Contrast Therapy & Functional Breathing
In addition to being a functional breathing coach, I'm also a menopause wellbeing practitioner, cold water therapy practitioner, and recently completed the online Thermalist Instructor training at the Soeberg Institute.
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Garden Spa Evenings
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I started running "Garden Spa Evenings for Midlife Women" in November 2024 to introduce women to the benefits of contrast (hot and cold) therapy and functional breathing techniques for overall health and wellbeing, as well as to aid recovery for enhanced sports performance. These 2 hour sessions have been so popular that I will continue to run them throughout the year.
​These Contrast Therapy sessions combine some of the science behind hot/cold therapy and functional breathing techniques, practising functional breathing exercises to take away and integrate into your daily life, and doing a contrast therapy session in the sauna, cold pool and cold shower in the Garden Spa.
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Come and experience the contrasting feelings in your body and mind after a sauna session, then feeling the cold air on your skin outside, before entering the cold water pool again. Tuning into these sensations brings us into the present moment, more in tune with our body and has a great calming effect.
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Next Garden Spa:
Wednesday 23rd April 2025, 7pm - 9pm
£35
Heat Therapy
Most people look forward to the heat rather than the cold, however some find it overpowering, but there are ways to deal with this. For example, cooling the body with a cold shower or cold dip before allows you to stay more comfortable in the sauna for longer. You will also learn research-based protocols to follow for safe sauna use regarding how long to stay in the heat.
Cold Water Therapy
We tend to start and finish the contrast therapy session with a cold dip, as this boosts your metabolism by making your body work hard to warm up. We take it very gently if you are new to cold water immersion as it requires a process of gradual acclimatisation. When used in conjunction with the sauna, the contrasting health benefits are maximised and it is easier to submerge in cold water after coming out of the sauna. There is also a cold shower to try!
Functional Breathing
Before entering the cold water, you will learn how to use your breath to calm your nervous system and deal with the cold sensation as you enter. You will also learn how to breathe to lower your heart rate and blood pressure when sitting in the sauna or the cold pool, as both are a stressor on the body, but a good stressor if we are healthy. However, fast, upper chest, hyperventilation through the mouth will intensify the stress, so we need to learn how to breathe to trigger our relaxation response during these activities.