MY STORY
COMPANYMy Old Life
I was living the typical person’s lifestyle. High stress job, travelling in a car for 70% of my working day. Working as a sales manager in a direct sales environment, I had the stress of the usual targets, and the added stress of my employees hitting their targets and all the trimmings that go within that industry. Eating when I could, and normally from fast food establishments, cafes or snacks vans (Mmmm I can feel my arteries furring as I think about it. My other main diet came from fizzy drinks, sweets, lots of chocolate and smoking cigarettes (well at least the stress kept my weight down).
When working in cities, mostly London, I would have the added pleasure of the city air to breathe, (I could feel it on my chest as I have asthma, I know, why do I smoke?) mixed with the exhaust fumes of other vehicles constantly around me. My mobile phone would be stuck to my ear 60% of the time cooking my brain (yes we did that sort of thing a few years ago while trying to drive) and if this wasn’t bad enough, another cigarette to help me relax or to celebrate another sale made or lost.
Once the working day ended and I was at home, to wind down - not being much of a drinker - I would roll a smoke. When ready for dinner, this would normally be a microwave meal, sometimes from M&S - thinking it would be better for me because of the quality – even though if it was home cooked food - it would still be heated in the microwave. On top of all that, I had no exercise, I just didn’t have the time! My weekends consisted of two days relaxing, seeing friends and catching up with everything that life throws at us that’s not connected to work.
Cancer
I was in my thirties and had already lost one set of Grandparents to cancer, as my Granddad was smoking 60 a day, Nan not smoking, but as we all know now the dreaded second hand smoke will get us in the end.My mother! But she didn’t smoke or drink well maybe the odd sherry or glass of wine. At last, a survivor. Mum had the Cancer removed before it became malignant, plus she always looked after herself - good food and exercise every day, and now yoga. But then aunties and uncles, the word cancer was becoming a well used word in our family. However, in my mind Cancer was still not a real event, and the way I lived my life stayed the same.
A visit to my parents on a lovely sunny day, sitting in the garden enjoying the warmth of the day and the beauty of the well kept garden at this time of the year, the coming light hearted conversation that you have with your mum and dad. The word Cancer was rearing its ugly head again this time it’s my Father, he has Cancer of the Esophagus (the throat) and had a couple of months unless they did a major operation to remove this and connect his stomach to his neck, dad didn’t smoke and as he was now diabetic didn’t have any sugar or sweets and no alcohol in his diet, but had just gone though a tough period of high stress. After the huge operation to remove the Cancer, a year went by and then 3 months of watching my best friend, my Dad, slowly disappear now having Cancer every where you could imagine. I used to think that you got Cancer if you were unlucky and it only seemed to be the good people in life that got it. I still didn’t change my life style except leaving my high stress job. ‘Well if stress had helped cause Dad’s Cancer’.
My education on health
Then one day I was looking on the internet for an outdoor sauna that I had seen on a TV programme, where they build sheds for people. This was when I came across Far-Infrared Saunas. Most of the information was on American websites. I started to study the benefits, and the amount of ailments that could be treated though using this type of sauna, not believing all of the marketing, I also studied different sources of information on the web and researched European clinics that were also finding use of Far-Infrared.Amazed at this new information and my new found interest, I wanted to research more on the causes to a lot of the ailments and deaths. Cancer killing 1 in 3 but this was still beaten by heart disease! Why were these deaths increasing every year? What was changing in the world we lived in today? The food we eat? (Or what we don’t eat any more), the toxins and heavy metals we are now exposed to? The fact that we don’t hardly sweat any more, we don’t allow ourselves to run high temperatures or have fevers? What detrimental effects does this have on our bodies?
After studying Far Infrared products for six months I came across an exhibition in the USA, holding a large selection of importers and manufacturers of Infrared saunas, so I booked a flight and off I went to learn more and hoped to come back to the UK as main dealer.
Well from my research I had found predominantly three types of Infrared heat source for saunas, Infrared tubes or light bulbs, but these could burn you, lava sand filled tubes but these are believed only 56% efficient, the most popular and believed the best at 96% efficient are the ceramic Infrared emitters.
Once in the USA I found what I believed to be the best manufacturer for quality and they were based in Canada but they already had a dealer in the UK albeit in Ireland! This made the costs too high when adding on all of the shipping costs. Or I could import direct from Japan where the Far Infrared market was even greater than the USA, but I found although these were cheap, it was in fact reflected in the quality.
Well on my return to England I decided to purchase my sauna from a well known brand in the UK for traditional Saunas, being sourced from Austria. Being that I wanted to use this product for detoxing I ordered my cabin in a white wood ‘spruce’ as this is non toxic unlike cedar and red woods. I also added extras, aroma therapy, and colour therapy and then had a good friend ‘a car installer’ install the sound system as I wanted a high quality CD and good quality speakers. With no room indoors I set about building a small 7x5 garden building to house my new project. And yes never looked back, if you’re looking for the health benefits and more from a sauna without the extreme heat all I can say is Far-Infrared!
New problems ahead
From the use of the mobile phone for nearly ten years stuck between my ear and shoulder and now with hands free, I found myself with back problems and neck pain, off I went to an excellent osteopath. With the help from the FIR Sauna for the early morning and evening pain and the back crunching from the osteopath all was soon sorted. My osteopath (Paula) was also into her horses and asked would the technology work on horses? This set me about making the first prototype, and well the results have been excellent and very exciting hence the first total Hyperthermic horse therapy unit in the UK. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Paula from myself and the lucky horses that get to use the therapy unit.Yours Sincerely
Nick Gander.