Fire & Ice
Inside the elemental ritual of contrast therapy at Dimensions Retreats
Dimensions Retreats is built around a simple idea: when people have space — real space in nature — their bodies and minds can recalibrate.
Set on a quiet forested property and designed with privacy and restoration in mind, Dimensions offers guests standalone cabins, chef-crafted meals, wellness programming, and access to nature at every turn. It’s a place built for slowing down, tuning in, and learning how the nervous system responds when given permission to settle.
Among the therapies available to guests is contrast therapy, an elemental practice that brings together heat, cold, breath, and intention. While the concept is rooted in long-standing global traditions, Unbounded Dimensions at Dimensions Retreats offers a contemporary, supported version — one that blends science, ritual, and accessibility.
Many visitors are new to contrast therapy, and Unbounded Dimensions takes care to make the experience feel grounded rather than intimidating. Sessions begin with orientation, not immersion: a focus on breath, awareness, and what each person is already feeling in their body.
“We always lead with education. We never drop people into intensity without context. We slow them in, not throw them in,” says Nick McNaught, Partner at Unbounded Dimensions.
Before any temperature shift occurs, guests learn how to steady their breath and recognize internal cues like heart rate and muscle tension.
“We invite guests to feel their body settle, and notice what’s already true: heart rate, tension, where they’re holding stress. We talk about what’s going to happen next in very human terms: ‘You’re going to feel a rush. It will rise, peak, and pass. You are safe in that arc.’”
This approach sets the stage for what contrast therapy actually does. Heat and cold activate two different sides of the nervous system — one energizing, one calming — and together, they create a regulated rhythm. The cold triggers a natural stress response, while the heat promotes recovery. When facilitated with intention, these shifts help people understand and work with their own physiology.
“Cold-water immersion triggers a marked sympathetic nervous system response, leading to the rapid release of norepinephrine,” explains Clinical Director Donald Currie, RP. He notes that this effect supports alertness, focus, and resilience.
Heat has an equally important role.
“Heat exposure, such as through sauna use, induces endocrine and vascular responses, including elevated levels of endorphins. These biochemical shifts promote relaxation, pleasure, and emotional openness, while simultaneously enhancing cardiovascular and metabolic health,” Donald says.
He adds that repeated heat exposure “has been shown to increase parasympathetic activity, supporting states of rest and recovery.”
At Dimensions, these effects are not presented as abstractions but as something guests can feel and understand. Participants move at a controlled pace, with guided breathing and clear expectations.
“When it’s time for cold, we move as a group. No heroics," Nick emphasizes. "Two controlled breaths in through the nose, longer exhales, shoulders relaxed, jaw soft. We remind them that the goal is not ‘how long did you last,’ it’s ‘did you meet yourself honestly and come back out with awareness.’”
The benefits unfold on multiple levels.
Physically, the alternating temperatures support circulation, reduce inflammation, and create what Nick calls “a natural pump.”
Mentally, people often describe a sense of clarity or “quiet focus” after the practice.
Emotionally, the shifts can feel surprisingly meaningful. Nick frequently sees guests experience “release and pride” — release through shaking, tears, or laughter, and pride in realizing they can stay present in intensity rather than pulling away from it.
Ritual also plays a role.
“Heat is not new. Cold is not new. Ritual around fire and water existed long before we ever put a logo on it,” Nick says.
The team honours those origins by incorporating slow pacing, intention setting, and moments of quiet into each session.
"We acknowledge lineage. Nordic sauna, Baltic and Slavic banya traditions, Indigenous relationships to heat and water, wood-fired bathing culture. This didn’t start with “wellness,” it started with community. We say that out loud,” he says.
Nature enhances the experience further. Surrounded by trees and open air, guests often report that the setting helps them feel grounded and connected.
As Nick puts it simply: Environment is medicine.
"Being outside — cold air on the skin, trees around you, breath you can actually taste — changes the way the nervous system receives the experience. You’re not just stepping into a tub and getting out. You’re in relationship with place.
When you move from wood-fired heat to cold water under open sky and you can see your breath in the air, your body understands on a deeper level: ‘I belong out here. I’m not fragile.’ That’s huge."
For those who want to bring elements of the practice home, the guidance remains approachable: brief cold finishes in the shower, intentional breathing, or using heat as quiet time rather than distraction.
Nick reminds people not to turn the practice into a test of willpower.
“This is not ‘how hard can I go?’ It’s ‘can I meet intensity without abandoning myself?’ That is the part that transfers.”
With private cabins, nourishing meals, and a focus on evidence-informed therapies, Dimensions Retreats offers guests an accessible and supported environment for exploring practices like contrast therapy.
By blending elemental heat and cold, scientific understanding, and the restorative power of nature, the retreat invites visitors to experience balance — and the inner steadiness that often follows.
Great Escapes Magazine is a publication of Resorts of Ontario, a not-for-profit organization that advocates for resorts, lodges and inns of Ontario's tourism industry.
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