Wellness, Baby: Steam Confessions from the Equinox Elite
Wellness Enthusiasts,
Let me share something deliciously indulgent with you – something that goes beyond the typical fitness narrative of cardio machines and protein shakes. I'm talking about my sacred ritual at Equinox Fitness in Woodland Hills, where I first became a devotee in 2014, only to return with renewed fervor in 2018 & 2024.
Listen closely, because I don't share these secrets with just anyone. While the pavement queens were busy logging miles on their treadmills (admirable, but predictable), I was cultivating a more sophisticated relationship with wellness in the steam room – my personal sanctuary of transformation.
The wellness scene has recently become enamored with red light therapy, and I understand the appeal. Those carefully calibrated wavelengths targeting cellular repair and collagen production are certainly having their moment. Red light therapy's benefits are undeniable – improved skin texture, enhanced wound healing, boosted cellular energy. It's become the darling of the skincare obsessed, and for good reason.
But here's what the uninitiated don't understand: steam transcends trend. It's the original luxury therapy, the ancient practice that predates all these technological innovations. I've watched how the perfect steam session can change not just your skin, but your entire being.
What made me choose hours of steam over the monotonous treading that occupies so many others? The avocado toast set might be shocked to learn that sweating in stillness offers more transformation than running to nowhere. The steam room isn't just about detoxification (though watching toxins release through every pore is its own reward) – it's about presence.
I've observed S entering the steam room with her perpetual scowl, only to emerge forty minutes later with a serenity that no spin class has ever provided her. Meanwhile, B has been religiously attending red light therapy sessions, wondering why her skin still lacks that certain luminosity that mine possesses.
My personal steam philosophy centers on the deep cellular cleanse that can only come from sustained heat. While red light therapy works through light energy to increase ATP production, steam works through heat energy that opens every pathway in your body. The whispers weren't about light panels today. They centered on the conspicuous glow that comes from dedicated steam sessions.
The standoff between steam advocates and red light devotees has lasted precisely three years before the truth has become undeniable. The lesson here, dear readers? In wellness as in fashion, the classics endure while trends fade faster than you can say "infrared panel."
What nobody but me seemed to notice: the steam room at Equinox Woodland Hills isn't just any steam room. The precise temperature, the eucalyptus-infused air, the lighting that flatters even on your worst days – it's a carefully orchestrated experience designed for the discerning wellness seeker.
Light lesson: Sometimes true transformation requires surrendering to discomfort rather than seeking the comfortable glow of red lights.
Wellness lesson: Your most profound healing often happens in the spaces where you can no longer distinguish between your own perspiration and the therapeutic mist surrounding you.
As we navigate this intriguing evolution in our wellness landscape, remember: I'm still watching, still knowing more than I should, and still dedicated to bringing you the truth behind the façade of fitness trends.
You know you love me,
Mitchell Royel