IMG_3195With the new year approaching it’s time to get out those resolution note pads and write down everything you accomplished this year, what you want to achieve in the coming year and some health goals. It’s taken me a while to post this specifically because this site is more focused on wine, beer, spirits, events, and of course: eating a lot of delicious food. But for many of you that have noticed and asked: I have added health and wellness due to my weight loss success while keeping the career that I love and more. So with health and wellness, comes my newest discovery you must try if you have pain, inflammation, tension and soreness, insomnia, asthma, and more! 

2015 was and still is an exciting year, however as my wine and private chef business grew and grew, so did the workload. I am sure if you are in the hospitality, food service, beverage industry, or any industry where you are constantly using one arm in a repetitive motion, you have felt some pain. Even writers: theres more than carpal tunnel lurking in your sore arm/arms, i’m sure of it!

IMG_3192As a wine educator, sommelier, private chef, and blogger, I use my right arm to a point where I will let it go in pain for weeks on end only to rest it for a few hours with ice, pills and booze, all just to torture it all over again. I started to notice such pain in my elbow, and although I did wear those arm bands constantly for tendonitis, every once in a while the pain was so severe it would effect my fingers and my neck. I simply couldn’t take it anymore. Suffering from these injuries is very common in my industry, as well as many other industries, but for those mixologists, bartenders, sommeliers and chefs that suffer from this type of arm pain/inflammation, pinched nerves and more, I have found a very non-invasive possible cure to your injury!

I recently tried Kryolife, which is a whole body cryotherapy facility here in NYC that allows you to enjoy the health and beauty benefits of this holistic practice. Originally thought to just help arthritis, it has now shown to help with inflammation and other injuries. I must say I was skeptical at first… but this cryotherapy actually works! I did a full body treatment, and lasted the entire three minutes. Kryolife is a very welcoming office in a beautiful building, where you don’t even feel like you’re in a holistic medicine office.

Photo from: www.aplez.com

Photo from: www.aplez.com

My experience: As I entered, I was instantly greeted by a very knowledgable and warm staff ; which was nice considering I was about to freeze my entire body! They walk you to the rooms to change and you are given your own private stall for the entire time you’re there. You are asked to change into a robe, gloves and socks and everything is clean and spotless. My heart was beating very fast because I simply did not know what to expect, however the staff made me feel very comfortable and walked me through the entire process. Now… once you enter the cryotherapy room, things get real!

I kept thinking to myself, as I saw the cryosauna opening and the frost seeping out like a winter snow storm “Am I really about to do this for pain? Maybe living on Advil and booze for the rest of my career isn’t so bad…”. I then took a deep breath, took off my robe and went in! It’s an instant chill and once they close you in (leaving your head exposed) you can actually feel all your blood rushing to your heart, which is nice and a very different feeling. You can go in anywhere up to 1 minute- 3 minutes at -184˚F and -292˚F. The trained medical staff stay there to watch over you and make sure you feel comfortable the entire time. 

I did have some time to think, and while standing in the “frozen chamber of healing” my mind was racing minute by minute with thoughts… 

Minute 1: “Holy f**k it’s cold! So happy I decided to keep the bra on! I think I feel all my blood leaving my legs to go and protect my heart. Wait, does this mean my legs will turn blue? What color is my body when it’t this cold? I hope I didn’t have any sweat on my body… it’ll be frozen, and they’ll know I sweat! I wish I could look down and see if my body is actually frozen…”

Minute 2: “It’s kind of like jumping in the snow completely naked. Wait, why would I even do that? Hmm, if I can handle this I can probably handle that too. I would have to do it at moms house in the suburbs though. Wait, why am I even contemplating this… damn a whisky would be great right about now!”

Minute 3: “I can do this.. just a few more seconds! I refuse to keep living on pills and alcohol… ok no scratch that, i’ll keep the booze but now it’ll be for enjoyment purposes only and not for pain killing.”

After minute three, the doors release, the robe is back in my hands and I felt an instant rush through my whole entire body. It’s sort of euphoric, and exciting. All of my pain seemed to go away; then again I was still “frozen” for a few minutes until my body got back to normal temperature. I pedaled on the stationary bike (there was no way I was attempting the rowing machine in my robe) and pedaled my body back to normal temperatures. As soon as I stood up I noticed my back didn’t automatically crack, like it did before, so that excited me quite a bit.

www.kryolifehealth.com

www.kryolifehealth.com

My arms were still cold, and since I was there anyway I then tried the Facial, which was a wonderful and blissful experience. You feel happy and energized and your skin feels tighter and you are instantly more awake. * The facial is also great for anxiety sufferers. 

I went in for one session and to be honest I would absolutely go back. Now, this is 100% totally honest…. I Sara Lehman have been in much less pain since I went for my one session! Even so much so that when I work and use my arm and open 50+ bottles of wine plus cut 40lbs of butter, my arm seems to repair itself much faster. Now, of course I am just one person and I do believe in the power of positive thinking as well as a “decent” diet, but I can honestly say that I am basically pain free!

I will be back for more Kryolife treatments because of the inflammation benefits as well as the metabolism boosting benefits! Industry professionals: if you want a non-invasive safe and holistic approach to your horrible pain… go to Kryolife! I guarantee you will see success!