How To Have The Coolest Day In NYC, Literally

-230⁰F. That’s what you are stepping into at Cryofuel, the wellness retreat tucked in between Soho and Tribeca offering perhaps the quickest way to cool down in the city: Cryotherapy.

No, Cryotherapy is not a session with your psychiatrist in an igloo. Rather, it is a technique where your body is exposed to extremely cold temperatures for a few minutes. So naturally, freezing my body seemed like the perfect way to get out of the downtown heat.

One of the best parts is not just how welcoming the staff is, but how they make your first time feel so comfortable. I still brought a friend with me because no way I was going into one of those metal chambers without someone making sure I didn’t wimp out... or documenting it.

As I had agreed to go first, I was taken to the “Whole Body Chamber” where I stripped and let the cold air wrap around me, tumbling out of the top like fog. My friend put on some Young Money through Spotify on the iPad they handed her, and so I had a three minute icy freeze to the tune of “Bedrock.” While, yes it was cold, once my knees went numb it wasn’t so bad. That doesn’t mean as soon as I was handed back my robe I didn’t spring out of that chamber before I even had the robe fully covering my body. 

I’m pretty sure I shocked my body enough that the supposed benefits of “reducing inflammation, improving muscle tissue, and boosting your immune system” are plausible. Besides, my friend and I really did feel stellar after the session, even after we walked back out into the hot garbage air.

230% worth it. 

Cryofuel, 499 Canal St.