In many cultures throughout history, sauna (and other forms of sweat bathing) has always been an enjoyable practice, yet it has also been a critical practice for hygiene: getting clean. Those that have saunas at their lake cabins, cottages or rural farms understand this experientially (meaning: "hell yea, you never feel cleaner!"). Whether cutting brush, building fences, digging an outhouse, we finish the day with dirt and sweat behind our ears and everywhere else. The mere process of sauna bathing (sweating, clean rinsing, sweating again, clean rinsing again) does an exceptional job of cleaning our skin, miles better than soaps and any other products found at Walgreens. We know this, so what's the best exfoliant treatment as part of our sauna sessions? Snow! Nature's luffa: Snow. Those that sauna in winter climates have been using snow as an extremely effective exfoliant for a long time. "I pack snow in my hand like a snowball and rub it vigorously … [Read more...]
Does your electric sauna stove dial go to 11? Controlling the heat for better steam
Those familiar with saunas only in health clubs or hotels may wonder why there's a dial on the sauna stove control panel. The dial is always cranked to the max. And often, it's still not hot enough. SECRET: Most commercial sauna stoves installed in the US have a "governor" on them. Safety first!: It's against the law to have a hot room hotter than 165 degrees f. Clever health club regulars try to work around this by tossing a little water on the control sensor "tricking" the sensor to think that the sauna hot room is cooler than it really is, so the controller tells the stove to "get going!" Yet, often, even this trick doesn't always get the sauna stove rocking. Poor stove. Cranking it out all day everyday, like the little engine who could, trying to heat the sauna rocks to foster an environment to produce good loyly (steam created from water being tossed on sauna rocks). Sauna stoves in health clubs and hotels have other things to overcome, like: hot room door … [Read more...]
Is your sauna stove benefitting from intermittent fasting?
We've all been there: "should I toss on another log?" Is there enough fuel in the firebox? Is the sauna hot enough? Those of us who have taken a lot of saunas often stand in front of our saunas and hesitate before throwing in a log, just to throw in a log. We have learned that: Our sauna stoves don't need perpetual stoking. Once the heat chamber is "up to temp," we can damper down our stoves, idling at a spot of efficient burn rate. (gasification). No excess wood: only enough to get the firebox hot and give us enough fuel for our complete sauna session. This is like our bodies: we perform best not too full, and not too hungry. For our sauna stoves, this means burning well and hungry for wood. Before adding a log, we pull the coals forward because our stoves burn efficiently from front to back. So, as we stand next to our sauna stove and ask "should I toss on another log?" We think again. Usually, we can get great heat for that last sauna round just by pulling our coals … [Read more...]
With sauna, the cool down is as important as the heat up
You know that feeling when we mistakenly step into a freezing cold shower? "yowwwwwwwwwww!!!!" and we jump back in terror "Omg, that's so coooolllllld!!!" Well, here's a little secret: we sauna enthusiasts seek out that feeling. We are like crack heads for that adrenaline rush. After experiencing this feeling over and over, we are able to unpack what is actually happening, in a weird, rational kind of way. Conventional sequence from contact with cold water: Skin: "cold water, man! I'll go tell the brain to get our muscles to react, fast!" Brain: "shit, the skin down there just told us that there's fucking cold water hitting the body. Time for conditional response! sending an outpouring of stress hormones right now. Hey muscles: pull back now!" Muscles: "righty, oh. On it!" We pull back. We breathe hard. We are freaked out, but we recover. Experienced sequence from contact with cold water: Skin: "cold water, man! It's just cold water, is this what we … [Read more...]
When bringing beverages to your next sauna party should it be in cans or glass?
Always, ALWAYS bring beverages in can containers to sauna gatherings. Never, NEVER bring beverages in glass containers to sauna gatherings. Same with boats. Same on the dock. It only takes one yahoo to knock over a glass bottle and smash. And glass fragments end up everywhere, including embedded in bare feet. Serious and immediate buzz kill to an awesome sauna party. BONUS: Transfer beverage of choice into a glass made entirely out of ice, and now you've got somethin'! (Especially after jumping through a hole in the ice). … [Read more...]
Is it better to take a sauna on an empty stomach or a full stomach?
