Spa treatments at home
Going for a massage, soaking in a hot pool, or booking in a spa treatment, might currently seem like distant (though lovely) memories. If spa therapies were part of your life, prior to COVID-19 restrictions, there is no reason you can’t carry on at home, says Paul Hennessey, founder of Vancouver-based Circle Wellness Studios.
The practice of heating and cooling your body, says Hennessey — which he refers to as thermal contrast therapy — is thousands of years old, and is touted as having many health benefits, he says. It’s also something people can easily do at home, if they have access to hot and cold water.
“Starting with a hot shower, and going to a cold shower, even for a few minutes, has so much effect on your circulatory system,” he says.
Hennessey references the work of Sebastian Kneipp, a Bavarian priest (who lived during the 1900s) known for using water therapy (or hydrotherapy) by immersing one part of the body in cold and then hot water to treat physical ailments, like pain.
“That’s hot and cold water therapy at its roots,” he says.
Hennessey launched the Welpod, just over five years ago, a luxurious update on the sauna, which he describes as: “A multi-sensory wellness room with Himalayan salt walls, thermally modified wood finishes, multi-channel lighting, radiant infrared heating system, fresh-air ventilation and encompassing surround sound,” custombuilt for residential and commercial clients.
More recently, he has launched The Circuit: “The world’s first private thermal spa built into a recycled 40-foot-shipping container”, designed for wellness businesses (boutique hotels that offer spa treatments to their clients, yoga retreats etc.) and high-end homes, says Hennessey, with his Vancouverbased prototype proving successful as an Airbnb Experience, over the past two years.
“Hydrotherapy concepts are contained within The Circuit’s five-step process, starting with an open-air rainfall shower, then a soak in the West Coast Cedar Ofuro tub, a 45-minute programmed experience in the Welpod, a cold water plunge and finally a relaxing heated river stone experience,” he says.
Bringing some natural materials, like Himalayan salt, wood and stone, into your home can have positive physiological effects, says Hennessey.
“You can heat up stones using hot water and use them for massage,” he says.
Finding a piece of wood, like cedar or fir — which smell nice — sanding them down and dropping them into your bathtub, can make soaking a very nice experience, he says.
“Because wood is permeable it can store oil, so you can always add a few drops of essential oil onto it and drop it into your bath,” he says.
Soaking in a cedar tub cannot be beat, says Hennessey, which is why he’s included it in his Circuit offering. Cedar tubs can be problematic in your average residential home, he says, because they often leak.
“Cedar tubs are tricky because don’t pass safety certification, so you won’t get a permit,” he says.
In Japan, where Hennessey has spent quite a bit of time studying thermal treatments, wooden soaker tubs are very common in people’s homes, he says.
“In Japan they build drainage around the tub,” he says.
Hennessey is currently designing an updated, leak free version of his cedar tub, for residential use.
“I’m using a stainless steel fabricated box, dropping cedar plank panels inside using a sliding track system. So not relying on the wood itself to hold the water. Just using it to bath in contact with for therapeutic benefits,” he says.