In the Hot Tub: That's Where We'll be on New Year's Eve

December 31, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

Our New Year’s Eve ritual? We always soak in the hot tub to close out a year. Soaking in our Hot Spring Spa Prodigy model is the perfect way to say good bye to the old year and ring in the new one.   This year will be even more significant because New Year’s Eve has a full moon. So? It’s a Blue Moon. Idiomatically a “blue moon is something that rarely happens, thus  the saying “once in a blue moon”.  A blue moon in astronomical terms is one that occurs as the second full moon in a month- an event that happens only once every 2.7 years.  So take advantage of the Blue Moon, take a good long soak to wash away the old year and feel like you’re reborn in the new.  Even if it rains and you can’t see the full moon, you’ll know it’s up there.  I guarantee that soaking in your own Hot Spring Spa on New year’s Eve will give a great start to your New Year. That’s true hot tub bliss!

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health through Water.

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Postponing Pleasure? Scientists Advise “Have. Fun. Now.”

December 30, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

“Recovering procrastinators of pleasure”..that’s what social scientists called the people who put off until tomorrow what they could enjoy today! So use your hot tub, use your sauna, cash in the gift cards, take a vacation with all of your frequent flyer miles and open that special bottle of wine tonight..if you know what’s good for you,  they advise. Okay, they really didn’t mention the sauna or the hot tub, but the principle’s the same. This year more than any other people are waiting to experience enjoyment. I’m as guilty as the rest of you.

A funny quirk of human nature makes us think that things have to be ideal or that you can “bank” pleasure. NOT SO!  As an article in yesterday’s New York Times pointed out, the temptation to avoid pleasure is rampant among us.

It’s easy to cure. Take steps to have fun today.  A soak in the hot tub or a relaxing time in the sauna is a great way to start you thinking along the path to fun which is the way to stimulate creativity and other parts of the brain that are sorely in need of stimulation right now.  It’s been too much “nose to the grindstone” this past year.

Make your resolution to “Have fun ..now!” I’m sure you’ll be the better for it. I’ve started already. I’ve been in my hot tub every night this week and have awakened every morning with a wonderfully cheerful attitude. I’ve felt great especially with SilkBalance in my Hot Spring Spa. I can’t say enough about how wonderful the water feels. Pleasure works!

SANUM PER AQUA.  Latin for Health through Water.

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Buy Long Term Care Insurance AND a Sauna and a Hot Tub to Preserve Your Health-One Couple's Health Care Plan!

December 28, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

What does owning a hot tub and a sauna have to do with long term care insurance? That’s what I asked when Val Miller, sales associate in our Olympic Hot Tub Company Seattle store told me about the sale she had yesterday-a Finnleo sauna AND a Hot Spring Jetsetter to a Seattle couple. When she asked what motivated their purchases, they told Val that they had just purchased long term care insurance. It was so expensive they hoped they’d never have to use it.

So, they did the smart thing by deciding to take care of their health so they wouldn’t fall ill. “It’s elementary,” as Sherlock Holmes used to say to  Dr. Watson. They purchased a Finnleo infrared sauna (B-300) and a Hot Spring Spa (Jetsetter) because the health benefits of each are proven and compelling.  That’s their added insurance-using the sauna and hot tub so they never have to use their long term care insurance! Smart thinking!

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health through Water.

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What's Your Favorite Hot Tub Story?

December 25, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

Olympic Hot Tub Company customer Sharon Maguire shares her funniest hot tub story:
A few years ago around Christmas time it was snowing slightly so we thought it was a great time to enjoy the snow while sitting in the hot tub. Our hot tub is outside protected from view, so we got in without a stitch on and enjoyed the snow and bubbles.

As our house had recently been robbed, we had started placing dowels in our doors and windows for extra security. As we got out of the tub we noticed our cat, Henry was playing with the dowel next to the door. Watching the dowel rolling ominously close to the door, we started gesturing wildly for him to get away from it. But, he thought we were playing. With one large paw, he batted the dowel back in place, locking us out of the house.

Both of us were horrified to realize that we not only had no clothes to put on, we didn’t even have a towel to wrap around us! It was still snowing and even if our neighbors were home, they had just moved in and we hadn’t met them yet. We really didn’t want to walk up to their door saying, “Hi, we’re your new neighbors,” in our current circumstances.”

Fortunately we were spared that indignity. Thanks to my husband’s quick thinking and an inhuman burst of adrenaline, he lifted the patio door off its tracks to get us into the house. Henry the cat sat watching our efforts with a bemused expression.

Since then, we’ve learned our lesson-never leave the dowel in Henry’s path and always have a back-up plan. (Editor’s note: And a towel!!).