The answer to this one is easy: neither. We go to sauna like we go to the gym, or go cross country ski, or pick up hockey, or a bike ride: not hungry nor not full. If we sauna soon after eating: We don't feel good heating up. Our bodies get super confused. As our body temperature rises in the hot room, our heart rate goes up. A higher heart rate is due to the need to pump more blood through our system faster. Same process as with rigorous exercise. Soon after eating, our body needs to devote energy to digestion, not the stress of heat. We don't feel good cooling down. Because our bodies are stressed and confused, our cool downs suck. We may burp or reach for water in an attempt to stabilize ourselves. At this point, we may get mad at ourselves for our bad timing: "ugh, why did I eat so much so close to sauna time?" Our sauna rounds are too short and we feel yucky. If we sauna when we are hungry: We don't feel good heating up. Our bodies are starving for calories. … [Read more...]
When to leave the hot room? The answer is about the best line I’ve ever heard
QUESTION: "When should I leave the hot room?" ANSWER: "You should leave the hot room when the idea of jumping into an ice cold lake is about the best idea you've ever heard." WHY DO I LOVE THIS LINE? Meditative quality. The line offers a suggestion for the sauna bather to become more meditative and introspective, always a good thing while sitting in a sauna. Consciousness. The line offers an invitation for the sauna bather to look within themselves. We often look outside for answers to our questions, yet so often in life, the answer lies within, especially as we untangle the wires in our head while sitting in the sauna. Rubber band theory. The line offers an understanding that a good long hot round, followed by a cold plunge and long cool down until the body equalizes gives us a much more fulfilling sauna experience. Nature. The line gives us an opportunity to open ourselves up to Nature. Sauna in nature is bigger than all of us. A sauna in Nature can … [Read more...]
The cool down as a function of time outside between sauna rounds
Sauna bathers understand the nonlinearity of a good sauna cool down. As the wind blows and steam billows, we have a grasp of how our bodies retain heat, even in sub freezing temperatures. Further, we understand that after a certain threshold of time, are bodies are fully cooled. We feel it, and at this point, we either towel off and get dressed, or head back into the sauna for another round. An expression of this understanding can be represented as: The vertical access (n) is heat. The horizontal access (f) is time. As we exit the hot room, and after we jump in a cold lake or dump cold water over our heads, are bodies are still plenty warm. And we remain so, nonlinearly. Even after a few minutes outside, our bodies still give off heat and we are relatively comfortable outside in the cold. Yet after a certain time, our body heat starts to drop faster, and at a certain point we should be reaching for either our clothes to get dressed or, if we are between rounds, the … [Read more...]
Between sauna rounds: are you jackrabbiting or benefiting from the complete cool down?
With steam billowing off our bodies, JP, 612 Sauna Society, and Scott Pollock, American Swedish Institute, and I were discussing the virtues of completely cooling down our bodies between sauna rounds. "It's no wonder why some people don't like sauna. I feel bad for the people who go from the hot room, to outside, then right back in. Back and forth. Jackrabbing their sauna rounds." JP is right. Microbursts may work for two guys who built a $120mm company, but for most of us, our bodies become confused and it is easy to feel dizzy with many short sauna rounds. From the tundra in Alaska, to the Northern reaches of Scandinavia, enclaves of sauna enthusiasts all over understand how awesome it feels to exit the hot room when "the idea of a cold lake plunge is about the best idea you've ever heard." Then, enjoying the complete cool down, in the garden all misty wet with rain, until our body core is completely cooled. Not just our skin. When we listen to our core, we tap … [Read more...]
Does the sauna changing room need a new name?
As we know, sauna is more than a hot room. The hot room is where we have our sauna stove and benches, where we enjoy heating up, tossing water on the sauna rocks to create steam, ahhhhhhh (loyly), and as we sweat it out on the bench and consider when to exit (when a cold plunge is about the best idea we've ever heard). So, we leave the hot room to ideally jump into a cold lake or hit an outdoor shower enjoying the clean rinse. Then what? Brrrr.. the wind is cold but our body is warm! We are conscious sauna bathers. We listen to our core, not our skin. We want to equalize and feel that endorphin rush. We want to enjoy our cool downs, where do we go now? The changing room In winter, the changing room is where we can seek shelter from the cold, stretch out our sauna rounds, chat with others enjoying sauna, or simply reconnect with oneself. One need not seek a waiver from the President of the International Sauna Society to enjoy music as part of our sauna sessions. The best … [Read more...]