As sauna becomes more and more popular, more and more sauna enthusiasts are recognizing that sauna is more than a hot room. In addition to 10-15 minutes sitting on a bench in a 160 -200 degree f. sauna hot room, a sauna session is more "robust" when we: Toss water on the sauna stove rocks. Embrace Loyly (steam created by tossing water on sauna rocks). Become more familiar with our bodies and minds by recognizing that "the time to leave the hot room, is when the idea of jumping into an ice cold lake or rolling in the snow is about the best idea we've ever heard." (Clintmeister) Leave the sauna hot room, and cold plunge, or cold shower, or roll in the fresh snow. Become even more familiar with our bodies and minds by recognizing that what we just did is not crazy, or some macho ploy, but that exposure to extreme hot or cold temperatures improves mitochondrial function that can serve as a catalyst to improve our health. (more here). Be one with our time outside, in … [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...]
Time magazine: “Why Saunas Are Ridiculously Good for You”
In 2014, we reported that the AUTHENTIC sauna cat is finally out of the bag, Thanks to the 2016 study announcing that sauna may reduce risk of dementia and Alzheimers, we are seeing major media "catch up" to what we have known to be true (if only intuitively) for a long time: Saunas are ridiculously good for you. Now that Time Magazine announces it, look out for people to come knocking on your door and wanting to get in on your sauna action. We used to get made fun of: "You guys are out there naked?" "You just sit and sweat? ewww.. not for me." "If I want to get hot, i'll go back to Southern Illinois. Ha ha" But like craft beer, great music, and bikes with fat tires, we first get made fun of, then people finally try it, and before you know it, they dig it. We don't mind. Move over. Make some room on the bench. It's sauna time! Here's the article, copied and pasted without permission, and with all the adds pulled out: "A visit to the sauna is more than … [Read more...]
Are you enjoying your sauna in temperature extremes? Or are we all just regressing to the mean?
This is the kind of thing we get when we sauna in temperature extremes: "It takes a couple extra sticks of firewood, that's for sure." "I notice my door sticks, condensation builds." "I love the feeling of my hair freezing." "I usually wear a bathrobe for between sauna rounds." "I can't get enough of that cool misty feeling in my changing room. It's like some mountain Hawaii waterfall valley or something. It feels awesome!" Sauna in more temperate climates are fine. But saunas in Nature, in temperature extremes, allow us (as The War On Drugs say) a "Deeper Understanding." Wim Hof explains here, how we, as humans have become soft because we have evolved to shield ourselves from temperature extremes. We go from warm house to warm car to warm office. We temper our showers "ewww, that's too cold" and temper our lives to a point that we have lost control of our physiology. Many have thrown in the towel to cold weather. To them, I challenge: "you have become … [Read more...]
Your own backyard sauna: are you ready yet?
The outdoor backyard authentic sauna experience is being enjoyed RIGHT now by many hundreds of people. How do I know this to be true? I have helped hundreds of people build their own authentic backyard saunas. But that's not important. What IS important is that our own backyard outdoor free standing sauna buildings are significant structures. They don't have steeples, but they are our churches. And our health clubs. And our Doctors (both mental and/or physical). Our own backyard saunas are health and wellness sanctuaries. It doesn't matter who we are or what is going on. For some of us it is a bad day at work, or we can't set down our cell phones, or we are back from a shitty war and are trying to get our life back together. We have made the commitment and we are enjoying a better life. We have our backyard sauna. "Other than diet and exercise, I can’t think of anything else that will benefit your life in a more positive way. And, that’s not just sales talk. It’s the … [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 all cases, an authentic sauna session is akin to a journey. Sitting on our sauna benches, we close our eyes and could be anywhere, and often our minds take us to far places, free from distraction. A lake cabin, a mountain stream, that waterfall in … [Read more...]
Sauna in nature is bigger than all of us
As we sit cooling between sauna rounds in nature, we look out at the sky and the trees and are filled with calm. There is beauty in asymmetry, a clump of trees off to the right or a cluster of clouds towards the horizon. Then as we look closer, we see nature playing a trick of symmetry in the same scene, each tree offering branches magically balanced left and right and no matter where we gaze across the water, the ripples of disruption are perfectly equal, where all the colors blend, as if computer programmed. As we sit cooling between sauna rounds in nature, we listen to the silence and are filled with calm. There is beauty in this calm as we are welcomed by a couple simple interruptions like how the breeze ruffles through the trees, a familiar soothing accompaniment that, if we let ourselves think about it, our ancestors have also heard for 10,000 years. Same familiar sounds. Same with the birds. Generations of birds genetically intertwined, us sharing the same space as them … [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? What do you use?" Water is the simple answer. We get our hair wet as we settle into round one, and nature does what it does. DANGER: It's one thing to give sauna advice, and another thing to give sauna advice without sounding like a know it … [Read more...]
What happens to your body after using a sauna
Guest post series continues. Please welcome Rudy Dewatine from Bodyfatgenius.com. Enter Rudy: For many years, saunas have been seen as keys to obtaining a healthy lifestyle. Saunas are a great way to de-stress and have also been seen in the health and dieting industry as a means of detoxing the body. They have been used to drop weight quickly by getting rid of excessive water that your body may be retaining and reducing the appearance of bloat. Saunas are accessible to almost everyone now at places like recreation center and gyms. It is even possible to create a mock-sauna in the comfort of your own home using your shower and a small bathroom. Why are saunas so beneficial to the health of a human body? Let’s take a look at some details of exactly what happens to your body after using a sauna. Your body is detoxified When you sit in a sauna, the high temperature causes you sweat profusely. When you sweat, your body naturally gets rid of things that it cannot use, like … [Read more...]
The spiral of opulence
We have to be careful As we get older, and more established in our careers, we are (hopefully) starting to accumulate more things and some more disposable income to toss around. We may find ourselves starting to look at the marketplace with different measures. A new couch, an upgraded vehicle with seat warmers, maybe even a vacation home. More disposable income can easily be met with more anxiety. After the first sheen of happiness wears off, these material things can start to spiral down on us. There are a few things that can buffer us from the spiral of opulence REI, in ironic fashion, is chalk full of products that are marketed to assist us in slowing us down from the spiral of opulence. For some of us, it may be a mountain bike or a pair of hiking shoes. The ability to get out in nature, to get some endorphins rushing and calories burning, helps us separate from the weight of our material possessions. For others, it may be travel. The ability to get out into different … [Read more...]