes.

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health through Water.

Studies conducted indicate that profuse sweating in an infrared sauna room produces many beneficial reactions for athletes. Far infrared (radiant) heat creates low‐level thermal radiation that penetrates 1½ inches into the body, stimulating sweating without the feelings of suffocation and the discomfort of high temperatures of standard saunas. It does so by setting up a vibratory resonance between your own body’s infrared emissions and those of the sauna.

EFFECTS OF SWEATING
Sweating by overheating the body produces these effects:
• Burns calories, and therefore assists in fat loss programs. • Speeds up metabolic processes of vital organs and endocrine glands. • Places demands upon the cardiovascular system, making the heart pump harder and producing a drop in diastolic blood pressure. • Creates a “fever” reaction that kills potentially dangerous viruses and bacteria and increases the number of leucocytes in the blood, thereby strengthening the immune system important for fighting colds, flu, and cancer and bolstering resistance to infections. • Excretes toxins from the body, including cadmium, lead, zinc, and nickel. • Stimulates vasodilation of peripheral vessels, which relieves pain and speeds healing of sprains, strains, bursitis, peripheral vascular diseases, arthritis, fibromyalgia and muscle pain. • Promotes relaxation, thereby lending a feeling of well‐being.

Sauna bathing has profound effects on overall health. Interested in long term health maintenance and taking control of your own health?  Sauna enthusiasts consider a sauna as a low-cost, non-drug approach to wellness using the body’s own properties to strengthen health.  Adding sauna bathing to your daily routine is a great way to stay healthy.

Sauna-The good sweat.

An important purification element to the ancient Maya was the sweat bath, or zumpul-ché. Similar to a modern day sauna, sweat baths were constructed of stone walls and ceilings, with a small opening in the top of the ceiling. Water poured onto the hot rocks in the room created steam, offering a setting in which to sweat out impurities. Sweat baths were used for a range of conditions and situations. New mothers who had recently given birth would seek revitalization in them, while individuals who were sick could use sweat for healing. Mayan kings made a habit out of visiting the sweat baths as well because it left them feeling refreshed and, as they believed, cleaner.

Ancient technique? Ancient rituals? Will they work for you? There are hundreds of documented studies on the healing properties of hyperthermia-immersion in high heat for health.  What modern technology has added to the idea of sweat for health is the ability to study the results-not take them on faith. And, of course, the convenience of having one at home that’s ready anytime you are!

Saunas-the good sweat.

Dear Alice:

In 2007, I was exposed to an array of toxins at the workplace.  I was seriously ill for months. When I began getting out and about again, I found that I felt slightly better after using a sauna at the gym.  In March 2009, I visited your Seattle store to learn about your saunas and I bought a small Finnleo Saunatec infrared sauna.  I soon had to upgrade to a larger one in which I could lie down.  It was so effective.

I concur with other people who suffer from chemical sensitivity: frequent use of the far infrared sauna can help in the recovery process. I have also lost almost 15 pounds since buying the sauna, and I was not overweight to start with.  I credit the sauna with much of that weight loss.  I use the sauna 5 times a week.

My recovery was also due to a healthier eating plan, and I have a contract to write three inspirational books on health and diet; the first is enclosed:”Change Your Eating, Change Your Life-A Guide to Healthy Eating” by Jane Ross Potter published by our Little books-Little books with a big message.  If I can help promote saunas for alleviating the effects of chemical injury, please keep me in mind!

Sincerely,
Jane Potter
Seattle, Washington

Thanks to Jane for writing and sharing her story. I am so glad that she has found the key to wellness after such a long period of suffering-two years!  Her story is a true testament to the health benefits of an infrared sauna .  She has agreed to be a resource for anyone suffering from toxic chemical exposure. Her contact information is available on request.  I especially urge anyone who is suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, which in some cases can be the result of toxic chemical exposure,  to explore the use of a sauna  to aid their recovery.  Please share this post with anyone you know who is suffering from toxic chemical exposure.

The good sweat starts with a Finnleo Sauna from Olympic Hot Tub Company.

One response: “Sauna and Turkish baths are supposed to be good for you for purifying the body and improving the body’s immune defenses. Belly dance is a gentle form of exercise that helps strengthen the core muscles and it is very good for back and posture.”  I can verify the truth of this last statement. My cousin is a famous belly dancer in the Plaka in Athens, Greece. Her stage name is “Miss Rina” and always introduced as “The lovely Miss Rina”.  At 68 she has marvelous stomach muscles and posture to die for.  And, yes, a sauna does help you detoxify and does boost the body’s immune system.

The second reply: “You get in shape and get nice skin” is equally valid.  So belly dancing and taking saunas is a twofer worth looking into.  Let me know if you’re doing both and how they’re working for you!

The good sweat starts with a Finnleo Sauna from Olympic Hot Tub Company.

My grandma and grandpa bought Silk Balance to help the water be soft on their skin.
They like it and asked me if I would pose for them.
Since I am not camera shy, I said yes.
They let me get in the tub with my life jacket on.
Grandma has a little duck in the water that we play with. My younger brother and I climb on the hot tub cover when they’re not looking.
You may think my name is funny, but I really am a nice boy.

Grizzly

P.S. Grandma says she bought the spa in 2005 for Grandpa, who has arthritis.
A note from the grandparents:
We really do like the product.
Thanks!
Mike and Yvonne Setzer
Bellevue, Washington

Thanks for writing, Grizzly. Love your name & love those swim trunks. I’m glad to hear that Grandma & Grandpa are loving SilkBalance and that you are, too.  You really are a nice boy, I can tell.

Now that winter’s on the way, it’s time to try SilkBalance in your spa or hot tub. Banish the dry skin blues with the natural sea salts in every bottle of SilkBalance. Not only does it keep the water clean & fresh, there’s no mixing, testing or use of all of those other bottles of chemicals that other systems use. No pH up or down, no calcium increaser or reducer, no alkalinity plus. Only a few ounces of SilkBalance a week and a small amount of sanitizer and that’s it!  What are you waiting for? Switch to SilkBalance today!!

SANUM PER AQUA.  Latin for Health through Water.