thesandraquo

I'm SAUNA obsessed!!!!

I have been wanting to try it in Atlanta for awhile now! However since I'm in Chicago... Considering the snowy weather in Chicago, going to a sauna is the best thing to do and a must add to the itinerary.

I went after braving the windy chills and plopping around in the snow! After doing snow angels and making a mini snowman, I had serious hypothermia, frozen hands and toes, and a mild charley horse coming on. It was so nice to step into something warm.

I went to King Spa Sauna located in Niles, IL. It was a 20 minute ride from my hotel. I was thrilled about that! As soon as you walk in, they hand you a bracelet with a locker number. After you register and pay you are ready to begin your sauna experience.

They ask you to take off your shoes before proceeding to the locker room. An employee is ready to greet you with your outfit once you step. It's recommended that you wash off in the spa pool or shower before going inside the sauna. I would be lying if I didn't feel a little shocked seeing the women in the locker room walk around naked. (hehe :p) I wasn't comfortable doing that so I quickly changed and went immediately to the sauna room.

There are different sauna rooms available. It's unisex, so both men and women can join the sauna together. Each sauna has its own specialized room. There is a Jade room, Charcoal room, Salt room etc. And each room offers different benefits. I was super ecstatic to try all of them!

A Korean sauna or public bathhouse is called jjimjilbang in Korean. Koreans have been going to saunas for years for various reasons. It's is part of their life/culture! The jjimjilbang not only includes sauna rooms but it provides hot tubs, showers, spa pools, massages and a small restaurant/snack bar. There are sleeping rooms available too. Oh and they offer the infamous whole body scrub!!!

It's typical that Korean Saunas never close. King Spa Sauna allow people to stay overnight and it's operated 24 hours daily. How awesome is that?! I would rather go there than rent a hotel.

Let's talk about the benefits of sweating out in a sauna room! It's like giving your skin healthy food to eat. It's a body detox and a skincare rejuvenation. The sweating help clean out impurities and toxins. There are studies that saunas can help with reducing stress, fatigue, lower blood pressure and help with weight loss! If that's not enough to get you to go to one, then I don't know what will convince you!

We care so much about keeping our face healthy with skincare products and such, in which we often neglect our body. Our body deserves the same kind of loving and care. To me, it's about self-care instead of vanity. I think it's very important to take care of your body. So if you live near a sauna, first I am jealous of you, you should try to go as often as you can! Next time I go, I will definitely try the whole body scrub! ^_^

Below are pictures that I took from my iPhone. You can see the different rooms. I forgot to take the sleeping room and cafe/snack bar area. Enjoy!