AquaSpa Soest Adds Ice Bathing Workshops to Wellness Offering
Ice bathing is becoming an increasingly popular wellness and health experience.
© Photo: Courtesy of AquaFun Soest
(eap) AquaSpa Soest – the sauna and wellness facilities at the AquaFun Soest leisure pool complex in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany – is expanding its wellness and health offering with professionally guided ice bathing workshops. A dedicated ice bathing pool has been installed in the spa area for this purpose. The new experience format reflects the growing popularity of ice bathing, which has evolved in recent years from an unusual winter ritual into a widely recognized wellness and health trend.
The workshops, which last around 180 minutes, gradually introduce participants to the cold-water experience in small groups. They first learn how the body reacts to cold water and how to prepare for the intense cold stimulus. Breathing and mental techniques are intended to help them stay calm and focused during the subsequent, professionally guided immersion in the ice bath. The aim is not to remain in the ice water for a as long as possible, but to develop an awareness of the cold, their breathing and their body’s response.
A recovery phase follows, with an additional relaxation, breathing or movement session. Each workshop combines ice bathing with a corresponding concept. The offering also includes access to the facility’s five-star premium sauna complex.
“Sauna and wellness are evolving. Today, our guests are looking not only for relaxation, but increasingly for special experiences that they can consciously engage with both physically and mentally,” explains Timo Schirmer, Managing Director of AquaFun Soest. “With ice bathing, we are responding to this trend while also providing professional guidance. For us, exposure to cold is an experience rather than a test of courage.”
Cold-water applications are increasingly becoming the focus of scientific research. For swimming pool and thermal spa operators, such formats can offer an opportunity to complement their wellness offering with new experience and health elements and appeal to additional target groups. ■
