I’m steaming. It’s an interesting and exhilarating sensation: My body heat skyrockets, yet I’m still breathing fresh air. Johnson puts a cool compress on my head. I feel looser than after any other massage I’ve ever had. After about ten minutes, Johnson quickly pulls off the tent and cold air—really room temperature, but it feels cold—floods my body, sealing moisture and oil into my pores. I don’t doubt spa owner Heidi Harrison when she says, “Doing a massage plus a hydrotherapy treatment is much more effective than doing just a massage.” NATURAL HOT SPRINGS and hot tubs are other ways to enjoy the health and relaxation benefits of heat. A soak in the hotel hot tub after a day playing in the snow can soothe tired muscles. However, because heat opens pores, some soaks— like natural hot springs or pools that use salt water instead of chemically treated water—can be more beneficial than others. Chemically treated water can leave you with chlorine in your skin. Natural hot springs, on the other hand, are often chock-full of minerals like magnesium, which is soothing, and sulfur, which is antibacterial. The closest commercial natural hot spring to Jackson is Granite Hot Springs, in the Hoback Canyon and a thirty-mile drive southeast from town. Granite’s pool, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and is deep enough to swim in, is only accessible by skis, snowmobiles, or dog sled. In winter, the pool averages 112 degrees. Come summer, when you can drive to the hot spring, more cold water from a nearby creek is added; the pool’s temperature is then about 100 degrees. If Granite is too much of a journey— it’s a ten-mile trip (one way) from the nearest plowed road—the Teton County Recreation Center has both a steam room and a hot tub.
60+ classes / wk hot yoga hot fusion power yoga vinyasa flow flying vinyasa flying core kundalini maui yoga prana flow ski fitness candle light flow yin restorative yoga basics kid’s yoga performance apparel store lucy alo shakti activewear tonic hardtail omgirl 200 hr teacher trainings workshops events wellness center
www.inversionyoga.com · 290 n millward st jackson, wy 83001 · 307.733.3038
After an hour and a half jumping between the superheated dry sauna, cold tub, steam room, and infrared sauna at Bear and Doe Banya Spa, my skin is pink and soft. It’s been some time since I last cold plunged, so I am warm to the core and relaxed. Evidently, I’ve eliminated a fair amount of toxins and burned calories. And did I mention I’m warm and toasty in the middle of Jackson’s brutal winter? JH WINTER 2014 JACKSON HOLE MAGAZINE
123