HOW TO TAKE A SAUNA BATH

Warming up a sauna with an electric heater takes normally 45-60 minutes. The electric stoves are always on and ready for bathing. Take your clothes off and take a shower before entering the sauna. Use a little towel or comparable to sit on the laude. For the Finns, a sauna is one of the least sexy places they know, so it is normal to be naked in the sauna, even if there are others with you. Usually, a family bathes together regardless of the sex. Unrelated people usually take a sauna together with persons of the same sex. The formula for the sauna bathing depends on the time to be spent.

A short formula contains the following steps:

1. Taking loyly
The length of time spent in the sauna depends on the temperature, the amount of loyly and the feeling. One should throw loyly as much and stay in the sauna for as long as it feels comfortable. There is no "right" length time for staying in the sauna.
2. Washing
3. Cooling
It takes some time to cool off after a sauna bath. You should wait to get dressed until the sweating is over. This is a good time to relax and enjoy refreshments to eliminate the dehydration of the intense sweating.

The medium formula

1. The first loyly to warm up
2. Shower or swimming and short cooling, relaxing and taking refreshments
3. The main loyly with plenty of loyly throwing
4. Washing and possible swimming
5. Cooling

The long formula

1. The first loyly to warm up
2. Shower or swimming and short cooling, relaxing and taking refreshments
3. The main loyly with plenty of loyly throwing
4. Washing and possible swimming
5. The second cooling
6. The after-loyly
Lounging and relaxing in a mild loyly without heavy loyly throwing.
7. Shower or swimming
8. Cooling

There is no "right" formula for a sauna bath. The most important thing is: do not hurry. A sauna is a place for relaxation and refreshing. If you do not have plenty of time, choose a relaxed short formula over a long formula with hurry.

In the summer, especially in the saunas of the Finnish summer cottages, a bundle of birch branches, in Finnish "vasta" (eastern part of Finland) or "vihta" (western part of Finland) is used to boost the main loyly. People whip themselves with the vasta/vihta, which stimulates the skin’s blood circulation. The smell of the birch is very pleasant and it fulfills the pleasure.

© Saunasite, 1997


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