Origin of Sauna

The word “Sauna” is the only Finnish word which is included in the English dictionary which means - “bath” and bath house”.   The history of sauna dates back to thousands of years ago in Finland, the descriptions found say that the earlier saunas were dug in the ground as an embankment.  Later on it was built above the ground level with logs of wood.  Rocks were heated until they become red hot with the help of wood fire.  The process was very laborious and took nearly half of the day to heat the room until it is filled with smoke. A small vent was created on the wall of the room instead of a chimney.  Once the smoke gets cleared, the sauna bathers used to enter the room.  The name sauna is derived from the word sauva meaning “insmoke”.  Later on saunas were built of woodstove heater and electric stoves with chimneys.  The tradition of sauna bath was adopted by the Americans in the early 1950’s from the Finns.

Initially people used saunas for many practical reasons like, it was considered as the most hygienic place to give birth to a child, it was considered as a place to treat contagious diseases, a place to wash the body thoroughly and last but not the least to prepare food.
Nowadays it is used for more relaxing purpose as both the body and the soul is cleansed.
 
Although Finns are not the ones to invent, but then they have adopted and maintained the tradition till date.  Lot of changes have taken in the procedure, construction etc, but the main essence is not lost totally.  It is a mixture of many traditional customs and beliefs.

It was also the place to socialize, one can say that best deals are made in the sauna, although it might seem to be unusual, actually speaking the sauna offers a more relaxed and formal atmosphere for meetings hence the results or the outcomes are marvelous.

Types of saunas:

The basic concept of sauna bath is the same, but they differ in the themes based on the location in the world.  The different types of saunas are Tyrolean sauna, Finnish/Swedish sauna, Rock sauna, bio sauna, caldarium, laconium etc.

They can also be classified according to the heat sources such as saunas, which use wood, electricity, gas and others like the solar powered saunas and infrared saunas. There are wet saunas, saunas with smoke, saunas with steam.

The sauna bath is said to benefit the body and the soul.  It cleanses the skin and eliminates the waste, by reducing the burden the kidneys.  It gives a milder workout to the heart and increases the blood circulation to all over the body.  It makes the blood vessels dilate and contract as they heat the body and cool the body subsequently which clears the vessels and increases the circulation of blood.  It burns out up to 300 calories hence effective and makes weight loss easier when combined with regular exercise and proper diet.