This is a funny time of year — as the days grow colder and darker, everyone seems to speed up rather than slow down. Of course, pushing yourself to the edges of exhaustion for prolonged periods of time takes a significant toll, and even the most manic Edna St. Vincent Millay–types crave an antidote to burning boxes of candles at both ends. While some may be tempted to counter a stretch of self-destructive behaviour with a lengthy stone soup fast, ping-ponging from one extreme to another is likely to do more harm than good.

A far more pleasurable option is to enjoy a customized treatment that stimulates the body’s natural ability to regulate itself, like the Ultimate Detox Package ($115 on special for the fall) at Tula Hot Yoga and Spa (30 Duncan, 416-599-8852, www.tulahotyoga.com).

“The body goes through natural detoxification every day, but we do not necessarily eliminate everything from our system,” says Tula’s spa supervisor Maria Arogyaswamy, citing common culprits that tax the body, such as “lack of exercise, overeating, partying too much, stress, pollution and workload.” Sounds familiar.

To maximize my time at Tula, I arrived early enough to hit a challenging hour-long Hot Hatha yoga class ($16). Feeling pleasantly wrung-out, I met with Arogyaswamy for a personal Ayurvedic assessment and a guided chat so she could identify what might best suit my needs.
“Often it is just looking at the whole person and their lifestyle,” she says.

Arogyaswamy began the treatment by rubbing a scrub made from sea salt, almond oil and lavender essential oil from shoulders to toes, working to slough off dead skin and improve circulation. Once the salt was rinsed away, Arogyaswamy applied a body wrap using a seaweed paste from Thalgo, a company that specializes in marine-based products.

“As we age, we lose minerals in the body,” she says. “Seaweed and sea salt are great ways to replenish your minerals. The seaweed is an amazingly potent detoxifier.”

She finished with a fantastic Swedish massage using hot stones to facilitate the release of toxins — at this stage, she issued a no-talking rule, which forced me to calm down completely. She recommended that I drink extra water and take it easy for the rest of the evening, which was no problem since I left feeling deeply relaxed, one of my stated goals. An unexpected bonus was that the treatment left my skin feeling tighter, smoother and softer than it has in years.
 

KEEP IT SIMPLE
Tula’s spa director Isabel Lambert believes maintaining a healthy lifestyle in Toronto means making detoxification a part of your routine.

“It is very important as we need to contend with a lot of environmental and psychological aggressors,” she says. “We all know there are more pollutants in the city and stress levels are higher. There are ways to deal with this: simplify your life as much as you can, exercise regularly, drink lots of water and eat natural and healthy foods.”

Lambert practices hot yoga and Pilates at least three times a week, gets a massage or wrap at least once a month and incorporates acupuncture. (“It’s great for improving energy flow and helps bring a person’s system into balance,” she says.)

She also encourages a positive mindset and suggests eliminating as much stress as possible from your life, which may sound further out of reach than it really is. “On the whole it’s really all about making a commitment to look after yourself,” she says.