 Water is my medicine. Wherever I go I am finding medicine in natural bodies of water. Whether it's rivers like this, lakes, creeks, ponds, little tiny brooks or great big oceans, I am finding my medicine in the water. Especially very cold water. Today I'm gonna take you to some water medicine that is a place that I think many of you might be quite surprised to see me. So let's go. Hey Rob, welcome back to the Sauna house. Thanks for having me in again. Yeah of course, I'm excited to Sauna today. Can I get you a towel? Brought my own. Alright, I need to get mine. Alright. And then first things first, let's kick off your shoes. No shoes, no problem. Well let's go in, let me get my towel. Alright. So good. You want to do like a 15 minute sit? Just sounds good. So when some people think of medicine, they think of pills and things like that. But when I think of medicine, this is my medicine. It's a very holistic form of medicine about connecting with the present moment and connecting with myself. And I've actually been sauning since I was a little kid. I grew up in the Great Lakes region where there's very much a Scandinavian influence. The Saunas have been a medicine for me for quite some time. And so to have this resource here in Asheville has really been a game changer for me in my mental and physical wellness. When I'm in the Sauna, it's both a combination of just sitting here and relaxing and letting the mind just be fully present. And it's also a time for me to really stretch out, let the heat really work with my muscles to fully unwind and relax. And anything like this, any of these natural medicines, are going to help with a very natural way to reduce the stress anxiety. And for many of us who experience depression, this is absolutely medicine for that. Cold has a tendency to take your breath away. But one of the best tricks is to just reclaim that breath and breathe in and out slow. Cold water is my number one medicine. In all honesty, I don't need to be able to list off the benefits, but they are very numerous and many other people would list the benefit after benefit. For me, I can just say that the cold water therapy just helps me to feel so alive and well. And I can say for sure that the stimulation of the blood flow, the circulation, especially by going back and forth between the hot and the cold, is something that is such a benefit to my body that I can just feel. So I generally like to do about three rotations from Sauna to Cold Plunge back and forth about three times. The extreme heat of the Sauna and the extreme cold of the Cold Plunge is absolutely a challenge. And it's taking this challenge into my life that serves me incredibly well. It helps me to just exist in a more calm, relaxed state. When I leave the Sauna house, I walk out of here in a refreshed and rejuvenated state. And at the same time, because of experiencing these extremes and overcoming this challenge, it helps me to just overcome the challenges in my day. And the heat and the cold that I experience out there are actually a lot more mild and I'm able to handle them a lot more easily. So in so many ways, the Cold Plunge and the Sauna just brings a state of calm, a state of presence, a state of balance, and just a very overall state of health and happiness. So to simplify it in just one word, medicine. The Sauna house is really designed to be a place of mindfulness. One of the beautiful things here is that it's a phone-free environment, which is not something that you get to experience in most places. It's a very meditative, relaxed place. And that also comes from the sense of community here. The first time that I came to the Sauna house, I was really amazed at the community that has been created around this experience of being in a bath house together. And just being amongst a group of people who care about their health and are practicing a more holistic health in itself is also a medicine. And I've met some really incredible people by being here. Bath houses have traditionally been a place for community to come together across many different cultures around the world. And that's something that they are revitalizing here, where in so much of the United States there's not a community, a healthy community vibe. And that's something that they've done really well here. And another thing about bath houses and about the Sauna house is that it's about a communal usage of resources. So sustainability is one of the most important aspects to this place. And just simply by creating this place that is here for us to use communally, that's the key to sustainability is rather than each of us having one of everything and having our own Sauna and cold plunge at our homes coming together and doing this in community is so much a part of sustainability. And what I love about this place as well is that it's actually accessible. A lot of holistic medicine can be really expensive. But yes, it's not accessible to everyone, but as far as many of the medicines that are out there, this is actually one of the more accessible ones that I've come across. For me, mindfulness can't exist without sustainability. If we're talking about mindfulness, but we're not paying attention to how our actions impact the world, then for me, that's not true mindfulness. And sustainability is very much at the heart of the mission and the soul of the Sauna house and many bath houses that are out there. One thing that you'll see here is there's not a single used piece of plastic that's being used, which is a beautiful thing, a mindful space to be around. They use cotton towels and hand towels and rags, and there's no disposable paper towels. And all of the soaps are biodegradable soaps that are not polluting our earth. So it's beautiful to be in an environment where they actually care about how the impacts, how the actions that we have here while taking care of ourselves is also taking care of the earth and our fellow plant and animal relatives. Well, I have to say I feel good. Me too, Rob. Thank you so much for coming. My pleasure. Yeah, I mean, Sauna house has always been about improving the mental and physical health of our team and our community, and you are a great example and someone who champions this space, so I really appreciate it. Well, this place has been just a beautiful part of my experience in Asheville and I feel very much a part of this community and appreciate you welcoming me into it. Yeah, of course. Thanks for plugging us all together.