Russian banya
Banya [баня] is a traditional Russian steam bath, with the lower temperature and higher humidity then Finnish sauna. In the banya there are three rooms: entrance room, steam room and a washing room. In the entrance room you can leave your clothes and rest on the benches. In the washing room you can find a tap of very hot water, usually heated on the stove of the steam room, and a tap for cold water for mixing the water at a comfortable temperature. This room is the final phase of sweat bathing in banya, where one washes himself after the whole process. In the steam room [парилка] there is a wooden stove which produces the heat, with the bucket of water beside it used for pouring the stones in the stove, and the wooden benches across to seat on. The process of bathing is very similar to that in Finnish sauna.
Types of banya
There were two different kinds of banya: black and white. Black banyas represent a certain equivalent to Finnish smoke sauna, where the smoke is led out through the hole in the ceiling, and the smoke darkens the interior of the room. White banyas refer to Russian „urban baths“ in the cities. They all have the stone stoves with the tank to heat the water, temperature is low and humidity is high, thus it is thought of as a „classical“ steam bath.
„Banya process“
After the first round of sweating follows cooling off in a breeze outdoor, in a lake or a river, or just by splashing with the cold water. After each round of sweating, a cycle of cooling off and relaxing is repeated, often accompanied with refreshment, a light beer or a tea. Sometimes already in the second round of sweating, and mainly in the third, bathers use venik [веник] for gentle beating of the body, same as bathers in Finnish sauna do. It is a whisk made of bunches of dried branches and leaves of suitable, leafy trees, mainly the white birch.
Today, commercial banyas often have just a steam room and a dry room, dependently on the level of their standard.
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Roman thermae
Bathing has played an important role in the life of the ancient
The structure of thermae
Public bathing was practiced by the both, the rich and the poor. The difference is that the patricians, the reach citizens were accompanied by one or more slaves serving them during the bathing in thermae. They were also bringing their own bathing implements: brushes, oils for massage, dish for scooping water and the strigil (a small, curved, metal tool use to scrap dirt and sweat from the body).
The building structure of thermae was very complex, but it had three “principal” rooms: caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium. Sometimes they have also had laconicum – a hot, dry area for inducing sweating.
The bathing process in therame
The bathing process often begun with some workout in the palestra where different sports and activities took place, in order to stimulate the circulation and keep the body in a good condition. Afterwards, the bathers were passing the three rooms of different purposes. Firstly, they would go to tepidarium – normally the largest room in thermae, decorated with the most precious mosaics and marbles. This was the place where the bathers firstly assembled and spent an hour or more, relaxing and being “oiled” (mostly using the olive oil). The following step was caldarium, very hot and steamy room, heated by the under floor heating system, with the bath of hot water (swimming pool). Very often, the laconicum was an integral part of the caldarium, where bather would stay for a short time and prepare its body for the massage. Afterwards, the vigorous massage was the next, followed by removing off the dead skin with the earlier mentioned strigil. The final phase of the bathing process was frigidarium where bathers would plunge into the large pool of cold water, refreshing themselves and withdrawing themselves to the one of the relaxing areas, library or assembly room to continue with the socializing and intellectual discussions.
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The history of the Finnish sauna
Ground sauna
After that first form, ground sauna evolved in a type if improved ground sauna, with the beams-supported roof and a real door, oftentimes even with the whole front wall made of logs.
Smoke sauna original stove was a pile of rocks. This “rock-stove” and process of heating demanded more effort and skills then in it does in modern Finnish sauna. The most important was the “slow” attitude. That skill of slow heating process in smoke sauna was passed on from one generation to another. Proper preparation of smoke sauna demanded lots of effort and time. Wood had to be chopped up, the fire had to be extinct and smoke filtrated out of the room.
Process of bathing in smoke sauna
A process itself begins with putting the fire in the stove, which heats the stones on top of it. Just after, the smoke from the burning woods was circulating the room before being vented out of the sauna, usually through some cracks in the roof, or through the doors left open shortly after the heating process. After the sauna being ventilated, the door was closed and the bathing could start. It is important to know here that the soot from the smoke is not “dirt” and furthermore, it leaves a pleasant aroma in the sauna. Normally, before bathing process, benches and floor were being cleaned.
THE TRADITIONAL SMOKE SAUNA IS HIGHLY VALUED BY THE REAL SAUNA GOERS AS A BEST FORM OF SAUNA, PROVIDING THE HIGHEST QUALITY SAUNA EXPERIENCE.
If you wish to experience this genuine sauna, you can try it at the Vaskiniemi, sauna establishment of the Finnish Sauna Society in
Sauna with chimney – beginning of the evolution
At the beginning of the 19th century, the sauna with chimney was revealed and as such it marked a beginning of the important evolution in the history of sauna stoves. The stones in the stove have been covered with the cone-shaped metal top finishing with the flue, leading through the roof as a chimney. At the top part of this metal cover there were the doors, used for controlling the temperature in the sauna (open/closed) and also for throwing the water over the stones.
