Swedish Sauna

Traditionally, sauna culture has been the pleasure of folks who live in Scandinavian countries. If you have even been to a place like Sweden or Finland you’ll know why. Both places are often cold and damp causing that deep down chill that can’t be fixed just by putting on more clothing.

To get rid of the chill you have to take off all of clothing and jump into a wooden box heated to over 100 degrees. It sounds a little drastic but once you’ve tried it, you know the meaning of the phrase ‘toasty warm’.

However before a Swede gets into a Swedish sauna, he or she takes the following steps to ensure their experience will have the maximum effect.

Sauna In True Style

• To keep the sauna clean, have a quick shower first.
• Many people prefer to take a small towel with them into the sauna to sit on. The upper bench is also usually the preferred seat.
• For the first few minutes of your sauna, just sit back and relax. This will allow the dry heat to fill your body as well as open your pores.
• If you want to make the room hotter and less dry, then throw some water onto the stones in the heater.
• When you are done, you may want to take another shower to help cool yourself down.
• Many people like to get the full affect of the sauna by going back and forth between the shower and the sauna, taking the time to luxuriate and relax in the sauna heat.
• When you are finally done, it's a good idea to take yet another shower in order to get rid of the sweat you've worked up.
• Before you put your clothes back one, make sure you have completely cooled off first.

Sounds great doesn’t it? There is just something so relaxing about going from shivering and chilly to completely hot. When you do get into a Swedish sauna make sure that you are comfortable with the temperature.

Start out at 60 degrees Celsius, then gradually move your way higher. You probably shouldn’t go much higher that 100 degrees. Also, although the Swedish sauna is often referred to as the ‘dry’ sauna, make sure there is some moisture.

If there are hot rocks in the sauna pour water on them occasionally to get a nice steam going. Pure dry air that hot can cause some respiratory discomfort. You’ll probably want to splash some water on to the benches to keep your butt from burning.

If you are a real Swedish sauna veteran you can also jump into a pool of freezing cold water after your sauna, just to wake you up.

Need help with your sauna? Visit our Hot Tubs forum to ask your questions.