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200 days without alcohol

Pushing ones limits

By Keating Smith, Staff Writer

eep on keepin’ on. These

are the words I wrote
right at the stroke of midnight
in the Facebook textbox, the
status update that garnered 70
“likes” (and counting), and my
commemoration of the latest
milestone in my quest through
sobriety. This journey, 200 days
in the making and counting,
is one that has fundamentally
changed me mentally and
physically since August of last
year.

As times goes on, I have
come to compare the significant
changes appearing in life to
riding a roller coaster ina
dense fog, unable to see what
is around the next bend on the
track. Some days (sometimes a
whole week) I am up, high on
life, but the next day I can be
in the doldrums without the
aid of alcohol or drugs. This
has caused me to somewhat
live up to my News Year’s
resolution: I’m attempting to
push my mental and physical
limits as hard as possible, and
at the same time understand
what I am capable of achieving
without compromising the fresh
relationships I have begun with

Sweat it out!

The health benefits and
etiquette of using a
steam room and sauna

By Keating Smith, Staff Writer

he Romans knew it. So

did the Russians, Turks,
Scandinavians, and North
American First Nations who
have been using heavily-heated
rooms (saunas) or steamed-filled
encapsulations (steam rooms)
for health and spiritual reasons
as early as the fifth century.
Today, the popularity of using
a sauna or steam room for their
associated benefits seems to be
on the rise.

The physiological benefits
of such rooms can be varied:
medical professionals have
found that exposing your body
to very hot environments can be
both beneficial and detrimental
to your health, so be sure to
consult your doctor before
using either if you have any
major health issues (especially
cardiopulmonary ones).
Psychologically, as muscles
begin to relax while you enjoy
your stay in either room, your
mind begins to unwind and
levels of stress are alleviated
from your conscience. You begin
to focus and only focus on the
intensity of the temperature.
These are just a few factors of
how beneficial regular visits can
be for you.

As an avid user of both the

10

sauna and steam room, there are
several small tidbits of personal
etiquette I would like to offer
when using your choice of either
one.

When entering from the
outside, open and close the
door quickly. Users inside can
immediately feel the rush of
cold air come in, which creates
a feeling of discomfort and only
impedes the process of raising
the temperature to its maximum
potential. For everyone's
enjoyment, please try and stay
in for longer than 20 seconds. In-
and-outs can be very agitating.

Refrain from coughing or
spitting in either room. The
more you frequent a sauna or
steam room, the more you will
notice that regular users do not
engage in these bodily acts as
they are considered unhygienic
in such enclosed areas. Attempt
to do this in the washroom or
outside.

Some steam rooms have
a tap or hose inside with very
cold water which people use
to hose themselves off or to lap
water from. Sprayed directly
on the pipes or surrounding
walls, cold water can also be
used to enhance the steam; do
not turn on the tap and begin
hosing yourself down or the
room, splashing water all over
other patrons next to you. The
sensation of having hot and
cold touch your skin is shocking
when you least expect it and
disrupts the relaxation of others.
This is even more important for
those who meditate in either
room.

old friends and family and the
new ones I have created.

The results for me have been
unprecedented. I’m achieving
more than J initially thought I
was capable of. This is not to say
I am some extraordinary human
being or He-Man. However,

I’m doing things the old me
wouldn't have been able to.
My ability to work two part-
time jobs framing houses in the
winter months, only to come
home and immediately start on
my full-time course load, or to
swim upwards of 1500 metres a
week at the community aquatic
centre are qualities in my life I
can thank my sobriety for.

Revealing this type of

Finally, mind your
conversation and wandering
eyes. The ceramic walls of a
steam room cause the volume
of conversations to amplify and
being in such an enclosed space
means everyone hears everyone
else’s words. Throwing out
F-bombs every second word
while describing some lewd act
you carried out with a friend is
utterly vulgar and annoying to
hear. Saunas and steam rooms
are places people use to relax
and shut their brains off from a
busy day or week—they don’t
come to hear your venomous
vocabulary while having their
half-naked bodies searched over
with your roving eyes.

David Lam students, you
are fortunate enough to have
access to my favourite steam
room in this area of the Lower
Mainland, just across the street
at the City Center Aquatic
Center. Discounted student
rates are given to you when you
present a valid student card
for daily, monthly, or yearly
visits. See their website for more
details.

To all steam and sauna
newcomers who see themselves
becoming regulars, welcome.

I promise you will soon see

the mental and physical health
benefits through regular
attendance. Make sure to

drink lots of water and be sure
to cut your stay short if you
become nauseated or dizzy.
Most recreational facilities and
health specialists recommend no
longer than 20-minute intervals
in either room, followed by a
period of cooling off.

personal information may seem

a bit conceited—to some extent,

it is. But I feel it is important

to address these musings now,

before this paradigm becomes

the norm in my life. As William

Griffith Wilson, the founder

of Alcoholics Anonymous put

it: “We have learned that the

satisfaction of instincts cannot

be the sole aim of our lives.”
The goal here is not to create

a facade of myself, but rather

to portray myself for who I

really am and to build on this by

taking all the elements around

me into consideration and

finding connections between

them. Throughout my journey,

I have become more attentive

 

to those around me without
passing any forms of initial
judgments like I used to when
I was hung over or under the
influence of alcohol.

Does this read like I’ve
been smoking too many herbal
cigarettes? I’m sure it does, as
this is a personal discovery,
which can be hard to explain on
paper. To reiterate my opening
line and leave off with some
final words of wisdom, I say to
you the following: everything
is one day at a time. Become a
better person to yourself, and
in return, you will be a better
person to the people around
you.

Photo courtesy of Peter JBellis (Flickr)