The practice of bathing with heat dates back to the stone age, roughly 2,000 B.C. and became popular worldwide under different names. The Chinese called their heated caves “bath houses”, the Native Americans called their heated tents “sweat lodges” while the Finns built wooden rooms they called “saunas”.
In Finland today, there are more saunas than cars. This may be the best explanation for why Finland is often ranked the happiest country in the world, and one of the healthiest, despite its decidedly unwelcoming climate.
The Finnish-style sauna became popular the world over, and although many technological advancements have come to improve on these sweat baths, the word “sauna” remains the most widely-understood word for bathing with heat.
This book covers modernized saunas that follow Finnish traditions, as well as other modern heat baths that are the most relevant today. We will help you decide between conventional electric and wood-fired saunas and the newest health craze, infrared saunas. We will also cover steam baths, which offer many of the same health benefits, but with some notable differences.
Modern Saunas and Steam Baths
The above is the introduction to Modern Saunas and Steam Baths for Health, Relaxation and Detoxification by Michael Ducharme and Dr. Anthony Brechkow. The book is available through Amazon in Paperback, Hardcover and e-book.