There’s a new winter wellness activity for people of Kelowna to enjoy as Loyly Outdoor Floating Sauna has officially opened to the public downtown, giving people the chance to heat up in their sauna before cooling down right in Okanagan Lake.
Jessica and Nick Rastas came across something similar when they were visiting family in Australia for Christmas last year and were instantly hooked and hoping to bring their own floating sauna to Kelowna.
“We wanted to bring a wellness activity to Kelowna in the winter, which we find there’s not a lot to do here in the winter unless you’re a skier, so yeah, something to do to warm you up but also just to really invigorate you. It’s quite an amazing experience. I’ve never felt as much clarity as you do after getting out of the plunge pool, and then being able to get back in the sauna is such a treat,” said co-owner Jessica Rastas.
Ice baths or cold plunges have gained popularity over recent years as studies show there are some great health benefits for regular users.
Jessica highlighted a few health benefits from cold plunging, including increased blood flow, help with inflammation, as well as lowering the chance of cardiac arrest.
"Some really amazing things that can come from it. But one of the things that I really like when I’m thinking about mental health is the resiliency you feel when you’ve done the cold water plunge. After you get out of there you feel like you can do anything,” said Jessica.
“It’s not about how long you stay in the water, it’s really just about listening to what you can do and how much you can handle really. One second to 30 seconds, anything is good. Even for the people saying they can’t get into the water, if you just step outside into the cold air for a couple of minutes … that’s called exposure, so it’s all a benefit."
Constructing the building itself, which comes with a sauna room, a cold plunge room and change rooms, the couple finished putting on the final touches this week and decided to run a soft opening with family and friends to test the waters before the official launch.
“Everyone was pretty excited for it and it went well. The heat was good. There’s a few little tweaks we made today and then we’re ready to open to everyone tomorrow," said Nick, the other co-owner of Loyly.
Loyly Floating Sauna is open from now until mid-April with bookings available daily.
If you want to check out the Loyly Floating Sauna and its cold plunge located at the Marina in downtown Kelowna, you can book a session through their website or find them on Instagram.
