My father was ahead of his time. We were almost certainly the first house in Potchefstroom that had a sauna, in the 1970s. (He also had the first Apple computer in town!)
I can still see all the young Krügers sitting in a row on the pine benches in our sauna while he added steam by ladling eucalyptus water onto the hot rocks. And afterwards we ran shrieking and yelling over the large, frostwhite lawn to jump into the ice-cold swimming pool. A few hot-cold-hot-cold sessions one after the other…
Contrast hydrotherapy is a popular trend in wellness rituals these days. It includes water-based treatments like sessions in an infrared sauna or steam room, ice baths and cryotherapy. Health experts can't say enough good things about it: Exposing the body to drastic temperature changes has all sorts of physical benefits, such as pain relief, reduced inflammation and improved circulation.
In addition to contrast hydrotherapy, the wellness industry is also currently obsessed with swimming - cold, 'wild' (in nature), or steaming hot.
Like so many other new trends, it has been widely attributed to post-pandemic shifts and developments. Between 2018 and 2021, Google searches for 'cold-water swimming' increased by 700% while those for 'wild swimming' grew by 145%.
There is a growing demand for swimming in nature from cold ocean to thermal spring - in support of