In the 1930’s, a new kind of sauna stove was invented – stove for continuous heating. The stones here were isolated from the fire. The main advantage of this stove was the possibility to keep the fire burning continuously while using the sauna, while the intensity of the fire regulates the temperature in the room. The stones are in separate parts of the stove, next to the fire, but isolated from it, enabled to stay hot and produce the steam as well as the fire is burning.
Electrical stove – the revolution in Finnish saunas
The final stage of the sauna development was the invention of the electrical stove, the major innovation in the history of Finnish sauna. Here, instead of putting the fire, the electric resistors heat up the stones. The size of the stove must not be neglected; it should be large enough to put many stones in it. The more stones is put, water thrown on them will produce the more enjoyable löyly.
Sauna in
Although there are many types of sweating houses or saunas throughout the world, the Finns are however the most specific sauna users. They have kept their old sauna traditions and adjusted them to today’s modern life. It can be said for sure that they, as conservers, developers and mediators, have spread the Finnish sauna all around the world.
Today, almost every Finn goes to the sauna at least once a week. The saunas can be found everywhere, in private apartments and houses; and numerous families have their sauna cottage near the lake or the see. Sauna is unavoidable in sport centers, hotels, tourist resorts…and even in camping sites. Often it is an integral part of corporate headquarters and enterprises. Even the Parliament house in
The only sauna almost disappeared is a public sauna in the town, but it is to understand this since nearly everybody has its own private sauna.
The Finnish saunas are today are spread throughout the whole world and its benefits are widely recognized. Sauna bathing is very common in
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Sweating
Sweating is one of the essential processes for our health. In sauna, body is exposed to high temperature, for enough of the time to start to perspire. Through sweat our skin cleans itself of the impurities ‘accumulated’ in its pores thus, it rids the body of some wastes. Furthermore, sweating helps our skin to be clean and soft. During a proper sweat bathing, according to the Finns, sauna elicits a quart of sweat per hour. According to sauna expert Mikkel Aaland, “during a 15-minute sauna, sweating can perform the heavy metal excretion that would take the kidneys 24 working hours. Ninety-nine percent of what sweat brings to the surface of the skin is water, but the remaining one percent is mostly undesirable wastes.” The doctors also encourage the use of sauna. A world known physician and medical expert Dr. Weil, declares:” I generally encourage sweating. It helps the body to rid itself of unwanted materials and improves general circulation.”
There are also some delusions related to the sweating and the weight loss in sauna. Lots of people think they would loose weight permanently due to the sweating in sauna. That is not correct. The truth is that you will burn some calories and become ‘lighter’ for a few hours thanks to the sweating in sauna. But it is because of loss of your bodily fluids and you will get the kilos back very soon. You are normally thirsty after sauna, and those fluids will be restored just at the time when you have first drink or glass of water. Thus, any eventual weight loss induced by sweating will be recovered very soon.
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After the sauna-bathing
- After the sauna, dry yourself and take a slow, at least 15 minutes rest. Have a refreshing drink to quench the thirst and to restore the body’s fluid balance. Avoid any strong alcohol drinks or overeating. The Finns usually enjoy low-strength beer, nice and cold, and makkara (a type of Finnish sausage). Have a salty snack according to your personal taste.
- After leaving the sauna there should be no hurry anywhere. You should rather enjoy the blissful feeling of “being re-created”. Only dress after you have stopped perspiring and taking enough of rest.
- Before dressing up, you should allow enough time for cooling off, otherwise the sweating may still continue!
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Process in the sauna
- Use a towel or another type of cover to sit on the bench. It is necessary to cover the place on which you will seat or just lip the benches. Respect the rules of the general hygiene and keep yourself from burning (sauna benches are very often burning hot).
- The recommended heat level (air temperature) is 80-90ºC, at most 100 ºC.
- When you enter the sauna for the first round, you should sit back for a few minutes and let the heat open the pores of the skin. It is recommended to seat firstly on the lower benches, where the temperature is lower. At the beginning, the air may be dry.
- You may adjust the air moisture and increase humidity by throwing water on the stones in the stove. In this way, you will produce a steam known as löyly, which increases the heat in the sauna. As many bathers know a little about the sweating, they usually do it in inappropriate way. You should avoid throwing several ladlefuls of water on the hot stones as soon as they enter the sauna. Do not do this, because it will just cause a heat shock and stop the normal functioning of sweat glands. It takes time perspire properly.
You should stay in a sauna just as long as you feel good and hot enough.
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USING THE FINNISH SAUNA?
Having a sauna is a much more then just seating in a hot room, sweating. If you want to have truly enjoyable and relaxing experience, you should follow some guidelines set up by the real sauna experts.
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