Get naked and relax.

No, this is not one of THOSE blogs, rest assured! I am referring to the uplifting and rejuvenating experience of being pampered for a few hours out of the day: taking care of your body with spa treatments and full body massage. How often do we truly nurture our bodies? Quite the contrary; we seem to damage it with stress, bad substances, and ignoring what it tries to tell us when the going gets rough.

If you're like me, you're lucky if you have enough money for everyday items, let allow the means to afford something so 'luxurious.' But I swear if I'm rich one day, I will make it a healthy habit of going to a spa at LEAST once a week, if not more frequently!

I've had professional massages a few times in my lifetime thus far, but nothing is comparable to the experience I had yesterday at Thousand Waves Spa for Women. I probably never would have gone to the spa had I not had a gift certificate my friend Melissa gave me for my birthday. It's not due to lack of desire, adventure, or relaxation...simply the money factor. This is why I love my friends who do such kind, extremely generous and thoughtful things for me. This was the best gift I have received in a LONG time.

I arrived shortly after they opened at 10am. I was told I could use the spa bath treatments if I arrived one hour before my scheduled 11am body massage. I was a little nervous about whether I would be able to strip down and let loose practically naked (besides the white towels and robe they provide). But I was determined to be bold and adventurous. I have never been completely comfortable in my own skin, especially naked...but I took it upon myself to face the challenge with a sense of humor, freedom, and relaxation. Fortunately, the fact that there was hardly anyone around when I first arrived made it all that much easier to be comfortable with my near nakedness.

I walked away from the lockers with my robe loosely over me, through the door to the back of the spa baths...and noticed I had the hot tub all to myself. It was calling out to me, "Katie, you know you wanna come in!!!" Not really, but that's how it went in my mind. I turned on the jets, got naked and hopped in for a delightful 10 minutes of silence and relaxing warmth. It was then on to the sauna.

I've only been in a sauna maybe once or twice before and it never really was my cup of tea. This time, however, proved a more positive experience. Slightly resembling a log cabin inside, I sized up the 'stone fireplace' to the left of the door. I was careful to step as far away from it as I could. My luck, I'd probably trip over myself and burn my elbow (or more sensitive body parts) in the fiery hot stones....and being scantily clad with nothing between me and the stones but a flimsy spa towel....I think you get the picture!

At first I was going to go naked because I was by myself, but then this other woman walked in with her towel around her and sat down to my left....so I kept my towel draped. If she were an old lady, I probably wouldn't have cared, but I think I was intimidated to go naked in front of this attractive woman who seemed around my age. Here I thought I was only self-conscious about being naked in front of men, but apparently not. Go figure. Fortunately, this was the only time I was self-conscious about the naked factor the entire time I was there. Baby steps!

I chatted with the sauna woman for a minute and then we both shut our mouths to enjoy the sweat inducing heat that would later leave my pores saying 'thank you for that!'

10 sweaty sauna minutes later, I rinsed off and went for the ultimate challenging treatment: the Eucalyptus steambath, which was basically a glorified tubless shower. I wanted to fill a tub with cold water to bring in with me, but being a newbie, I couldn't quite figure it out and I didn't want to disturb the ladies that were relaxing in the hot tub nearby. I decided to wing it and go in for the gusto!

All I can say is I'm glad I was the only one in the steambath 'closet' because this was not a place where you want to have anything touching your body. If any treatment could possibly motivate you to go in your birthday suit, this is the one! I could barely breathe and oddly enough, I felt like I sweat LESS than in the sauna. Very abnormal. Invigorating in a bizarre kind of way, but I only lasted maybe 5 minutes in there!

After rinsing off again, I dried my hair a bit. Overall, I was feeling incredible. I was surprised at how freeing it can feel to be naked and mostly uninhibited (like I said, I'm not 100% there, but more comfortable than I've been in the past). I also noticed that other women are imperfect too. We hear this all the time from people ("No one is perfect," "Everyone has flaws," blah blah blah), but it's quite another thing to experience and see it for yourself firsthand. No one around me appeared to have the 'perfect' body, so why should I care how I look naked either?! Now if I could just feel this way ALL the time, outside of the spa. Ah, the odd little contradictions of life.....getting naked and surrounded by naked women in order to feel comfortable naked. That's an oxymoron if I've ever pondered one....

I put on my robe and headed down to the 'relaxation room' downstairs for a few minutes to enjoy a cup of chamomile tea, then off to my FULL (!) body massage. I'm cognizant of the fact that my shoulders have been hurting me alot the past week or two, but I didn't realize just how tender it was until I had the massage therapist concentrate her time on a knot over my right shoulder. I'm a little achy today in my shoulder area, but it's a good kind of hurt (I hope).

All in all, it was nice to be taken care of and pampered for a few hours, especially since I spend so much time taking care of others. I feel like a whole new woman today. Vibrant!!

It can be easy to forget how wonderful it feels when others spoil you...especially physically. Something so simple, yet lost on so many of us: we'd all be alot happier if we physically took care of ourselves and others more often than we usually do.

So....get naked. And relax. If you can afford it. :)