Content
Washing away dirt from the soul and body: about the benefits of a sauna, bath and shower
01.03.2024 02:30
Updated: 12.05.2024 23:26
Have you noticed that a bad mood, fatigue, anger and other “delights of life”, like any other dirt, are easily washed away with water?
If this dirt hasn’t yet, of course, managed to eat into the soul to the core...
Enjoy your steam!
The Russian bath is incredibly, simply legendary, useful. It is difficult to list all its healing properties.
A visit to the bathhouse provides deep warming of the body, stimulating metabolic processes, removing waste, toxins and excess fluid. Therefore, bath procedures are very useful for those who suffer from excess weight. And experts also advise visiting the bathhouse for those who suffer from radiculitis, colds, bronchitis and are prone to frequent pneumonia.
Bath procedures combined with plenty of fluids and some medications help stones to leave the excretory organs. Due to the sharp change in temperature, blood vessels are trained and adapt faster to changes in the external environment. This way, you can get rid of vegetative-vascular dystonia, which is so common today.
The benefits of a bathhouse can be discussed at length. It is not for nothing that in Rus' there was a proverb: "Onions and a bathhouse rule everything!" But in order for a bathhouse not to cause harm, it must be used correctly...
This broom is not for cleaning
Of course, you can just sit in the bathhouse, like in a sauna. But a real Russian bathhouse is only with a broom! The healing effect of the bathhouse depends on the choice of the broom.
A birch broom is, as they say, an immortal classic. It has a positive effect on the skin, cleansing it and even healing small wounds and abrasions. Attention, women! If you want to be beautiful, don’t smear yourself with expensive creams, but steam yourself with a birch broom. Its essential oils and provitamin A perfectly moisturize and nourish the skin. And a birch broom also relieves stress and helps the lungs work. After it, a second wind opens!
An oak broom is a hypertensive person's best friend: it calms the nerves, which means there is less risk that the pressure will suddenly jump. It makes the skin elastic. And an oak broom is also bactericidal, due to the content of tannins. Perhaps this is the only type of broom that you can take to the bathhouse two or three times (or steam three people).
A pine broom is not for the weak. It is made from fir or juniper, as the needles of these plants are soft. It is not made from spruce, cedar and other species with coarse needles: a bathhouse is not a place for "sado-maso", steamed skin should be treated gently. With careful action, a pine broom works as a kind of acupuncture. Nerves are calmed, pain in the spine goes away, the body resists radiculitis better. To achieve this effect, the broom is kept in boiling water for 10 minutes before use.
A rowan broom invigorates and tones, the best choice for those who like to steam in the morning. During flu seasons, we recommend steaming with a bird cherry broom, it increases resistance, and besides, it smells nice. The best friend of a diabetic and "varicose vein" is a hazel broom.
Enjoy your steam bath! But remember that a broom is no substitute for a doctor.
Tips for Beginners
Use the sauna slowly, don't be greedy. Go to the steam room several times, and take breaks to rest. After completing the sauna procedures, a long rest is necessary - at least half an hour (and better - even longer).
Do not steam yourself during an exacerbation of a chronic disease, or you may get worse. Do not overeat or drink alcohol, visit the bathhouse only when sober. Do not drink alcohol or smoke in the bathhouse itself.
Before entering the steam room, remove accessories from your body, including glasses and jewelry. It is best to steam completely naked. Yes, and take off your underwear too!
Steam yourself with a broom carefully, do not whip yourself until it hurts. Work the broom lightly so that it is not painful, but pleasant. To keep the leaves soft, wet the broom with warm water.
If it is very hot in the steam room, be especially careful with the broom. Don't burn yourself!
A shower for the soul
Doctors have come up with many different "subtypes" of shower: Charcot's shower, Alekseev's shower, and so on. But for health water treatments, it is not necessary to visit a medical institution. Because a regular household shower is also useful. And to get even more benefit, take on board a few little tricks.
If you imagine how water washes away not only dirt and germs, but also all the bad words that were said to you today, evil looks, resentment and stress, in a few minutes you will really feel better. They say that for such "self-hypnosis" to be more effective, you should stand with your back to the drain hole of the bathtub or shower stall.
Or maybe it would be better to go to the bath?
Taking a bath correctly improves both your mood and your health. The magic is that the water column makes your body lighter. As a result, overstrained muscles are simply forced to relax. And if the water in the bath is hot, the skin pores expand, releasing waste and toxins, almost like in a sauna.
Blood vessels also expand. Relaxation of the body automatically improves the state of the psyche – stress and fatigue recede.
However, not all hot is the same. Do not raise the temperature in the bath above 38 C, as too much heat is tiring, and in people with a bad heart it can provoke an attack. Do not take a bath on a full stomach - it will only make things worse. Bathe shortly before a meal, or at least 1.5-2 hours after a meal.
Everything is good in moderation. You shouldn't stay in a hot bath for more than twenty minutes. And don't lie like a stone - move around, do a light self-massage, play with the foam.
Bathing is pleasant, and yet daily baths are more harmful than helpful to the body. Paradoxically, excessive "soaking" in water dries out the skin. It simply loses its protective fatty layer, hence the dryness. Take a bath no more than 2-3 times a week.
After a bath, it is useful to rub your entire body with a towel. This massage activates blood circulation and helps the skin absorb nutrients. Do not run to work immediately after a bath - lie down, relax well and rest.
Details
A contrast shower (sometimes cold, sometimes hot) restores blood circulation, regulates the nervous system, removes toxins, helps relieve stress and fatigue. However, it should not be taken during an exacerbation of chronic diseases.
A shower can be invigorating or, on the contrary, relaxing. If you take a shower in the morning, when you want to wake up and shake off the remnants of sleep, you should finish the procedure with cool water. If water procedures are carried out in the evening, then the last liters of water should be warmer, then the body will relax and prepare for sleep.
A cool shower (temperature around twenty degrees Celsius) taken regularly helps to narrow pores, eliminate swelling, improve blood circulation, and make the skin elastic and beautiful.
A warm shower (the water temperature is approximately equal to the temperature of the human body) will make the skin softer and improve its absorbent properties. However, the duration of such a shower should not exceed a quarter of an hour. Staying under warm water for too long can dry out the skin. We have already explained why this happens above.
Do it this way
If you are a girl and are going on a date, a bath with rose and ginseng will help you. The petals will give your skin a light pleasant aroma, and ginseng - tenderness.
Tea tree oil is a gentle tonic for fatigue. Pine extract is also great for relieving fatigue, and a bath with it in the evening is very useful. Another good relaxing option is a bath with sea salt and chamomile.
Apple cider vinegar will help with mild melancholy (not to be confused with clinical depression). But don't overdo it - you're not a marinated shashlik to swim in a strong solution.
Getting a cold? A lavender or rosemary bath will help.
Baths with sea salt will be useful for any metabolic problems or skin rashes. Specifically with sea salt, not table salt. The secret of the salt's magical action is in iodine and other natural minerals from real sea water. It helps the thyroid gland to function properly, and also cleanses and disinfects the skin.
Allergy sufferers will benefit from water with chamomile. It will also cleanse your skin and relieve you of various unpleasant rashes, such as eczema. Cellulite? Take a bath with citrus essential oils, preferably orange or grapefruit. Rose oil softens dry skin, especially if you lightly massage the problem areas in the water.
Earlier we wrote about the harm of coffee .
