From Russia with Love

By Laurel Kallenbach

Peter the Great reportedly pronounced with great Russian pride, “Medicine is good but the banya is better.” Banyas, or detoxifying steam baths, are still integral to Russian society, no city or village is without one. Long before indoor plumbing, czars and peasants alike sweated in the sauna, slapped each other with oak twig bundles (to stimulate circulation), and rolled in the snow, all in the name of cleanliness and good health.

Izba Spa in Québec – a city that revels in its long winters – has adapted the Russian banya tradition and made it a Canadian tour de force. No burly, towel-clad Soviets here. Instead, this opulently decorated spa, inspired by Russian Orthodox architecture, offers many delights: shiatsu, sports massage, Vichy showers, facials, an oxygen bar, and a salon.

My massage therapist, Manon, guided me downstairs into the candlelit, catacomb-like banya area, while explaining the various stages of the Izba Special, a combination of the Russian treatment and Swedish massage. First, I loosen up in a chlorine-free whirlpool surrounded by stained glass and a hand-painted dome ceiling. Over the bubbles, I can almost hear the soft voices of monks chanting away my tension.

Next, I lie face-down on a towel in the dry sauna for several minutes. When Manon enters, she ladles water and eucalyptus essential oil over the sauna’s hot rocks. She’s carrying a bundle of dried oak leaves that have soaked and softened in a bucket of water. With the leaf whisk, she strokes, brushes, and pats me from neck to toes. The rustling leaves feel divine – tingly and invigorating on my skin – and they infuse the steamy sauna with their woodsy scent. I mean to protest when the leaf brushing ends, but Manon pours warm honey over my body – to draw out toxins and soften my skin, and I just melt into a gooey, sweaty bliss.

When I’m limp from the heat, Manon leads me to the shower for a rinse before the cold plunge. I’m looking forward to cooling off – that is until my toes scream that this water is nearly as frigid as a Siberian snowbank. Manon encourages me to submerge myself up to my shoulders for at least one minute, preferably two. I manage sixty seconds, but only waist deep. That snoozy, steam-cleaned feeling is gone; now every cell and nerve in my body is buzzing as I scramble out of the cold and into the warm, monastery-style massage room. Under its vaulted ceilings and ancient-looking frescoed walls, I happily surrender to a semi-deep massage. After the hot and cold banya, my muscles are completely receptive to Manon’s coaxing hands and I emerge feeling both sublimely relaxed and invigorated.

Izba Spa (the name means “little cabin” in Russian, referring to the wooden sauna) couldn’t be more ideally located than Québec City, which has nearby skiing and other snow sports plus a rambunctious winter carnival every February. I for one was thrilled to spend a few hours cloistered within its walls, where I discovered that Izba’s Russian banya is nothing short of a religious experience.

address book

At Izba Spa in Québec both French and English are spoken.

The 90-minute Izba Special (whirlpool, banya, and massage) costs $80 Canadian. The two-hour Izba Royal Treatment (whirlpool, two banya sessions, and massage) costs $100.

(418) 522-4922, www.izbaspa.qc.ca

November/December 2003