The Hot Tub/Spa at Frog Pond Hollow
12/04

It has now been a few months since the hot tub went in here at Frog Pond Hollow. Having very limited (almost none) experience with hot tubs, I wondered how I would come to use and enjoy it and what role it would play in my life.

Hot tubs serve different purposes to different people, or even different purposes to the same people depending upon their mood or time of day. It can be meditative, social, or therapeutic.

I generally use the hot tub at least once a day. The jets etc. work on a 20 minute timer so my hot tub sessions are 20 minutes each. I keep the temperature up near the maximum, about 103 F, for reasons explained below.

My first daily hot tub ‘treatment' is for mental and physical health, and I am very pleased with the results. I play classical or similar such musical CDs on a little play and listen with headphones. The headphones are necessary due to the waterjet noise from the hot tub at ‘ground zero.' I turn the jets up high, place a damp cloth over my eyes (which I keep refreshing with the hot spa water) and try to totally relax. I'll breath in and out deeply at least a few times to get the warm moist air deep into my lungs. I slide around a bit to get the waterjets to work all across my back and neck. Depending upon how cold I am when I get into the tub, the water feels either refreshingly warm or just neutral. After about ten minutes, however, I start to feel hot deep into my skin, with sort of a ‘ready to sweat' feeling. This I take to mean my surface blood vessels are dilating (a good thing) and my pores are opening. Articles I've read also suggest good things from this short-term ‘heating pad' affect. In any event, after the 20 minutes are up I come out of the water feeling very relaxed and refreshed. It is different from taking a hot bath, perhaps because you are laying down with a bath and the water is still and quiet. Also, with the tub, it is hard to keep the water from cooling down, even with a short 10 minute bath.

Benefits/results: I find I have fewer ‘middle age' aches and pains. My chronic head and chest congestion is almost gone. I certainly feel much less stressed after being in the tub. There are also times, especially in winter, when I sometimes get ‘chilled to the core.' I am hopeful that the spa will quickly bring me back to ‘room temperature.'

Second daily session: If I use the tub more than once a day, I consider the subsequent tub sessions more for simple relaxing and pleasure. This time I use the headphones connected to the television set and VCR.

SPA RULES: I generally take a bath before entering the spa (to keep the water clean) and use a swim suit dedicated to the spa. The cover folds back in half so I need only ‘swing up' half the cover to expose half the hot tub (which contains two of the three hot tub seats), thus a pretty effortless preparation requirement. I keep towels, bathrobes and slippers handy.

CONCLUSION: I have found the spa to be an excellent investment in terms of mental and physical well being. It is a quality of life thing, up there with a warm and comfortable bed, clothes that fit and feel good, and a dependable car.

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