Hot. Cold. Lounge. Repeat.
By: Megan L. Horst | Photos By: Ashlee Glen
You may have seen the viral cold plunge videos on social media where people jump into freezing water. But what you may not know is that dunking into cold water in combination with the heat from a sauna actually has a variety of health benefits.
Sam Foster, a physical therapist at Rehab Associates, and her husband, Robb, opened Frostfire after having a healing experience at a similar spa in North Carolina.
“We fell in love with sauna and cold plunge when we participated in sauna cold plunge in Asheville, North Carolina,” Foster said. “We were sitting there, it was a community experience, we were sitting with people we barely knew. We used it as recovery after a jujitsu camp. We felt so much better and felt more united with the people we were experiencing it with that we said, ‘We need to bring that to Lynchburg.’”
Since October 14, 2024, when they opened as part of Launch LYH—a Downtown Lynchburg Association program that supports entrepreneurs who are ready to start a new business, relocate their business, or expand their existing business—Frostfire has sought to promote both community and wellness.
“We’ve always felt that Lynchburg is truly community-oriented…very supportive people,” she said.
“We knew that Lynchburg would like the community wellness aspect of sauna and cold plunge.”
While promoting community engagement, Frostfire’s mission is to empower people to take control of their health through education, support, and personalized care. Although they are most known for their traditional sauna and cold plunge, they offer additional services, such as red-light therapy and Normatec leg compression.
They offer one- or two-hour sessions, during which people alternate between the sauna and cold plunge, a technique known as “contrast therapy.” Typically, they spend 10 to 15 minutes in the sauna, rest to let their heart rate return to normal while enjoying a provided beverage and then take a dip in the cold plunge for 20 seconds to three minutes.
“We have two cold plunge tubs,” Foster explained. “One is set at 42 degrees; one is set at 50.
They run as individual pools, so they are treated with chlorine, just like a pool would be, and run twenty-four/seven on a pool filter.”
Sauna and cold plunge therapy—contrast therapy—has numerous health benefits, both short-term and long-term.
“There’s nothing that makes my body feel the endorphin release that sauna mixed with cold plunge can,” Foster said. “It literally lasts for six hours afterwards. You feel invigorated.”
Although muscle recovery, in a sense, is a short-term benefit, she explained that it also has long-term health benefits. People who sauna for about nine times a month for fourteen minutes or more, at a minimum of 176 degrees, reduce the likelihood of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
“There’s also research about cardiovascular health improvement and reducing the risk of death from cardiovascular events,” she said. Since traditional saunas are so hot, which opens the pores to help flush out the body, they are also used for detoxification.
“We’ve had people come here to help with detox of mold exposure,” she said. Firefighters also utilize the sauna to help eliminate environmental toxins from their bodies.
Between contrast therapy sessions, guests may enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of their lounges and also experience other wellness therapies. Red light therapy is used to stimulate collagen production, reduce inflammation and puffiness in the face, and enhance cell metabolism. You may also lean back in an anti-gravity chair and relax while enjoying a Normatec massage on your legs.
Aside from their contrast therapy sessions, Frostfire offers other activities to promote community. Every Wednesday at 6 p.m., they host a book club. They are currently reading Positively Wealthy by Emma Mumford.
“It’s all about manifesting positivity into your daily life,” Foster said.
“Ways to bring a more positive spin on the daily stressors of life.”
After the book club meeting, they do a sauna and cold plunge session.
Additionally, they host “Sauna & Stretch” on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where participants can sauna and then lie on mats and stretch for about twenty minutes.
“Since I’m a physical therapist, I gather all the stretches that I often give my patients and we work through them together,” Foster said. Twice a week, they also offer classes that focus on hip and core strength in their lounge, which is uniquely decorated with local art.
“We have a wonderful space here,” she said. “It’s a really nice lounge area.” With plants scattered throughout the facility and overhead strung lights, they have worked to create a serene, tranquil, and supportive vibe that promotes relaxation and community. Foster said that we cannot take away the stress of each day, but we can improve how we respond to it, and that is what they are all about.
“The whole vibe is community-based,” she said. Although you can participate individually, most people go in groups or even organize a “wellness party.” Their wellness parties last two hours; within that time, participants are given robes and slippers, and they can go back and forth between the sauna and cold plunge, enjoy other wellness activities, drink hot tea, and relax together, seeking wellness.
“It’s a shared experience,” Foster said. “We need more time together to form these bonds and relationships. It’s so much fun! It’s an experience unlike
any other.”
Foster encourages the community to visit their facility and take advantage of a complimentary tour.
“Our motto is you deserve to relax and feel good,” she said. “We feel that people deserve it.”
