The Guardian published this article yesterday, reporting on winter travel to Finland. The journalist was escorted around by Ritva, a sauna guide “plucked from retirement by the tourist office.”
The sauna guide confirmed that “golden sauna rules are: only ever stay in as long as you want. And remember to shut the door.”
In a world of rules, regulations, and how to books, isn’t that refreshing?
Whether at a health club sauna, hotel sauna, backyard sauna, cabin sauna it’s important to completely cycle your sauna rounds. We have praised the virtues of three sauna rounds, yet a sauna round isn’t complete without a clean rinse and a proper cool down.
Optimally, a clean rinse is achieved via jumping into a cold lake. Yet practically, not every sauna sits by pristine rustic shores with waves lapping and loons calling. So, an outdoor shower hooked up to a garden hose works great, especially as one is not able to temper the cold water. If at a health club or sauna with a proper shower, resist the temptation to reach for the hot water handle. Cold water is great for your pores, blood flow, and ultimately feels great.
A simple 5 gallon bucket with fresh cold water, and a plastic containers (from a grocery store deli or Chinese restaurant-without the noodles) are all you need for a clean rinse.
As a rule of thumb, cold water rinse as if you were going to towel off and go on a dinner date: get the sweat off and chill out.
Guest post from a sauna enthusiast:
Sauna. You really have to like the word.
Sauna. It just sounds right. Taking a sauna is many things, but for me, it is the one time in my entire life where a clock doesn’t exist. Time can stop, if only for the 2-3 rounds of heating and cooling one can enjoy while relaxing in and around the sauna.
A ritual has crept upon me as I take a sauna.
A slow start at a moderate temperature develops into a sweat BURST on my entire body – anywhere there is skin as the sauna temperature rises! I’ve often wondered if it is good to sweat a lot or a little when in a sauna. Are you better off sweating a ton or just enough or just a little. My sweat bursts on the scene with an explosion from my pores. This can last for a several minutes before a good pace is grooved to carry me through the majority of my sauna time. Next, after a few hits of water on the rocks, my time is nearing its end in the sauna for the round at hand. It is precisely at this time that I put my hands together, lean forward, bow my head slightly while in a sitting position and meditate as drops of water roll from the tip of my fingers. A count to 100 DROPS rolling from my hand signals the end to another round and the beginning of the cool down as I exit the sauna.
Trying frowning and saying the word “sauna”. You can’t. Sauna is a smile word, enjoy the sweat and the last 100 drops.
There were no road signs or traffic rules 125 years ago. People got in their cars and just drove. That’s how sauna should be and certainly is if you own your own sauna. Yet as sauna becomes more popular in public places like hotels, health clubs and spas, for better or worse, people need rules, signs and instructions for sauna.
Chris at Saunascape provides a guide to sauna etiquette. These are public sauna tips: like sit on a towel, don’t spit on the rocks, and shower before entering sauna as “if you’ve been swimming, there is chlorine on your body that will volatilize in the sauna and can irritate everyone’s eyes and lungs who shares the sauna with you.”
All great tips.
However, with your own sauna you don’t need signs or a list of rules, it’s back to pioneer days. As my then 10 year old son noted in his school report: “There are no rules to the sauna except no yelling, keep away from the stove and most importantly DON’T leave the door open. So that’s the end of my project hope you learned a lot.”
No rules. Reason number 14 to get your own authentic Finnish sauna idling in your own backyard.
I can’t think of a better way to end the work week and kick off the weekend than to entertain some friends at my home with a three beer sauna on Friday night.
My friends arrive around 8ish and meander around, get their things ready, change their clothes and fill up their water bottles. We get into the sauna and then finally get a chance to catch up and learn about new happenings while the smell of sage fills the air. People begin to decompress and its time to punctuate the moment with a blast of steam. In between sauna rounds, the cold Fall night cools off the bathers and its soon time for the next round. Nothing like an ice cold beer in your sauna on Friday night! By the end of the third round, everyone is completely relaxed and in the right frame of mind. A great way to top off the evening is with a bowl of hearty chicken noodle soup, especially on a cold night.
Below is my favorite recipe. You can make it the day before so you’re not rushing around before your guests arrive.
MAKES ABOUT 3 QUARTS, SERVING 6 TO 8
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
If you see a wood pile, can you walk over and identify the species? Are you in tune to how different wood burns? Folks with saunas and wood burning fireplaces in cold climates like Alaska, Minnesota, Canada are in tune. These folks have to be in tune. Proper BTU management is pretty critical. Burn crappy wood, be cold. Burn good wood, stay warm.
Just as Minnesota Fats, the famous pool player, would advise that there are two ways to hit a pool shot – soft and softer, there are two ways to toss water on sauna rocks: start with a little water, then add a little more.
You can always toss more water as you go.
As Clint points out, all sauna stoves are made to take water. Rocks on sauna stoves are a thermal mass of heat energy. That heat is transferred to steam, as water gets tossed on rocks. That steam then gets transferred to your body as it comes in contact with your skin.
You can toss a liter of water on the rocks and try to “ride it out” but this macho ploy is best reserved for the art of reverse cycling.
Loyly supports the rubber band theory of sauna, great for your skin and breathing.