Thanks to Sharon for a chuckle. And, yes, that’s happened to us. In our case no cat just silly me slamming the roof deck door shut as we walked out to our Hot Spring Spa. Blair (my husband and partner in Olympic Hot Tub Company) had to climb down a ladder to our front courtyard. (Doesn’t everyone have a ladder on their roof deck? We do now!). Then he walked in the buff around the front of the house, down the outside steps to our lower level where we keep a spare key. Numb to the bone, he foraged for the key, let himself in the lower level door and came back up to the roof deck. The ladder is still on the deck and a towel is always a door stop!

What’s your favorite hot tub story? Please share it.

Happy Holidays!

RES EST SERVA VOLUPTAS. Pleasure is serious business.

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Christmas Eve-We'll Be in the Hot Tub!

December 24, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

Christmas Eve after we’ve unwrapped our presents, we head to our Hot Spring Spa to talk and share our memories of Christmases past, our loved ones and our hopes for the future. The chill air is a perfect contrast with the hot water swirled by jets. It may be clear skies tonight-fingers crossed-so we can watch for satellites, shooting stars and, the only constellation we know: the Big Dipper.  Maybe share a drop of Proseco. We’ll heat the towels in the dryer and they’ll still be warm when we get out.  It’s truly hot tub bliss! What better place to celebrate the season and give thanks for all we have?

RES EST SERVA VOLUPTAS. Pleasure is serious business.

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Best Way to Cope With Holiday Stress-Make Time to Soak in Your Hot Tub

December 23, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

Holidays stress getting you down? Stress builds up when you feel you’re too busy, don’t have enough leisure time to relax and unwind, or enough “quality time” to reconnect with family and friends.

These feelings are often exaggerated during the holidays. How to cope? Make time to use your Hot Spring Spa for quality time, improved health, stress reduction and rejuvenation this holiday season. Here are some tips to inspire you:

Romantic Getaway
Leave a note for your loved one suggesting a rendezvous after work..in your hot tub! Light candles, play some quiet music and enjoy each others company alone under the stars in the privacy of your own backyard.

Family Retreat
PTA meetings, soccer games and ballet lessons…can’t seem to spend enough time together as a family? Arrange for a “meeting” in your hot tub-it’s the perfect place to reconnect and talk about the day. Children grow up before you know it. Spending some time with your teenager in the spa can open up long closed lines of communication many Hot Spring Spa owing parents say.

Star Gazing Haven
Your outdoor spa provides the perfect front-row seat under the stars. Don’t waste a clear night in Puget Sound this winter when you could be watching the constellations. Go to the Stardate website to see what’s in the night sky week by week.

Workout Therapy Center
Warm water exercise is a gentle way to exercise joints and muscles. The buoyancy of the water reduces body weight by 90% relieving pressure on joints and muscles (perfect for people affected by arthritis or fibromyalgia). Water also serves as resistance to help build muscle strength.

Wake-up Call
Enjoy your spa in the morning with a cup of tea or coffee. Just 10 minutes at 102°F will energize you. Stay in longer and you may start to feel too relaxed to “get up and go”.  Many spa owners prefer winter wake ups in the spa to ease gently into their day. They report that watching the birds and enjoying a short “nature break” before beginning their hectic schedules makes them feel better all day.

Your Space for Solitude
Being alone to think and regain your emotional equilibrium is the best antidote to holiday stress. Your spa is the perfect place to relax, “do nothing” and get away from it all.

Greet the New Year
Where will you be when the clock strikes midnight? The #1 answer for Hot Spring owners is in their spa in their own backyard. Soak in heavenly peace and quiet in your own HOT SPRING SPA. Contemplate the year ahead as you compose your resolutions.

RES EST SERVA VOLUPTAS. Pleasure is serious business.

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How To Be Your Own Massage Therapist-Perfect For After Soaking In The Hot Tub

December 23, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

Happy Muscles: Suggestions for Quick Relief using self massage after a nice soak in your hot tub.

COLLETTE GLASS, a massage therapist in Atlanta, offers her top three moves for leg relief from an article in The New York Times, Thursday, December 3, 2009, “Becoming Your Own Massage Therapist”.

When you’re at home or work and there’s no chance for a getting a professional massage, try these moves for muscle relief either before or after soaking in your Hot Spring Spa.  The results will likely be better after soaking as your muscles will have warmed up and the tenseness will have subsided somewhat.  I used the calf  move on the Saturday we had our Toys for Tots event at the Fife store.  Having stood outdoors for two hours on hard concrete, my calves were sore! I jumped in the tub when we got home and massaged my tired legs after wards. Bliss.

CALVES

Standing, place one leg on a low chair or bench. Reach down and place thumb and forefinger of one hand on opposite sides of the top of the heel. Squeeze your fingers and slowly raise your toes, flexing your foot. Lower the foot. Repeat two more times, then move a half-inch up your leg and repeat the sequence, continuing up to the back of the knee. Repeat on other leg.

