Sauna Step by Step

By Megan Holbrook

1. Take a hot shower before every sauna. Wrap your body in a towel and do not wear a swimming costume while having a sauna as it prevents you from sweating properly; sweat gathers in nylon or synthetic fabrics and can cause unpleasant eczema
2. Make sure you are dry before entering the sauna as if you are still wet the body is prevented from sweating properly. Dry brush the skin to encourage sweating always brushing towards the heart
3. Take your ‘first round’(eight to twelve minutes) in the sauna. If your skin is sensitive, put a wet cloth over your face. Do not stay in too long!
   
   
4. Don’t lie on the bench top initially (it is too hot). Sit or lie relaxed with your feet up. After a few minutes, it is time for a ‘loyly’ as the Finns call it. A loyly simply involves putting some water containing peppermint or eucalyptus oil over the sauna heater, providing an aromatic steam that is very healing for the respiratory system.
5. Sit up before leaving the sauna, to allow your blood circulation to adjust to the upright position again.
6. The lungs are significantly heated after a sauna and you need to go outside or stand in front of a window and breathe deeply. Enjoy some fresh air, move around and continue with the other cooling-down procedures
7. Have a cold shower exposing legs first, then arms, chest, back, and neck and head last.
8. Enter a cold water pool, immersing your head as well. Note : People with high blood pressure or heart problems should not undertake this step.
9. Take a warm footbath after the cold water treatment, to prevent headaches and normalize blood circulation.
10. During the cooling-down phase, be sure to rest and not to swim or do exercise of any kind, for this would put too much strain on the heart. Cool down and relax for 10 to 15 minutes.
11. Now repeat steps 3 to 9 for a second and third round. After your sauna is an ideal time to receive a massage, because the muscles are relaxed and the skin is soft and clean. Fruit and vegetable juice are ideal after the sauna, as your body needs water, minerals and vitamins, which are lost in the sauna.
12. Do not have alcohol!