Since 2006, Santa Monica (by way of Pasadena) designer Melissa Graves has handcrafted her Wellness Bags for hot and cold therapy sessions to treat everything from muscle tension, stress, pain, mastitis, insomnia, sunburns and sinusitis to muscle cramps. Graves, a massage therapist with an interior design background, was first inspired to create her bags after privately making them for her clients and realizing their popularity, decided to expand them into a line of Wellness bags.

These soft, lovely bags are filled with rice and repurposed from some of the finest designer fabrics sourced from local, L.A. textile companies – that once decorated places like the Waldorf-Astoria, Hearst’s Castle and even the White House during the Jackie-O era.

Her collection includes her everyday line, Wellness Bags and Wraps, and for the more luxe taste, there is the Divine Therapy collection, which uses exclusive, high-end fabric. Every eco-friendly bag is individually designed from recycled materials so no two bags are alike, and they’re energy-efficient since they don’t require an electrical plug like conventional heating pads.

Simply heat one in a microwave for two minutes. The bag, which produces natural heat therapy, will stay warm for close to an hour and can be used anywhere on the body or neck area (it’s also perfect for warming up the bed). What if you don’t have a microwave? You can use the oven –place it on the center rack on a cookie sheet at 250 degrees for 15 minutes.

Need a quick chill session in the summer? Wellness bags also work wonders to escape heat stroke season. Just toss your rice bag in the freezer for some cold therapy.

The Wellness Bags and Wraps retail for $36.99.  The Divine Therapy collection retail for $54-$62.

Wellness Bags are available at Coutula, Fred Segal Zero Minus Plus, Planet Blue, Fancy That and various Whole Foods stores throughout California.

For more information, visit www.wellnessbags.blogspot.com, or contact Melissa directly at akv.party@gmail.com.