Sauna Guide for Beginners
By Anna Lynn Sibal
For people who have yet to experience going to the sauna for the first time, the sauna can appear daunting and intimidating. Many people have this notion that the sauna is an uncomfortable place where one has to sit naked for a set period of time and sweat like a pig.
But that notion is so far from the truth, and thankfully, it is easily displaced once a sauna virgin gets to try it the first time. A visit to the sauna is always refreshing and invigorating. Truly, the sauna is heaven on earth that must be experienced at least once in a lifetime.
The Origins of the Sauna
In case you are not sure of what the sauna exactly is, it is a small room or a small house or hut where people can sit and lounge about at a temperature raised to about 80°C. This temperature in the sauna is achieved through various means, such as pouring water on hot rocks, through smoke, with the use of heaters, or through infrared. Such heat would otherwise be intolerable to sit through, but humidity is always kept low in the sauna to allow people to be able to stay through any given time period.
The sauna is a Finnish invention, and to this day, the people of Finland take their sauna traditions very seriously. Many sauna experts trace the history of the sauna to holes in the ground that the Finnish people dug outside their homes so that they would have a warm place to bathe in. They used open fire to heat this hole.
Eventually, the sauna became a center of Finnish life. It is the place they go to if they want to feel better and restore their health. Because it is always the cleanest part of the home, the sauna became the traditional place in Finland where the women give birth and where the dead are cleansed for burial. The Finns also have spiritual beliefs that revolve around the sauna.
Today, the sauna is now part of the spa culture all over the world. When people go to spas, they typically go on sauna sessions as part of their wellness treatments. The heat and the sweating can be intolerable at first, but you can get used to it and feel refreshed and revitalized afterwards.
Heating the Sauna
Heat is the essential part of the sauna experience, and there are many ways of creating heat in the sauna. Here are some of them.
1. Smoke. The smoke sauna is the traditional sauna. It is also the most primitive and takes so many hours to generate heat. Heat is produced here by putting heat-retaining stones in a fireplace that does not have a chimney. The smoke escapes through a hole near the roof. The smoke sauna is said to give the best sauna experience, but the downside to this is that the smoke can be irritating to the eyes.
2. Heaters. Because smoke sauna can be irritating to the eyes and require a lot of cleaning done afterwards, heaters to substitute for the open fireplaces were invented. These heaters still make use of stones over a wood-fed fire, and the heat in the stones is then released by pouring water on them.
3. Electric heaters. Electric heaters eliminate the use of wood and heat-retaining stones from the picture. It is seen as a cheaper, effortless, and less time-consuming way of generating heat in a sauna. Many sauna purists, however, consider staying in saunas with electric heaters a paltry sauna experience.
4. Infrared heaters. Infrared heaters generate infrared rays that are similar to those produced by the sun. They do not really heat the air inside the sauna itself, but instead penetrate the skin directly to encourage sweating.
Sauna Etiquette
For many people, the sauna is a huge thing and should be treated seriously, especially when you are in Finland. From this attitude towards the sauna evolved the so-called sauna etiquette. The sauna etiquette basically deals with maintaining the cleanliness of the sauna and the heat inside the room.
Because the sauna is considered to be a very clean place, you are supposed to shower first before entering the sauna. Taking a shower first will rid you of whatever dirt is on your skin, thus maintaining the cleanliness of the sauna even when you use it.
As for maintaining the heat inside the room, it can take a while for the sauna to heat up, even with the use of modern heating technology. However, it is far too easy for the air inside to cool down. Thus, if you are sharing the sauna room with other people, do not let the door open too long because it will cause the heat in the room to dissipate.
The sauna is taken by many to be a great place for relaxing and for healing the body. You should try it at least once in your life.
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