What is an Herbal Sauna?
The herbal sauna is a variant of the wet sauna except this time instead of merely sprinkling water on the rocks scented oils are used. Many people believe that herbal saunas have medicinal benefits. They think that they can provide cures for skin disorders as well as high cholesterol. Some people simply enjoy the scents that permeate throughout the sauna room as the herbal liquids splash the rocks.
In Thailand herbal saunas are closely tied in with massage on the belief that these together can greatly improve a person’s overall feeling of wellbeing. In readying a person for a herbal massage the Thai masseur will often suggest a herbal sauna to first prepare the client’s skin to more easily accept the massage oils but also because they feel there are many benefits to it. To begin with they believe the herbal sauna will assist the client’s ability to relax emotionally and physically. These go a long way to bringing a person better in step with himself or herself.
As well they are convinced that the herbal sauna will open pores to help eliminate toxins. This will allow a cleansing of the client’s skin, improve the overall health of the body and relax the person enough to clear the mind of all the things that make a person feel stressed out. As well the client’s total feeling of relaxation, because of the herbs in the sauna, makes their muscles less tight and this will mean the masseur will find it easier to stretch them during the herbal massage therapy. This is another advantage to the client. They benefit from the massage as it magnifies the feeling of being relaxed that was garnered from the scents of the sauna.
The herbs used in the herbal sauna penetrate the skin with their light mists. In this way they open the skin’s pores. The herbal mists also get into the lungs as they are breathed in. This allows the whole body to benefit from the herbal sauna since the herbs are absorbed directly into the client’s body by this means. As the client is ready to leave the sauna they will feel differently then when they first walked in. The herbal sauna will have given the client a feeling that their entire body has been looked after. They will have what the Thai’s call Lom, meaning the flow of important body energy has been replaced. The body has been renewed by the herbal sauna experience.
Many other alternative medicinal therapies also believe in using herbal therapies. They expound on the benefits using essential oils aromatherapy in saunas to add scents that will invigorate the person and help with various illnesses. Many of these alternative specialists will tell you that the herbal sauna will not cure diseases, nor treat their symptoms, but that they can help ease pain. Even in palliative care situations herbal saunas are used to improve comfort and deal with unending pain. There is a certain feeling of peace that comes from a herbal sauna that is not found elsewhere.