TIBIALIS POSTERIOR

To reach the tibialis posterior – the muscle behind the shin – stay in the same position as for the calf massage. Starting just above the ankle, poke a thumb into the muscle behind the shin and twist your wrist, as if you’re trying to push your thumb under your shin. Flex and lower your foot three times, then move up a half-inch. “It will be most tender about three-quarters of the way up” to the knee, Mrs. Glass said, noting that this is a common place for stress fractures. Repeat on other leg.

QUADRICEPS

Sitting so your knees are bent 90 degrees, make a relaxed fist with one hand, and press the knuckles into the muscle above your kneecap on one leg. Slowly straighten the leg. Lower, and repeat three times before moving up in half-inch segments to the top of the leg. If the pressure isn’t enough, apply more with your other hand, or use the heel of a hand. Repeat on other leg.

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health through Water.

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Natural Remedy for Migranes-Head to the Hot Tub

December 20, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

’tis the season when many people suffer severe migranes and there’s no better place to go to alleviate a migrane than your Hot Spring Spa.

Physiologically, the migraine headache is a neurological condition more common to women than to men. The word migraine was based on Greek hemikrania, from Greek roots for “half” and “skull” or figuratively meaning hitting one’s head with a pick axe!

The typical migraine headache is on both sides of the brain with pulsating pain, lasting from 4 to 72 hours. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to light), and phonophobia (increased sensitivity to sound). Approximately one-third of people who suffer migraine headache perceive an aura-unusual visual, olfactory, or other sensory experience that are a sign that a migraine will soon strike.

Initial treatment is with analgesics (from aspirin to Percocet) for the headache, an anti-emetic for the nausea, and the avoidance of triggering conditions. Although the cause of migraine headache is unknown, the most common theory is a disorder of the serotonergic control system, i.e. the part of the brain that secretes serotonin-a chemical in the brain related to depression.

Migranes are debilitating, can wreck havoc on plans and prevent many from living a productive, happy life.  Try a natural approach when a migrane strikes. You might be surprised at how effective it is.

Get thee to the hot tub when a migraine hits. By immersing yourself in water with a steady temperature (between 102-104 degrees), you can release stress and tension that may be triggering the onset of a  migrane. Close your eyes and try to let your mind clear. This is the first step towards migrane relief.

Make sure to keep your fulid intake up

which helps combat migraines for people. Most people that have migraines tend to avoid eating or drinking when they have a flare up.  Experts say that keeping the amount of water that in your system at a steady level is essential to avoiding migranes.  So, drink water on a steady level throughout the day.

Try a massage therapist, too. It is very common for stress to be the trigger of the headache that a person has, and when this happens the muscles in the body tense up. Having a massage can help eliminate the tense muscles thus providing the relief from the migraine that you want.

So, take a hot tub, drink plenty of water and visit your favorite masseuse before reaching for heavy pain killers and resigning from life for the duration. If you can’t make a trip to a masseuse, check out the book “Self-Massage for Athletes” by Rich Poley.  You may find quicker, more long lasting relief-the natural way.

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health Through Water.

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Floating Duck Sauna-You Have To See It To Believe it!

December 18, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

What is this? A duck? Boat? Sauna? Floating houseboat? It’s all four!

Fin-Duck, powered by an outboard motor, is a 5.5 meter long boat that can be rented out as a summer cottage equipped with a fireplace, a sauna, a shower, a toilet, and a kitchen. Fin-Duck is located in Helsinki, Finland. Thanks to Travel Blog Magazine for this inspiring photo. How can Olympic Hot Tub Company help you create the sauna of your dreams? With a Finnleo custom sauna, there’s no end to the shapes and sizes that can be created at your home. Always wanted a duck sauna? We can do it! We’re always up for a challenge. Someone is missing a great business opportunity here…imagine a Fin-Duck on Lake Union :-) .

THE GOOD SWEAT starts with a Finnleo Sauna from Olympic Hot Tub Company.

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Friday, December 18th-Last Day to Donate to Toys for Tots

December 17, 2009 By Alice Leave a Comment

Thanks to the generosity of our Puget Sound area Olympic Hot Tub customers and friends, we’ve collected boxes and boxes of Toys for Tots-more toys than last year! The Hot Spring Spa full of toys is in our Issaquah store.  The big teddy bear arrived in the Everett store two weeks ago! Tomorrow, Friday, December 18th is the last day to bring a new, unwrapped toy to either Olympic Hot Tub Company Issaquah or Olympic Hot Tub Company Seattle for the US Marines Toys for Tots drive.  Your toy can make a big difference to a child who might not otherwise have a bright Christmas.  This has been a rough year for many families and the need is great while donations are down overall.  More toys are needed!! We’ll happily accept your toy donations until 2PM when we’ll take all of the toys to Fisher Plaza where KOMO-TV is a central collection point for the Marines.  If you’ve contributed a toy or a check already, many thanks for your help in making our Toys for Tots drive a success.

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