My wellness routine is pretty relaxation focused and not all that serious. I like hot water with lemon, setting my intentions, skin brushing, hot baths and meditating when I have time, so when we decided to try cryotherapy on an episode of ‘The Wellness Experiment,’ I was excited to push myself outside my comfort zone and try something way more intense than I’m use to.

While the thought of freezing my tushy off in -167 degrees (mmmhmmm, minus one hundred and sixty seven degrees!) for three minutes (mmhmmm 180 seconds!) didn’t exactly sound like fun, I wanted to understand what the hype (it’s a huge celebrity trend) was about. Plus, I was also curious to test the alleged benefits: faster muscle recovery, anti-inflammatory, cellulite reduction, calorie burn.

I walked into CryoZone with a “you can do anything for two minutes” attitude, undressed, slipped on their boots and gloves, then climbed into the freezing, Nitrogen-oozing chamber. The first 60 seconds weren’t bad; it felt no different than being cold on a snowy day. Then it kicked it. We were 90 seconds in and my thighs began to sting and I mean STING. I focused on telling jokes to the woman administering the treatment. “I think I just saw a polar bear run down the hallway!” I yelled. “You’re doing great” she replied, “only two more minutes to go.” I could hear my teeth chattering and was feeling a little anxious about the 90 seconds remaining. I did, after all, despise being cold.

“90 seconds! Dream of warm beaches in Cabo,” she yelled. “Can I go somewhere else? There may be Zika in Cabo!” I replied. As I responded, it brought awareness to the fact that I didn’t really need to dream of a warm beach, it wasn’t that bad minus the sting. It must get colder, more painful, I thought.

“10, 9, 8… and you are done, lady!”

I made it through the entire treatment (between you and I, my can-do attitude still had some doubts)! Feeling very proud, I stepped out of the chamber and saw my reflection in the mirror. A shivering bright pink body.

As I drove home, with the seat warmer on, I could feel the sting in areas where I carried more fat – this must be the cellulite removal, I hoped! By the time dinner rolled around, the soreness I went into Cryo with had subsided.  Was it a coincidence or does this truly work? The truth is, like many wellness treatments, Cryo isn’t fully effective as a one-off trial. For long lasting results, they recommend you commit by doing it at least weekly and while I’ll definitely do it again, I’m happy with  my warm baths until that day comes.

For more on my cryo adventure, TUNE INTO THE EPISODE HERE.

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