• Health and the Finnish Origins of the Hot Tub

    Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

    Spa people are some of the most interesting people in the world.  It’s almost like a culture all on its own, of people who are united in some special way because they have decided to make space in their lives for relaxing.  It’s a very healthy way to relax, too, and your body will certainly thank you.  It might feel, at times, that you’ve discovered a new invention in your hot tub, and think how this kind of rejuvenation was not possible until modern times.  Although our hot tubs are state of the art, using the most advanced technologies to make a product that is technically remarkable, and aesthetically pleasing, the idea itself is very, very old.

    Looking at something as appealing as hot springs, for example, we get the sense that this need to be in hot water to relieve stress is as old as people are.  There is evidence to support this notion, and there is an enormously fascinating history to the hot tub.  You probably know about the famous Roman baths, which came from ideas the Greeks had about bathing and health, as well as the strong social component to the bathing rituals.  They have also been extremely popular in places like Finland, where the tradition of the sauna goes back to at least the 16th century.

    It’s probably much earlier than the 16th century, but that’s when the written records start for saunas.  They have been an integral part of the Finnish household for centuries, and they have highly evolved rituals for their communal saunas.  They have been places for cooking, living, and even giving birth.  There are some fascinating theories about how this might be one of the reasons for the Finns’ reputation for strength and stamina, and they claim that it’s absolutely related.  There are many other places in Europe, too, where saunas are particularly central to the culture, and it’s a tradition that continues here in the U.S., with the popularity for the hot tub.  Enjoy!

  • Movie Parties in Hot Tubs, Spas

    Monday, September 21st, 2009

    A spa is a fantastic thing.  Owning one suggests that you’ve made a decision to put pleasure at the center of your world, where fun and relaxation are available to you and your family all the time.  You can keep it very private, making it your own sanctuary, the place where you come back to yourself at the end of the day.  You can also make it a social event, and watch as friends and neighbors start coming around more often.  We have a magnificent selection of hot tubs, spas, and accessories, and we can help you match your hot tub with your taste and desires.  We have many options for design, size, and style, and offer a host of extras, including stereo systems as well as television screens.

    It’s possible to have any kind of party you like, and the limitations are only in the imaginations of you and your guests.  With a television screen built-in to your set-up, you could have excellent movie parties in your own backyard.  There are a number of excellent cult films for a cool B-Movie night.  Guests could choose from their favorite midnight movies from growing up, and you could make it evening of fun and nostalgia.  Remembering the classic scenes that made you laugh years ago, and reliving the laughter with new and old friends, can be a brilliant experience.  It will remind you of why you started loving films in the first place.

    Another idea would be to have a series of parties, making it a weekly event.  Each week, a different guest could choose the evening’s selections.  You could make it open, or you could form it around a common theme.  Places like Scarecrow Video have fantastic taste and expertise, with many different lists of best films.  An Oscar night would be a wonderful way to get to know all the films you always wanted to see, but never had the chance.  Or you could watch the best of film classics.  Or foreign films.  Or romantic comedies. The list goes on, and the possibilities for hot tub fun are also endless.

  • Hot Tubs for Healthy Living

    Thursday, September 17th, 2009

    No one complains about going to the spa.  There are, of course, many fine reasons for that, and when you have your own hot tub, you’ll learn these reasons first-hand.  There are a host of simple pleasures it can bring.  There’s the sheer joy of slipping into the warm, bubbly water and letting it melt all your worries away.  There are also all the terrific possibilities for a new social calendar, as your friends start to learn about your new addition.  A dinner party with good friends and lively conversation in the hot tub is pure gold, and makes for memories that you’ll savor for years to come.  There is also the emotional pleasure you’ll get when you realize that you’ve made your own health and comfort one of the main priorities in your life.

    Placing fun and pleasure high up on the list of things that are really important is a first step toward making changes that promote a healthy lifestyle.  The hot tub is all of these as well as being simply fantastically fun.  With more people purchasing hot tubs in order to improve their lives, there are more scientific studies looking at the health advantages to a hot tub or portable spa.  One of the more recent publications, Hot Water & Healthy Living has some very good news for all of us.  As if we didn’t know, the act of submerging your body into lovely warm water has a positive effect on our health.

    It gets more complex than that, however.  When the human being is in water, and particularly warm water, the pressure and temperature cause the heart to respond immediately, and the body and the mind begin to feel a sense of pleasure and relaxation.  The physical experience, for the body, is very similar to aerobic exercise.  The breathing and circulation behave as if they are actually exercising, and this has a very positive impact on the body.  The senses are increased when the relaxation gets deeper, and this has an effect that is immediately obvious to those who’ve been near hot water.  It’s a fascinating study, and J.B. Smith’s book will help demystify the science of why the body likes water.  Meanwhile, we’ll enjoy our hot tubs, open to the idea that we might be exercising.