If it’s Saturday, It Must be a Sauna day

For most of us, the days fly by into weeks, into months and years. We find ourselves asking where did the time go? In my job, my work days are neatly partitioned into time segments from 45 to 90 minutes, starting at 9:00 am and usually ending at 6:00 pm. So on my days off, I like to be much less structured. I’m still a very organized person (slightly compulsive) and get the stuff done which I plan to do, which includes taking time for myself. If you don’t plan to take that time, it just isn’t going to materialize on its own. There will always be something or someone else to compete for that precious piece of the space-time continuum. That how those days turn into years without us realizing it.

I am fortunate enough to have a sauna in my home, which to me is a wonderful way to take some time for myself without having to leave home. Given the fact that I live in a remote area, this makes it all the more practical and appealing. Most Saturday afternoons, I “schedule” time for a sauna. Not only are saunas relaxing, but they are one of the best ways to cleanse the body from the inside out. Saunas are also a very efficient way to detoxify from the various pollutants and toxins we absorb, including heavy metals like mercury and aluminum. It is always best to be well-hydrated before taking a sauna, as all that sweat has to come from somewhere. If you’re not well-hydrated before a sauna, you’ll have some post-sauna dehydration, not to mention not being able to sweat out some of the nasty stuff you don’t want in  your body anyway. Drinking about 16 ounces of pure water with some Buffered Vitamin C added to it 60 to 90 minutes before your sauna will facilitate the hydration and detoxification process. Saunas are also a good way to improve skin health and improve muscle tone (without having to do much). So first take a regular shower and shampoo your hair, to be clean for your sauna. Ladies, this is a good time to condition your hair by leaving the conditioner on your hair while you sauna. It’s also a good time to pumice the feet or any other areas with rough spots.

The therapeutic sauna environment (anywhere from 140 to 180 degrees) for about 15 minutes can be enhanced by ladling some water over the lava rocks. This rapidly increases the humidity to make you perspire more, as the very dry heat vaporizes your sweat so fast, you may not notice how much you indeed are perspiring. Adding a few drops of a pure, essential oil to the water bucket adds another cleansing dimension to the experience, especially oils like cypress, rosemary or thyme. If you are new to sauna, you might want to slowly increase you time in it up to 15 minutes. Children under 15, the elderly, anyone with a serious medical condition and hypertension should seek their health care provider’s consultation before deciding to sauna. When you’re done, get back into the shower and slowly cool you body down by decreasing the water temperature for at least 5 minutes. Be sure to let the cool water flow on your face, neck, back, torso and underarms: in other words think about where the body stores and transports most of it heat and those are the areas to focus on cooling off. If you’ve been conditioning your hair, now is the time to rinse it out. Re-hydrate yourself again after you’re dressed, either with more water or a calming herbal tea (hot or iced). Listen to some relaxing music in the background and light some white unscented candles to add to the sensory experience of your private time……..Perfect!