Do sauna’s aid detoxification programs?

It is not uncommon to find sauna’s included in well structured detoxification programs.  One of the many appeals of our wonderful retreat location in the Yarra Valley is the undercover outdoor area which includes a sauna, spa and solar heated swimming pool.

When you’re in a sauna, the heat pumps blood circulation closer to the surface of the skin and stimulates sweating. This helps the body rid itself of unwanted matter and improves general circulation.

The oldest known medical document, the Ayurveda, appeared in Sanskrit in 568 BC and considered sweating so important to health that it prescribed the sweat bath, along with thirteen other methods, to help induce a good sweat. Today, enthusiasts claim that beyond being relaxing, the sauna can give relief from the common cold, arthritis, headaches, hangovers and a plethora of other ailments.

Sweat also has the function of being a wonderful garbage collector. During a 15-minute sauna, sweating can perform the heavy metal excretion that would normally take the kidneys 24 working hours. Ninety-nine percent of what sweat brings to the surface of the skin is water, but the remaining one percent is mostly undesirable wastes.

Saunas also allow for a deep cleansing of the skin which enhances the removal of toxins and mineral waste. In a hot sauna, your body is tricked into believing it has a fever, so your internal and external organs conspire to rid you of this fever, thus quickening their pace and ridding you of toxins like heavy metals, *uric acid, and lactic acid. *( Most of the time, a high uric acid level occurs when your kidneys don’t eliminate uric acid efficiently. High levels or  uric acid , one of the body’s waste products, can be a sign of gout or kidney stones ).

A sauna helps improve blood circulation, strengthen the cardiovascular system, relax muscles, increase flexibility, and relieve joint pain and stiffness.

Being in the heat of a steam room can make the body release endorphins, which are known as ‘feel good’ hormones as they help to reduce the feeling of stress in the body.

A steam room can also decrease the level of cortisol, which is the hormone released in response to stress. When the cortisol level drops, people can feel more in control, relaxed, and rejuvenate.

During our program we encourage guests to participate in ‘hot and cold therapy’.

When you sit in the sauna your pause will be stimulated to open, boosting the circulation at the surface of your body.  Pretty soon you’ll start sweating and with all the blood at the surface of your body toxins will naturally begin to flow out. Once you’ve started sweating, you can stay in the sauna as long as you feel comfortable.

Immediately after you leave the sauna you have to immerse yourself in cold water!  This will close your pores back up, pull the blood back to your core organs, and reinforce your natural defence system.

Three rounds are typical for the sauna ritual, but you can increase or reduce this depending on how you are adapting to the process.