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 … [Read more...]
With our own saunas, we sauna when we want (and settle into times that work for us).
Those of us who own our own saunas understand how awesome it is to sauna when we want (and how we want and with who we want). Because we can sauna when we want, we have taken saunas at all times of the day and night. Examples: Morning saunas to start the day. Friday afternoon happy hour saunas to wave goodbye to our work week. Saturday evening family saunas (a nod to Finnish tradition). Late night party saunas when the kiddies are in bed. What's great about owning our own saunas is that we wave the flag of freedom high. Our backyard health and wellness retreat is ready for us when we are. Our abilities to "escape" steps out our back door give us the feeling that we have gone on a long journey far from home. And in … [Read more...]
Sauna Secret: 32 oz. of drinking water
As sauna is becoming more and more popular, people are seeking out good sauna tips. Like with exercise, we know that we shouldn't eat right before we sauna. We also know that it is not good to go to sauna hungry, our bodies depleted of nutrition. But an often overlooked Sauna Secret is hydration. In the world of physiology studies, if there is such a thing as a sweat meter, I a) don't want to use it and b) don't want to be in charge of monitoring it. But if there were to be a sweat meter and a study to go along with it, I am sure that a typical 3 round sauna session would produce many ounces of sweat (ew, that's enough of that!). So, here's the thing: Drink 32 oz. of drinking water before you sauna. No matter how much you sweat … [Read more...]
Sauna tip #7: get your hair wet
As we settle into our first sauna round on the sauna bench, or before we even step into the sauna for round one, many sauna enthusiasts benefit from dumping some fresh water over our heads, ruffling our fingers through our hair, and getting our hair real wet. Benefits of getting our hair wet at the beginning of our sauna session: It starts opening up our pours, and probably our hair follicles too. It helps moisturize our hair, naturally. It starts the flushing out process - ridding our system from products and tonics that are found at Walgreens but are not found in nature. For those of us who sauna regularly, the real kicker is the clean rinse after every sauna round. "How do you get your hair looking so healthy? … [Read more...]
A few suggestions for sauna guests to help make sure you’ll be invited back
As sauna becomes more popular, more and more people are being invited over to other peoples' saunas for sauna parties and gatherings. And all this is a good thing. As an open hearted sauna host for over 25 years, here are a few of my suggestions to help sauna guests be low maintenance for their sauna hosts. This helps make a sauna party a good vibe for one for all. Bring your own towel. Nothing spells yahoo more than being invited to sauna and showing up without a towel. Yes, we sauna owners are good hosts and wave the flag of freedom with our own pile of sauna towels. Keep in mind, a seasoned sauna host may be known to de stress their clothes washer by refolding and restocking their once used sauna towels for future use. … [Read more...]
We enjoy our sauna cool downs (and obtain command of our entire physiology)
Outside of "Close the door!!" There are very few sauna rules. While partaking in a sauna session, we exit the hot room when we've had enough heat, and we re-enter the hot room when we've cooled down and want more. After we leave the sauna, we stand outside on a zero degree winter's night. As steam billows off our body and a bitter wind brushes against our wet skin with a "brrrrrr," our conventional minds are trained to get us to panic and seek warmth immediately. But for many sauna goers, we have retrained our minds to think differently. Our simple rule is to listen to our core, not our skin. While enjoying time in the hot room, our bodies absorb heat and become warm, like a radiator. As we cool, we enjoy the benefits of the … [Read more...]
Sauna Rule #1: Drink plenty of water.
Sauna Rule #1: Drink plenty of water. Sauna rules #2-#6, added up, are all less important than sauna rule #1. This is nothing new. Saunatimes rambled about this in 2009. Folks who have taken sauna regularly their whole lives understand Sauna Rule #1. How much water? 32 oz. (1 liter). TIPS: Heading to a sauna party? Drink 32 oz. (1 liter) of water before you head out the door. Partaking in sauna after exercise? Fill your 32 oz. (1 liter) of water when you're done exercising. Drink it, then go in the hot room. Enjoying a sauna at the cabin? Fill your favorite 32 oz. (1 liter) bottle with water and drink it, then go to sauna. About to hit the health club sauna? You guessed it. Fill up that water bottle, AND … [Read more...]
Sauna and itchy and everything’s nice
In a sauna, a good sauna, there's a moment when the sauna bather, sitting on the hot room bench, all of a sudden may start itching. It's ok. Sometimes the itching will start around the ankles. Sometimes the itching will start on the back of the arms, or maybe even on the forehead. It's ok. Gently itch. Run your fingers along your skin like a rake. It's ok. We know what's happening. The heat and sudden increased moisture from water being tossed on sauna rocks is helping to open our skin pores. Breathing. Releasing. This is how the sauna bather gets clean. No soap or laundry detergent or power washer needed. Those in nature who may have just returned from a cross country ski trip, or who may have just finished … [Read more...]
Cold water plunge between sauna rounds revisited
Cold water between sauna rounds is an integral part to the authentic sauna experience. Cold water plunge between sauna rounds is not some macho ploy. Cold water between sauna rounds: Flushes your exposed skin pores, cleaning your body naturally. Increases blood flow and helps your immune system. Reinvigorates your mind and body via endorphins and all kinds of great stuff that is hard to put into words. Next time you see someone leave the sauna hot room, towel off their sweat, and start getting dressed to go home, call them out. You have my permission to call them a dumb shit. They are missing half of the goodness of sauna. What's worse, they will keep sweating and their exposed pores will absorb crap like poly and poly … [Read more...]
Winter cold plunge cabin retreat is warmly received by all participants
A hole in the ice for cold plunge is called avanto in Finnish Finlanders jump through holes cut through the ice with no more emotion than Americans collecting their lunch at the McDonalds drive through window. Some even swim around leisurely in the ice cold water. But 91% of Americans think jumping into a freezing lake is absolute insanity. Thanks to this weekend's antics, we are happy to be amongst the 9% who think it is wonderful. We drove North from Minneapolis 3.5 hours, skied over from the mainland and pulled up to the cabin with a smile on what turned out to be a perfectly cloudless, windless afternoon. The January 2016 winter cabin cold plunge research retreat I was joined by esteemed colleagues 612’er Kurt Hanson, a 50 … [Read more...]