Inside Dew Sweat House, a new Toronto sweat spa with heated blankets and Netflix

Sue Kuruvilla, owner of the Dew Sweat House, first went to an infrared sauna spa last year. She was in Los Angeles for a leadership summit, and her friend insisted they go to de-stress. At first, she was hesitant, but she went along with it. “It gave me such amazing calmness,” she says.

Later, on her six-hour flight home, Kuruvilla fell into the deepest, most restful sleep of her life. At the time, she was suffering from bouts of insomnia, so she sought out infrared treatments in Toronto. When her Google searches yielded no results—the closest spa she could find was in New York City—she decided to open her own.

Her newly opened sweat house, located at the corner of Gerrard and Logan, purports to detoxify the body using far infrared heat. During a 55-minute session, visitors are wrapped in a heated infrared blanket, which reaches a maximum temperature of 75 degrees Celsius. As the body’s core temperature rises, the thinking goes, your blood vessels dilate, which is supposed to generate blood flow and, yes, a lot of perspiration—you sweat out two to three times more than you would in a conventional sauna. “When you’re inside this blanket cocoon, you feel like you’re being warmed from the inside out,” says Kuruvilla. Here’s a look inside the space.

Kuruvilla and her co-owner, long-time friend Julianne Smola, wanted the space to be minimalist but cozy. Visitors are encouraged to hang around post-sweat:

The owners wanted to support other locals, so they purchased a painting by Toronto-based artist Joel Loblaw for the space. They also serve teas from North York’s Pluck Tea:

There are change rooms on site for guests to get in and out of their “sweat outfits.” Kuruvilla recommends a loose long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants:

There’s a TV in each sweat room to help pass the time during a session:

Each guest is given a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, with the option to turn on Netflix or listen to music—whatever helps get them in the right headspace:

After each session, guests are invited back into the lounge for tea, oranges and more relaxation: