Fit to be tried: The Vibrosaun
Monday May 24 2010
WHAT can give you a massage and a sauna, help you lose weight, relieve stress, muscle aches and pains, and even get you to exercise while lying down?
The answer is a Vibrosaun and now this Australian-made machine is taking Ireland by storm, according to the manufacturers.
Climbing into a white electronic machine that looks like a cross between a tanning bed and a coffin, and allowing your body to be heated and jiggled about from head to toe may seem like an unusual way to go for a jog, lose weight, cure arthritis and relax, but all this and more is what you're promised if you cough up from €15 for a session in a Vibrosaun.
As well as those in need of relaxation, the machine is popular with overweight people and sports professionals needing to lose a few pounds fast -- such as boxers and jockeys, or even frantic brides-to-be.
The Vibrosaun is like a tanning table with a lid on top, and it generates a dry heat from 20-80 degrees. If, like me, you're slightly claustrophobic, this isn't a problem as your head is left outside to face an instrument console that you use to adjust the heat, fan and even the music levels. The result is a combination of vibration, warmth, ventilation and music. The machine heats up instantly and doesn't use up much energy, so it's ready to go when you are.
"One session in the Vibrosaun can burn as many calories as you would rowing or jogging for 30 minutes," claims Vibrosaun distributor, Len Coleman.
Joe and Kerri Ryan, from the Water Lily Day Spa in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, say they are glad of their decision to add a Vibrosaun to their treatment range, as the equipment is catching on. "We have them for over a year now, and about 90pc of the people who try it end up being repeat customers," says Joe Ryan.
The machine is popular with local doctors who in turn recommend its use in the treatment of muscle injuries and conditions such as arthritis.
Coleman, from Australia's Gold Coast, got involved when he was in his twenties after a sports injury smashed his leg and it was reconstructed badly. The result left him in terrible pain and he was told he'd probably end up in a wheelchair.
But after trying out the Vibrosaun for a design engineer who assembled the machine along with a doctor, a chiropractor, an osteopath and a physiotherapist, he says his walking improved and his pain lessened.
"It certainly keeps me trim, taut and terrific," says Coleman, who is now 77.
- Amanda Phelan
Irish Independent
