Sunday, July 1, 2012

70 Hours: A Far Infrared Sauna Experiment

(Google Images)
When I was in undergrad I lived in an apartment complex that had a dry sauna. I was in the sauna three times a week and I always had the sauna to myself. I even wrote a poem about the swirling caramel strands in the wood. I would bring an enormous bottle of water and that was the extent of my chugging in college.  Even so when I returned to my apartment I had steam trailing above and behind me.


My experience has changed with my Far Infrared.  The time in the FAR Infrared is hot, but it is more gentle than the dry sauna. I keep a large jar of water at my side and finish it while sweating. As I lay there resting I usually practice mental exercises and otherwise try to keep my cool. After a sauna session I immediately shower to avoid reabsorbing toxins.  Through these 70 hours I have learned a few things.

Perhaps my greatest find in all of this is to learn my FAR Infrared experience has allowed me to shed excessive skin. When I started using the sauna I had rough, dry skin. The type of skin that does not really absorb oil or lotion. So it's been wonderful to find a treatment other than sunbathing that releases this excessive skin. When I finish the sauna I immediately drop the towels in the washer and head for the shower. After a sauna session I always wash my hair. Sometimes I scrub my body with zeolites, sometimes with salt and oils and other times with castile or herbal soap.  When I scrub with soap I will sometimes finish with a dousing in organic raw apple cider vinegar from the neck down. I will then carefully dab small amounts on my face.  Vinegar can be aggravating to the eyes so it's important to be gentle when using it on the face.  All of these techniques do wonderful things so I vary them according to how much energy I have.
(Google Images)

I have also found using the sauna requires I stay on top of my liquids. This may mean I can more easily break out sweating outside my sauna time but I have learned to appreciate this for the long term benefits of having open detox pathways. Sweating is healthy!

Finally I completed a sauna session at the end of a fast to test out how I feel and it felt like I had squeezed the sponge out. It felt great in terms of releasing toxins and my energy level was not depleted. I think small increments during a Juice Feast are possible for me.

1 comment:

Neil Dalby said...

“Perhaps my greatest find in all of this is to learn my FAR Infrared experience has allowed me to shed excessive skin.” – That’s great! The gentle infrared heat is excellent for skin purification. The infrared wavelength stimulates collagen production and mends the epidermis and dermis layers of the skin.