Steam from water being tossed on sauna rocks, Loyly, is a spiritual thing, involving negative ions. Fire (sauna stove), Earth (sauna rocks), and Water (via loyly) create an aura akin to water falls and rainbows, something beyond this writer’s ability to put into words without any mind altering assistance.
BONUS: Starting with a little water, then adding more doesn’t shock your sauna stove, so in theory, you stove will suffer less fatigue.
OTHER BONUS: Rocks will be less depleted of thermal mass and respond quicker to more water with a smile and a sizzle.
MISNOMER: The temperature in a sauna does not go up when you toss water on sauna rocks. It just feels hotter because heat is transferred via water vapor onto your skin.
JAB: Infrared is NOT a sauna.
“How long should I stay in the sauna?”
I get this question a lot and here is the answer:
“Until pouring ice cold water over your head is the best idea you’ve ever heard.”
There are far too many factors that negate a specified time, such as:
If anything, I would argue that timers can be dangerous, so don’t use them at all. Wait until pouring ice cold water over your head is the best idea you’ve ever heard.
Note: substitute a jump in the lake or a roll in the snow when applicable.
Cheers!
Robin Bailey-Callahan, RD - Certified Yoga Instructor
While developing Sauna-Yoga, it became clear that it needed to be a holistic experience. Here is the protocol that emerged for a three-round Sauna-Yoga experience:
Round 1 – YOGA: See Developing Sauna-Yoga: part 2 for the demonstration of six poses that can be completed in a sauna at 170°F within 12 minutes.
Round 2 – MEDITATION: Both yoga and sauna indirectly include meditation. We found it useful to make meditation a prominent feature. See Sauna Meditation for guidelines. You might think the yoga round is the most intense of the three rounds. It’s not. The meditation round is by far the most intense and challenging round, hands down.
Round 3 – SOCIALIZE: A main purpose of sauna and in fact, all sweat rituals, is to relax and connect with others. Relax, interact and have fun. Soulful rock music works nicely during this round.
Each round refers to the interval inside a sauna. The interval should be approximately 15 minutes and the temperature should range from 160°-180°F. Each round is separated by a 5-minute cooling off period outside the sauna and don’t neglect your recuperation period.
Sweat Therapy Theoretical Model
From Sweat Therapy Theory, we know that sweat rituals operate by a combination of Exercise, Self-Regulation, Interpersonal Factors, and Metaphorical Contextual Elements. Adding Yoga to Sauna, kicks up the intensity in Exercise and Self-Regulation. According to the theory, this should create the opportunity for corresponding amplification of Interpersonal and Metaphorical Contextual Elements thereby causing greater positive effects to Mind, Body, & Spirit.
In other words, if these four factors make up the sauna engine, we’re souping it up.
Yvette Rivera-Colmant, MSW
There are several qualities of the sauna experience that are conducive to meditation and that make the combination, especially intense. Think Extreme Meditation.
The intense physical experience pushes the person to naturally bring thinking inwards to become more introspective as one appreciates their personal reactions to the heat. The effects of heat on muscle relaxation help the person to get into a deep state of relaxation. Introspection and deep relaxation characterize the altered state of consciousness one gains while sweating. As time passes, one’s reactions to the heat become more intense and create a challenge. One can allow negative thoughts and feelings related to the heat become the focus of their experience. Alternatively, one can engage in a process of disidentification, by which awareness (mindfulness) precisely observes, and therefore ceases to identify with, mental content such as thoughts, feelings, and images. Disidentification opens the person to then also observe positive mental content – thoughts and feelings that help one to adapt, cope, and thrive when faced with adversity. This can grow to include the development of other mental qualities such as concentration, love, or wisdom.
As is true with any discipline, to become skilled in meditation takes time and practice. Yet anyone can meditate.
One of the most intense ways to meditate in a sauna is to simply sit in silence and focus on your breathing. Alternatively, it is also very pleasant to have some chill-out meditation music playing in the background. A guided meditation I designed specifically for sauna can be purchased through CD Baby and soon Itunes for $0.99. See Sauna Meditation. This track is taken from the album, Sweat Therapy Audio. The Sauna Meditation track starts with guided meditation followed by several minutes of silence and then incorporates meditation music.
Here are some thoughts and reflections to consider for a sauna meditation:
Sitting erect but not rigid, lean against the back of the sauna, placing your hands comfortably in your lap. Let your body and mind rest and relax and get into the heat.
When you feel comfortable with it, allow your eyes to gently close. Tune in to the feeling of the breath moving in and out of your body, allowing yourself to breathe mostly through your mouth as the hot air stings the nostrils. Focus on the sensation of the hot air moving in and out of your mouth.
Let your body relax and as you sweat, think about the stress leaving your body. Negative energy leaves your body as you sweat. As the sweat leaves the pores of your skin so does anger, frustration, and tension. Relax and enjoy the heat.
Just become as comfortable as possible. The intense heat of the sauna is gentle at first, providing a very warm, relaxing feeling.
Some people sweat immediately and others take longer. Notice how your body reacts to the heat. As the sweat begins coming to the surface of your skin. Notice the feeling of your body.
Feeling relaxed and calm, the intensity of the heat grows. You may begin to struggle slightly as the heat works its way through your body. As the heat intensifies, so does the amount of stress and anxiety that is released.
Each time that you find your mind wandering off, simply bring it back to your breathing.
