Cryotherapy has been around for several years and I just got around to trying it. I have some knee pain and a few of my girlfriends swear by it so I thought I’d give it a shot. And I brought my daughter with me for fun.

If you don’t know what it is essentially it’s using cold for health benefits. Whole body cryotherapy (WBC) is a method that takes place in a specialized chamber using liquid nitrogen. So basically you enter this sauna chamber, and it’s a “dry ice” like environment where nitrogen gas between -180 to -264 degrees Fahrenheit envelops the body. You wear socks, crocks and mittens and stand in the chamber for 3 minutes. Sounds fun, right!? J Well, it’s purported to decrease pain and inflammation, help with sleep, enhance mood, increase metabolism and some other benefits so why not! And on Monday Funday at Cryo Myst in Bryn Mawr it’s only ten bucks!

When I stepped in and the technician powered up the Sauna it was about 30 seconds in and I thought there’s NO WAY I can tolerate this for 3 minutes. I hate the cold! Why did I think this would be a good idea! Does anyone say “Um, hold it, no mas, I’m out!” I was running in place with my mittens pressed to my face thinking, “Can I do this? I can do this. I can do anything for 3 minutes.” The technician stands and talks you through it. I did make it but was ready for it to be over. I was literally freezing.

So how did I feel afterwards? I had a ton of energy, was more mentally alert and felt great right afterwards. Did I sleep well? No but that’s because my dog woke me up at 2AM not feeling well. Did my knee pain go away? No, but I didn’t really expect a 3 minute therapy to fix my 20 years of knee pain. Did we have fun? Yes! It’s something my daughter and I will be talking and laughing about for weeks to come!