My feet are cold from about October to March. Even when I’m doing something like cross-country skiing, and my clothes are soaked with sweat and I’ve taken my hat off because I’m warm, my feet feel like I’ve got frozen peas shoved between my toes. None of that glow that comes from exercise makes it past my ankles. When I’m snowboarding, which requires wearing boots that fit very tightly, my feet can get so cold that it’s painful.
That’s why I love the sauna.
It’s just a small room lined with wood and the traditional wood-and-glass door tucked into the women’s locker room. Often I’m alone in there, and I just sit quietly, letting my muscles absorb all the heat. I’ll stretch my bare legs out and wriggle my toes, savoring the warmth. Sometimes another woman will come in, and we’ll exchange a smile, but the space feels meditative, so I don’t talk unless she says something first.
The other night, though, when I entered the sauna, I could hear laughter and chatter. As I shut the door behind me, I could see six young women draped on the wooden benches. “It’s a party,” Curly Hair said. She grinned and moved over to make room for me.
Once I sat down, all heads turned towards Frizzy Ponytail. She started to say something, then hesitated. “Tell us,” prodded the woman next to her. I looked at her and smiled, with just the slightest of nods, the way I do when I’m trying to get a shy student in class to speak up.
She launched into a hilarious story about a Valentine’s Day date that went horribly wrong. Curly Hair countered with an anecdote about a passive aggressive man she’d been dating. “Know how he broke up with me? He posted a picture of his new girlfriend on facebook.”
Each anecdote was met with exclamations, indignation, and then laughter from the rest of the women. They chimed in excitedly, gesturing with their arms, drops of water beading up on their bare skin as they talked, any residual hurt and sadness behind the stories gradually dissolving in the warmth.
That’s why I love the sauna.
It’s just a small room lined with wood and the traditional wood-and-glass door tucked into the women’s locker room. Often I’m alone in there, and I just sit quietly, letting my muscles absorb all the heat. I’ll stretch my bare legs out and wriggle my toes, savoring the warmth. Sometimes another woman will come in, and we’ll exchange a smile, but the space feels meditative, so I don’t talk unless she says something first.
The other night, though, when I entered the sauna, I could hear laughter and chatter. As I shut the door behind me, I could see six young women draped on the wooden benches. “It’s a party,” Curly Hair said. She grinned and moved over to make room for me.
Once I sat down, all heads turned towards Frizzy Ponytail. She started to say something, then hesitated. “Tell us,” prodded the woman next to her. I looked at her and smiled, with just the slightest of nods, the way I do when I’m trying to get a shy student in class to speak up.
She launched into a hilarious story about a Valentine’s Day date that went horribly wrong. Curly Hair countered with an anecdote about a passive aggressive man she’d been dating. “Know how he broke up with me? He posted a picture of his new girlfriend on facebook.”
Each anecdote was met with exclamations, indignation, and then laughter from the rest of the women. They chimed in excitedly, gesturing with their arms, drops of water beading up on their bare skin as they talked, any residual hurt and sadness behind the stories gradually dissolving in the warmth.
6 comments:
ah yes. sharing those kinds of stories makes it all bearable. And now you are making me miss the sauna, from when I used to belong to a gym in my old neighborhood.
This post actually made me go to the gym (instead of just walking/running outside) for the first time in a long time, just so that I could use the sauna. Of course I used the machines, too--so thank you all around!
Target-rich environment for blog photos!
Phil: Believe it or not, they actually have signs in the women's locker room forbidding photography. It's like they saw me coming ....
I can't get over the breaking up with her by posting a pic of the new girlfriend on FB. That's heartless!
I have the same problem with the cold extremities, which is one of the reasons that I love taking long, steamy showers. The shower is one of the few places I'm ever really warm.
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