GabyThermal procedures strengthen the immune system, help balance weight, and reduce stress levels, which is relevant for all of us right now. Steam baths can be beneficial for conditions like sciatica, rheumatism, and chronic respiratory diseases. However, they are contraindicated for acute infectious diseases, epilepsy, inflammation of internal organs, ischemic heart disease, and bronchial asthma.
Proper Gear
You don’t go to the sauna naked. Essential items include a large terry towel or a natural sheet, a steam-proof hat made of natural wool or felt, hygienic rubber slippers, and sauna mitts. And don’t forget the broom: whether soft or hard, herbal or wooden, leafy or coniferous.
Oak brooms are the strongest. This antiseptic wood heals wounds, reduces sweating, and lowers high blood pressure.
Birch brooms are recommended for bronchitis and muscle pain. Birch helps clear acne, unclogs pores, and heals abscesses. A brew made from soaking a birch broom tones the skin, strengthens hair, and eliminates dandruff.
Rowan brooms combine strength and flexibility. Rowan is excellent for toning and has disinfecting properties: it kills microbes and fungi.
Linden brooms have antipyretic properties and can help with colds when steamed.
Eucalyptus brooms are useful for inhalations during bronchial inflammation, runny nose, and cough. The volatile substances from eucalyptus leaves create camphor acid and hydrogen peroxide in the sauna. This natural antiseptic has disinfecting, bactericidal, and wound-healing effects. Eucalyptus can cleanse and brighten the skin, relieve headaches, and assist with neuralgia, muscle inflammation, strains, and sciatica. Eucalyptus brooms are harvested from late summer, but the leaves gain their healing power until November.
Coniferous brooms made from spruce, juniper, fir, cedar, or pine help with lung diseases and heal wounds, while essential oils strengthen the immune system and calm the nerves. However, this is not the best choice for sensitive skin, and such a broom will need to be soaked longer.
Herbal brooms are made from nettle, wormwood, chamomile, and other medicinal plants. It’s best to combine nettle with a birch broom, and add bird cherry and currants to birch and oak. You can add tansy, St. John’s wort, mint, fireweed, or rowan to the oak broom. Wormwood pairs well with mint, motherwort, oak, and birch.
Healing Essential Oils
Share essential oils with the steam room: menthol, lavender, or fir. They positively affect the nervous and immune systems, internal organs, and skin. Add essential oil to a container of hot water (10 drops for 2 liters of water, 20 drops for 3 liters, or 10 drops for 15 square meters), wipe down wooden shelves with this solution, and pour it over the stove.
Important Preparations
It’s more beneficial to head to the steam room after mental work rather than physical labor. You should rest before any physical exertion. Avoid going to the sauna on an empty stomach or right after a meal; it’s best to wait a few hours after eating. Before entering the sauna, refrain from consuming alcohol and try not to drink too much liquid. To prevent burns, don’t forget to remove any metal jewelry from your body.
Take It Step by Step
Before entering the steam room, take a shower and dry off with a towel. Lie on the towel, not directly on the hot bench. Breathe through both your nose and mouth in the steam room to warm up your bronchi and lungs. Don’t rush to whip yourself with the broom right away; spend the first five minutes just warming up your body. It will be easier to breathe if you lightly brush the hot benches with the broom. When you do use the broom, start from the top and work your way down, from shoulders to feet, alternating 10-15 strokes with a massage. To avoid burns and scratches, remember the rule: the higher the heat, the gentler the stroke. Exit the steam room with the broom; otherwise, it will dry out on the benches.
Traditional Steam Room
Our sauna is a humid hot steam environment, where it’s recommended to stay until the first signs of sweating, which is usually no longer than 10 minutes. After that, step out into the hallway and dry off naturally. Then, take another warm shower and return to the steam room. During the second session, you can stay a bit longer, but not until complete exhaustion. After the second session, it’s advisable to drink warm water or herbal tea. In the third session, give yourself a broom massage, then rest in the hallway and take a shower. Immediately stop if you feel an unhealthy heartbeat, weakness, dizziness, or nausea.
Finnish Sauna
Dry steam is easier to tolerate than humid steam, making it simpler to endure a sauna than a steam room. However, it should not be used more than twice a week and for no longer than 1.5 hours per session. The day before the procedure, reduce your salt intake to 2-5 grams (salt retains the fluid that should be released in the sauna). Avoid pickled foods and alcohol. Before the sauna, do 3-4 sessions, alternating them with a long warm shower and a calm rest. Exclude warming infusions, such as linden tea.
Infrared Sauna
The essence of infrared therapy is not in excessive sweating but in activating blood circulation without putting extra strain on the heart and blood vessels. In a half-hour session, you can burn up to 300 calories. The only contraindications are inflammatory processes and the recovery period after injuries.
Herbal Barrel
This “individual sauna” is made exclusively from cedar wood, which has a high content of phytoncides that inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms. The herbal barrel is suitable for those who have difficulty tolerating traditional saunas. A thermal cable heats the water and produces steam that does not reach the head. The procedure is done while sitting: inside the barrel, there is a bench with comfortable armrests. The session lasts 15 minutes. During this time, half a liter of fluid is expelled from the body, and up to 600 grams of body weight can be lost. No shower is taken after the herbal barrel; the active substances from the herbs that settle on the skin will continue to work for several hours. The cedar herbal barrel improves blood circulation, reduces cellulite, and restores skin health. However, this procedure is contraindicated for people with arrhythmia, high blood pressure, a tendency to bleed, as well as during pregnancy and in the presence of active inflammatory processes.
Stay Hydrated
If you want to lose weight, avoid drinking for two hours after thermal procedures. Quench your thirst with cranberry juice, honey tea, rosehip infusion, or herbal decoction. Sauna drinks should be consumed warm to allow the heated body to cool down gradually. Alcohol in the sauna is very dangerous. Don’t add extra burdens to your body that it may not be able to handle. Enjoy your steam!
