APPROXIMATELY 70% OF US ARE EXPERIENCING CHRONIC STRESS AND BURNOUT. FROM OUR FRIENDS AND COWORKERS TO PASSING STRANGERS, WE ARE STRUGGLING. WE’VE HEARD THIS, WE’VE FELT THIS, AND THOUGH GRIM, IT’S A FACT: WE ARE AT PEAK STRESS.
CONSIDER OUR REALITY: EVERY DAY IS A RELENTLESS SLOG OF TO-DOS, SCHEDULES, DEMANDS AND COMMITMENTS — EACH EXPECTING OUR BEST AND PACKED WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO FAIL. FOR A BREAK, WE SCROLL; OUR FEEDS HIJACK US, EACH SWIPE A BINGE OF DOPAMINE AND DISTRESS. WE’RE LEFT DRAINED, EMOTIONS REWIRED AND NUMB.
THIS REALITY REQUIRES MONEY. FOR MOST OF US, OUR WORK IS AN ACT OF SURVIVAL. WE PUSH THROUGH TO SUSTAIN THE NECESSITIES AND REWARD OURSELVES WITH STUFF. IF LUCKY, WE CAN AFFORD FUTURE PLANS, PRIORITIZE OUR HEALTH AND TIME. THEN, EXPERTS REMIND US WE’RE DOOMED ANYWAY — THAT OUR CONSUMERISM, OUR STUFF, IS POISONING BOTH US AND THE PLANET. WHAT NOW?
TO HELP, WE TURN TO OUR RELATIONSHIPS. THEY ARE A LIFELINE, BUT OFTEN, THEY’RE FLOATING IN A FAMILIAR MESS. WE LISTEN AS FRIENDS REPORT A NEW CRISIS AND WE FREEZE AS OUR OWN FEARS, OUR ANXIETIES, ARE MIRRORED BACK TO US. LAYER ON GLOBAL INSTABILITY, CARETAKING FOR LOVED ONES, SURPRISE DIAGNOSES AND CATASTROPHES — WE ARE MAXED OUT.
STILL, WE PUSH THROUGH, WE SHOW UP AND DO OUR BEST TO MANAGE. WE DO THIS UNTIL WE CAN’T AND IT ALL BOILS OVER. WHAT THEN?
THIS IS THE MOTIVATION BEHIND HEATED.
MAXED OUT
RELIEF
IN OVERWHELM, RELIEF IS CARVED OUT BY THE ROUTINES, ESCAPES, AND RITUALS WE CHOOSE — A FORMULA UNIQUELY OUR OWN. MY FORMULA OFTEN INCLUDES THE SAUNA. FOR YEARS, SAUNAS HAVE PIECED ME TOGETHER AND SALVAGED THE MOODIEST OF DAYS.
AND WHILE SAUNA TRADITIONS ARE NOT NEW, THERE IS A RESURGENCE. FROM INDULGENT SELF-CARE TO A FIX FOR THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC, SAUNAS ARE BECOMING THE CHOSEN TOOL FOR OUR WELL-BEING.
HOWEVER, WELLNESS CULTURE CONTINUES TO DEFINE THIS NEW WORLD. BY BLURRING THE LINE BETWEEN SELF-CARE AND SELF-OPTIMIZATION, WELLNESS HAS TURNED OUR HEALTH INTO ANOTHER PRODUCTIVITY GOAL. IN A WORLD OF STRESS AND BURNOUT, WELLNESS ASPIRATIONS ARE ALIENATING AND THE CULTURE IS STALE.
INSTEAD, HEATED IS A PLACE TO STARVE OUR STRESS AND SALVE OUR BURNOUT, NOT ADD TO IT. A SPACE THAT SPEAKS TO US WHEN WE ARE RUNNING ON FUMES AND FUMING. A SPACE ACCESSIBLE BY ALL BODIES AND BACKGROUNDS: WHERE EXPECTATIONS ARE DROPPED AT THE DOOR.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, NOT YOUR WELLNESS.
h e a t e d
relief from the everyday.
HEATED IS LESS WELLNESS MAMA, MORE MOODY AND HUNGOVER MAMA. FOR DAYS WE CAN’T DRAG OURSELVES TO THE GYM. FOR SUNDAY SCARIES. FOR BREAKUPS. FOR THE OVERWHELMED AND UNDERWHELMED. FOR OUR ANGER. FOR OUR SADNESS. FOR WHEN WE CAN’T CATCH A BREAK OR OUR BREATHE. FOR DAYS WE FREEZE. FOR DAYS WE’RE FRIED. FOR WHEN THE HEADLINES BREAK US. FOR SELFISH DAYS. FOR MEH DAYS. FOR IMPOSSIBLE DAYS. FOR SHAMEOVERS. FOR TIRED BODIES.
HEATED IS FOR OUR EDGES. A PLACE TO RELEASE AND REPLENISH WITHOUT RESTRAINT. HEATED IS A RELIEF.