How to Intensify the Benefits of a Sauna

The benefits of a sauna are numerous if you use it correctly. Saunas can help improve circulation and blood flow by raising the body temperature. Cleansing of the skin and pores is common, as is sweating out toxins from the body. Aromatherapy scents in a sauna can help you relieve congestion and clogged sinuses, refreshing your breathing.

Things You'll Need

• Shower
• Towels
• Aromatherapy oils
• Water or juice

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Instructions

• 1

  Take a cool shower before entering the sauna. Dry off completely. Drink a glass or two of cool water. This sets your body temperature to begin the process.

• 2

  Add aromatherapy scents to the sauna room if you are trying to combat congestion or anxiety. Lavender is a calming scent; eucalyptus helps with congestion during colds or sinus infections; mint and peppermint are energy increasing scents. Put a few drops of these oils on a cloth in the sauna room and let them waft around during the heating.

• 3

  Enter the sauna and stay there until you begin to sweat (5 to 10 minutes). Inhale and exhale deeply as you breathe. Then, add water to the hot rocks in a traditional sauna and relax there for an additional five minutes or so. If you're in an infrared or spa sauna, don't add the water but stay in for the full 15 minutes. Infrared saunas (usually at a spa or resort) automatically intensify the effects of a traditional sauna. Use the sauna suit or oils at the spa for maximum results.

• 4

  Step out of the sauna for a few minutes of cooling off in the air or jump into a cold pool or lake. Traditional Finns and some medical professionals say that shocking your system with hot and cold in a series can increase the effects of the sauna's detoxification. Finns used to snap themselves with thin reeds to increase circulation during a sauna.

• 5

  Go back into the sauna before you get chilled, and warm up again until you are sweating. Repeat the hot-cold series three to four times, but don't exceed a total sauna time of 45 to 60 minutes. If you get too cold in the water, simply step out of the sauna and cool by air before returning to the sauna. Some people's bodies respond better to a moderate change, not a complete shock.

• 6

  Cool off at the end with fresh air rather than shocking cold. This will help settle your body temperature. Take a cool shower again after the sauna to wash away dead skin cells and leave a fresh skin layer to the open air. Drink water or juice to flush toxins from your system and to rehydrate.