Schedule a Spa Day With the Bees
Have you ever wished you could be a fly on the wall? How about a bee in the hive? That sounds like it would be even better, right? Well, get ready! The Bee Garden at our Wilmington Island location in Savannah, GA, now features a Bee Therapy Hut that lets you become one with the bees. While these huts are found sporadically across eastern Europe, ours is one of the first in North America.
A Bee Therapy Hut is an enclosed structure containing a large bench built over several open-top beehives. The bench’s screened bottom allows visitors to experience and benefit from the sounds, smells and vibrations of the hives directly underneath. The hives are accessible to beekeepers at the back of the structure. This is also where the bees enter and exit.
From the outside, the hut looks like something out of Candy Land or a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. Sitting under the low-hanging tree branches, surrounded by wildflowers and palmettos, with a winding shell pathway leading up to the entryway, the small A-frame structure could be a cabin at a quirky kid-friendly campground.
The small structure has enough room for you to meditate, do a little yoga, or just relax while you immerse yourself in what only can be described as an élan vital emanating from the hives. The screen in the bench prevents the bees from entering, but it opens up their world to you in the peacefulness of this quiet space.
Let’s Go Inside
When you enter the hut and shut the door, the first thing you notice is the sweet scent of honey, flower nectar, and the aromatic cedarwood the hut is made of. It completely envelops you and you reflexively close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Yes, relaxation comes this quickly inside this magical little building.
Have a seat while your eyes adjust to the dim lighting. Breathe in the warm, sweet air being circulated around you by a hundred thousand pairs of tiny transparent wings. Beehive air is highly-ionized and clean, which has been shown to benefit the lungs and respiratory system as well as have a calming effect on the mind.
Now that you’re all settled, focus on the constant euphonious buzzing. Ommmbzzzz. The sound is actually micro-vibrations caused by the bees flexing their thoracic muscles. Although bees use these muscles to fly, create heat, and generate acoustical signals. A hive produce frequencies ranging from less than 10 Hz to more than 1000 Hz. Frequencies between 430 Hz and 530 Hz are said to be most pleasant to humans and are thought to induce deep states of relaxation and healing.
Focus in on the buzzing again. The sound waves create air pressure and particle movement so not only can you hear the vibrations, you can also feel them. This light micro-massage balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and melts away stress and tension. Allow it to guide you into even deeper relaxation, tapping into your own self-healing frequency. Ommmbzzzz.
The Benefits of Bees
It has been said that beekeepers have great longevity due to the meditative nature of beekeeping, the smells and sounds of the hive, and regularly using honey, beeswax, propolis, and royal jelly. Spending time this close to honeybee hives has been shown to benefit the nervous, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems. The Bee Therapy Hut lets anyone reap those same benefits and feel at one with the bees.
It’s not surprising that Ted, our founder and the most emphatic lover of honey and honeybees we know, would insist on building one of these enchanted structures beneath the flowering trees of our headquarters.
“I’ve seen more than one employee disappear from the work day only to be found much later, asleep and dreaming in the bee hut,” he said. “No one can blame them because the hum and vibration of the bees under the bench has a way of drawing you in, whispering sweet nothings into your ears, and tempting you toward a place of idyllic slumber, or at least deep relaxation.”
Schedule a Sesh
Locals and tourists are invited to schedule a session in the Bee Therapy Hut at our Wilmington Island location at 211 Johnny Mercer Blvd. Call 912-629-0908 to reserve your time with the bees. Availability is season-dependent.
#savethebees