Finnish Sauna
By Anna Lynn Sibal
Most people who have tried it have nothing but praises for the traditional Finnish sauna. They typically describe the experience as invigorating, rejuvenating and promoting a sense of renewal and heightened well-being.
However, the sauna experience may be daunting for people who have not tried it before. They probably have some misplaced notions about staying in a room that is hot and dry, where there could be smoke coming from the woodstove, and where they would have to sit naked with other people for a length of time.
The only real way to dispel these notions is to try out the Finnish sauna. But to make the most of it and to actually enjoy the experience, one has to follow what is called the sauna cycle.
What Is the Finnish Sauna?
The Finnish sauna is the more traditional form of sauna. The room or the cabin is constructed with wood, with wooden benches for the bathers to sit on.
The heat in the sauna is produced by burning firewood in a woodstove; the smoke created by this is made to pass through a vent or chimney that directs it outside the cabin. Heat-absorbing stones are “cooked” in the stove as well. These stones generate additional heat in the sauna.
Before Entering the Sauna
If you have not yet experienced bathing in a Finnish sauna, you should observe the sauna cycle to make the most of it. Before you enter the sauna room or cabin, you should take a shower first. In a Finnish home, the sauna is considered to be the cleanest part of the premises and taking a shower before entering it is a way of maintaining this cleanliness.
Also, before entering the sauna, you should remove your jewelry, as well as your contact lenses or eyeglasses if you wear them. Your jewelry and your eyeglasses will burn your skin and injure you because of the heat in the sauna. Likewise, your contact lenses will dry out and irritate your eyes.
You should also drink a glass of water before entering the sauna. All that sweating can dehydrate you; you actually lose around a quart of your body’s water through that sweating. Drinking before entering the sauna prepares your body for the onslaught of heat.
Inside the Sauna
Inside the sauna, place a towel on the bench and sit upon it. And then, sit back and relax. Let the heat wash over you and the sweat flush out the toxins from your body. Stay inside for at least ten minutes and get out of the room to cool down if you feel that you have had enough.
After cooling down, you can get back inside for another ten minutes until your body tells you that it has already had enough of the heat. You know you have had enough of the heat and it is time to leave the sauna when your body is already beginning to feel feverish.
If it is a private sauna and you would be alone inside the room, it is best to have nothing on so your skin will be fully exposed to the heat.
Cooling Down
Cooling down is just as important a part of the sauna cycle as heating up is. Sudden exposure to the cold without letting the body recover from the heat of the sauna can be dangerous. Thus, after you leave the cabin, do not just dress up and go. Take the time to cool down by sitting on a chair with your bathrobe on and sipping a drink, such as lukewarm water or warm tea. Your body will also need the drink because it has been dehydrated by so much sweating.
After you have cooled down, you take the shower again and dry yourself thoroughly. Put some lotion on your skin so that the moisture that the heat took away from it will be replenished. And then, get dressed and go about with the rest of your day.
The Finnish sauna experience is indeed an exhilarating one. You should try it at least once in your life, just to know how it feels like. You may even get addicted to it.
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