Every year we know winter is coming and not in a Game of Thrones kind of way.

Brave enough Midwest winters and you will start to Google all sorts of ways to make it through the winter.

Your internet search history will start to show things like: How to relieve Seasonal Affective Disorder or How to stay sane when you can’t leave your house because the wind hurts my face?

Some people have no problem with the bitter cold the winter brings, but some of us need a game plan to make it through another season without gaining another ten pounds.

I have learned through enough winters I need a game plan that needs to be implemented late September or early October so I have good momentum going into November.

If I want to stand a chance in January and February, I need the pre-season mental health and physical health to get me prepared.

I’ve found massage throughout the winter helps my body and my mind so I make it part of the self-care plan.

A couple weekends ago I tried to schedule a massage on a Saturday and evidently everyone in Sioux Falls had the same plan.

I called everywhere and couldn’t find a single massage place with an opening.

I was making the calls from the parking lot at and looked up at the 3 Degrees business sign and remembered how my sister swore by sauna sessions.

The Joe Rogan Podcast that I listen to religiously like it’s a church service also had many mentions of the benefits of sauna.

It must have been a sign from the winter time sanity gods, I walked across the parking lot and into 3 Degrees and I signed up for my first 40-minute heated session.

I try new things at least three times before I make a decision if I'm in or out on something. The first time the beginners mind is usually so busy I can’t relax my thoughts enough to enjoy anything.

As much as I struggle midway through the winter, I am even less of a heat person. I always thought the sauna definitely not be for me.

I also thought 40 minutes of hotness for my first time would be too much, but I actually really enjoyed the entire time. I left my first sauna session feeling really relaxed and energized at the same time.

Here is the strangest thing for me who normally has a really hard time sitting still, but 40 minutes in the sauna went by fast.

I am not sure if it was shutting the world off for that long, the healing heat, or a combination of both, but I’m sold on the sauna.

There are all sorts of reasons to sauna, but since I’m not trained in the details, I would recommend asking someone in the industry or hop on Google.

Good luck out there! Winter is here.

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