Did
you know that Sauna is the only Finish word you will find in
dictionary? For centuries people in Finland have used home Sauna for
maintenance of health and to keep themselves away from disease and
sickness. According to Finns, soothing warmth of löyly followed by a
brisk plunge in an icy lake is not a luxury but the necessity of life.
Anywhere around the world that you find hot rock sauna, it is following
Finland home sauna tradition. Though not necessarily followed by a
plunge in a ice water. World sauna is a gift from Finland and has been
known to exist for around 7000 years or more. Nearly every house in
Finland has a sauna. Statically, the country with population of only 6
million has over 2 million home saunas. If you happen to visit Finland,
you are surely going to find Sauna in
all hotels and most of the private homes. It will not be wrong to say
every Finn owns a sauna or at least have an access to one. To raise the
temperature of the room, water is poured over hot rocks that create dry
invisible steam.
Finns
prefer using woods (the traditional way) over electric or gas to heat
the rock. Wood Sauna Stoves are used to heat the sauna to desired
temperature. Finnish people also prefer enjoying sauna bathing the old
traditional way that is bathing in nude or naked. When the water is
splashed over hot rocks it create löyly. Löyly is a dry vapor created
when hot water is splattered over hot rock and it means spirit of life
in Finnish. Sauna bath is believed to have the power to drive away
disease from the body through sweating and so they use Sauna to induce
natural fever in the body. There is an old saying in the Finnish that
Sauna is the poor man’s pharmacy. Löyly, which is a dry, is actually
invisible, however this dry steam make sauna hotter so people can sweat
more.
Wood Sauna Stoves imparts
a distinct aroma that is produced only after burning wood. To enjoy the
true essence of sauna, start your session by taking a fresh shower,
then step into sauna and pour water over heated rock to heat the sauna
with löyly. Sit back and relax, enjoy the radiant heat for next 10
minutes or as long as you are comfortable. Then step out of sauna and
take a shower again to cool yourself. You can repeat the process, should
you like, after 10 minutes. Sauna in Finland is best enjoyed by dipping
yourself into in icy lake or rolling over snow bank after you step out
of sauna session, after taking a dip into icy lake you can return back
to the sauna. If you are visiting Finland in winter, you might prefer
taking a shower instead of icy bath, but it should not be a warm one.
Sauna is traditionally enjoyed throughout the year and not just in
winter alone. During summer, Finland sauna is followed by what is called
a vihta. A handful of leafy birch twigs is used as whisk. These are
dipped in the water and gently smacked on the body to open up the
spores. It is believe to enhance the cleansing of the body.