Sweat and Reset: Review of Shape House Larchmont in LA

This year has been a whirlwind of activity already--from celebrating my birthday, shooting new video segments, consulting on projects and getting my fitness game back in gear. I decided I would aim to "sweat once a day" (or at least as many times per week as possible) in order to detox, de-stress and get glowing in 2015.

I am proud to report that I am right on track as I've recently kicked up my hot yoga routine at Core Power Yoga (my fave!) and wanted to see what other options were out there for days when I'm not feeling like Downward Dog but rather, want to relax in a more vegetative state instead.

Enter: Shape House.

The "urban sweat lodge" is now my new favorite retreat for so many reasons! The location is convenient with ample street parking and the interior of the space is modern and clean with pops of color (orange, namely.) The minute I walked in, I felt more relaxed and the sweat session to come was everything I could ask for in 60 minutes. I changed into oversized sweats (they have a change of clothes for you to use if you're rushing in from work or simply forgot) and was whisked away to a dark room by my helpful attendant, Jenny.

She explained that I would relax in a heated cocoon of sorts for about an hour and it would feel like a warm bed for the first 35 minutes or so, and then become more uncomfortable (i.e. scorching hot) towards the end when the heat would really be amplified.

My thoughts? Bring it on! During my sweat session, I relaxed comfortably on the bed, put on my headphones and happily caught up on back episodes of "The Mindy Project" while I let the heat do its thing. Shape House provides every guest with their own flat screen TV equipped with an endless variety of entertainment (Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, you name it), so the hour flies by and you'll feel productive if catching up on any of your favorite TV series was on your to-do list anyway!

I, for one,  thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and yes, you will emerge completely soaked in sweat when your session is done. Best of all, each session is said to burn anywhere from 1000-1200 calories depending on the person, which is absolutely insane (and awesome!)

Afterwards, I was escorted to the relaxation room, where I was served hot green tea and orange slices and left in silence to be still with my thoughts (okay, or to check my email, texts and social media channels, if you really must know.)

All in all, it's safe to say I'm a new convert of Shape House, and will be booking regular sweat sessions soon!

Namsaste.