Sauna Bathing-An Ancient Past Time
The sauna has been appreciated by man since antiquity, and is still loved today. Let’s explore the history of saunas and learn how they work
The purpose of a sauna is to provide wet or dry heat sessions that promote both relaxation and perspiration.A typical sauna session may be a social gathering in which bathers undress and sit or lie down in temperatures greater than 80 °C. A sauna bath is not only relaxing but also generates profuse sweating. If water is poured on the hot stones, steam is produced which makes the sauna moist. The sauna is loved not only for it’s relaxing properties, but also for improving the immune system and helping detoxify the body.
”Sauna” is world that developed in ancient Finland and means a traditional Finnish bath. Stones were heated to very high temperatures and water was poured over them in order to create heat and moisture in the form of steam.Because of the extreme heat, individuals would remove their clothes for comfort.
Eventually the sauna was improved with the addition of a metal woodstove and chimney. In traditional Finnish saunas the temperatures within often exceeded 90 degrees Celcius. Steam vapor was also generated by spraying water onto the heated stones. The steam vapor and high heat caused bathers to sweat a great deal.
Often the Finns would use a ‘vihta’, a bundle of birch branches with fresh leaves, to gently swat themselves and other bathers to improve the experience. This practice not only aids in blood circulation, but adds a pleasant birch scent to the sauna.
As previously noted, a sauna is a wonderful and effective way to relieve stress. It accomplishes this in two basic ways. One is the natural relaxation you’d experience when spending time in a dry or wet sauna. The other way in which a sauna relieves stress is by releasing chemicals from the body. When your skin heats up during a bath, large quantities of chemicals that cause stress are expelled from the body. Thus, in addition to reducing the amount of chemicals in the body, the sauna bath also slows the formation of chemicals.
The opening of the pores also makes it easier to remove toxins from the body. Toxins travel through your sweat glands and are released with your perspiration. As noted earlier, a sauna creates a high amount of perspiration and therefore is excellent for detoxification
The Finns keep the rich history of the sauna alive today by making it a part of their daily ritual. In Finland, saunas are considered to be a natural and effective way of refreshing both the mind and spirit. There was a time in history when members of a Finnish family would bather together in their sauna at home. Another interesting fact about the Finns is that many Finnish women used to give birth in the sauna!
When the Finns migrated to the different parts of the globe they shared their knowledge of sauna designs and customs. They taught other cultures about the sauna’s health benefits which helped the sauna to evolve further. Eventually, this led to the development of electric sauna stoves and far infrared saunas which became quite popular. Since then various cultures around the world have been recognizing, adopting and improvising the sauna.
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