Saunas-Ancient Times To The Modern World

Sauna bathing is an ancient past time although the activity is quite popular in the modern world as well. What is it that makes the sauna such a timeless pleasure?

A sauna is a small room or dwelling specially designed for bathers to experience wet or dry heat sessions.A bather, or group of bathers, can gather inside of a sauna to experience temperatures as high as 80 degrees Celcius or more. The opening of the pores and sweating make it possible for impurities to easily be removed from the body. In fact, the sauna’s popularity can be attributed to its many health benefits such as stress reduction, detoxification of the body, an improved immune system and other positive changes.

The word sauna simply means a traditional Finnish bath. In ancient times, saunas were small dwellings dug in the bottom of hills and slopes to keep people warm in winter. The first known saunas were essentially the lowest points dug in a slope in the ground mainly used as dwellings during winters. At the time the sauna included a fireside where stones were heated to very high temperatures. Afterwards, water was thrown on to the hot stones thus producing steam and heat.The temperature would increase so dramatically that people removed their clothing.

Eventually the sauna was improved with the addition of a metal woodstove and chimney.Air temperature was typically set between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius but on occasion exceeded as much as 90 degrees Celsius. Similar to the earlier style sauna, a steam vapor was generated by dousing heated rocks with water. The combination of heat and steam produced extreme perspiration.

Historically, the Finns used a vihta, a bundle of birch branches with small fresh leaves. They would bind the branches together and use it to gently swat themselves and other bathers. This practice not only aids in blood circulation, but adds a pleasant birch scent to the sauna.

Saunas relieve stress in two ways. Not only do they help you relax from simply spending time relaxing within, but they also help your body relax physically. .The other way in which a sauna relieves stress is physiological. More potentially harmful chemicals are able to leave the body with the aid of the hot steam. In addition, the formation of new chemicals that are known to cause stress is greatly reduced.

Since the sauna makes you sweat, and the sweat removes toxins, the overall experiences helps to detoxify your body by forcing toxins out through the skin.

In Finland home sauna bathing is practiced regularly as Finns regard saunas as the natural and superior method to cleanse the mind and rejuvenate the spirit. Then and now, the sauna remains a key component to healthy living in Finland. Families often bathed together in home saunas, and in the past Finnish women often gave birth in saunas.

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.