How (and Why) I Sauna Every Week
One of my favorite ways to “take a bath” (remember I live in the woods) is to take a sauna! Every week, I try to fire up the wood stove in my old sauna and relax for 30 minutes to an hour.
“Why? Isn’t that a lot of work?”
It isn’t as easy as turning the shower knob but it’s a far more relaxing routine than having a shower or a bath!
If you don’t have a sauna in your home (most people don’t), ask around town to see which gyms have a sauna. You can bet that’s how I go about choosing a gym!
So, if you’d like to know what my sauna routine is like and why I think it’s important, keep on reading! (Pssst! There might also be a playlist towards the end for your next sauna time!)
My Sauna Routine:
1. Light the wood stove.
If you’ve got an electric sauna or you’re at a gym/spa, this won’t be part of your routine.
However, my sauna is an old school wood stove type and it’s surprisingly easy to get going.
As long as I’ve got dry firewood and some nice kindling, it only takes me five minutes to get it roaring.
Pro tip: don’t go to light the sauna in your bathing suit. It’ll take a while for it to heat up.
2. Pack a bag
Once I’ve lit the sauna, I walk back to my cabin to change and gather my sauna essentials:
- Candles
- Essential Oil
- Whatever book I’m currently reading
- Water
- Towel
I pack all of those items into a little tote bag and then, over my swimsuit, I pull on a pair of pants and a sweater that I don’t mind getting wet, that way I have something to wear on the walk back. Once 30-40 minutes has passed, I head out for the sauna.
Pro tip: I’m not Finnish and don’t follow the traditional Finnish way BUT I wouldn’t be doing you justice if I didn’t tell you that the Finnish way is to sauna in your birthday suit.
3. Set the mood
There are three things I do once I’ve shed my winter layers:
- Light candles! My sauna has no lighting except for the window in the door. I’ve found the best way to remedy the lighting situation is to light some candles. Very relaxing!
- Depending on how I’m feeling, I’ll put some essential oil on the stones. My favorite, at the moment, is Eucalyptus Oil. It kind of acts like Vic’s Vaborub.
- Unless I’ve got a podcast I want to listen to, I will typically put some tunes on. For some reason, I really like to listen to the oldies while I sauna. Here’s my oldies playlist for you:
4. Crank the heat up
Once I’m all settled in and ready to really sweat out some toxins, I do two things:
- Add more firewood until the stove is plumb full
- Pour some water on the stones to create steam
6. Have a snow bath
Once I’m a puddle of sweat, I gather up a little bit of courage, take a deep breath, and jump in the snow! I’ll be blunt, it stings the moment you get out of the snow but shortly after it feels oh so refreshing!
7. Repeat
Sometimes I want to lay in the sauna for a while after my snow bath but sometimes I just wrap myself up in a towel, put everything back in my bag, and march on home.
It’s up to you how long you sauna and snow bathe. However, I want you to do 2 things for your own safety:
- Drink lots of water before, during, and after your sauna.
- Pay attention to how you’re feeling! Saunas are upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and extremely dry. You will begin to sweat immediately but you may not notice because the sweat evaporates quickly. You’re a big kid so please use your best judgment when it comes to how long you sauna!
The Benefits:
There are many benefits when it comes to having a regular sauna! Women’s Health Magazine, Finnleo, and Bustle all tout benefits like lowering blood pressure, reducing incidences of Alzheimer’s, inducing deeper sleep, and relief of chronic pain.
While I don’t doubt any of those benefits, I can only share with you the benefits I personally experience. I keep coming back to the sauna because they do these three things for me:
- The deep sweating cleanses my skin keeping it soft and circulated. If you’ve got a blemish, I swear the sauna will help get rid of it asap!
- Next to yoga, taking a sauna is the most relaxing thing I can do if I’m feeling stressed. When I walk out of the sauna I feel like I’m floating on a cloud without a worry in the world.
- I’m flushing toxins simply by laying down! I especially need this in the winter when I’m not sweating as much and therefore not detoxifying like I do in the summer.
There you have it – my weekly sauna routine and why it’s important!
While I have my routine, I certainly don’t know all the tips and tricks to a perfect sauna. If you have some good tips I would love to read them in the comments section!
Enjoy,
One of my favorite ways to “take a bath” (remember I live in the woods) is to take a sauna! Every week, I try to fire up the wood stove in my old sauna and relax for 30 minutes to an hour.
“Why? Isn’t that a lot of work?”
It isn’t as easy as turning the shower knob but it’s a far more relaxing routine than having a shower or a bath!
If you don’t have a sauna in your home (most people don’t), ask around town to see which gyms have a sauna. You can bet that’s how I go about choosing a gym!
So, if you’d like to know what my sauna routine is like and why I think it’s important, keep on reading! (Pssst! There might also be a playlist towards the end for your next sauna time!)
My Sauna Routine:
1. Light the wood stove.
If you’ve got an electric sauna or you’re at a gym/spa, this won’t be part of your routine.
However, my sauna is an old school wood stove type and it’s surprisingly easy to get going.
As long as I’ve got dry firewood and some nice kindling, it only takes me five minutes to get it roaring.
Pro tip: don’t go to light the sauna in your bathing suit. It’ll take a while for it to heat up.
2. Pack a bag
Once I’ve lit the sauna, I walk back to my cabin to change and gather my sauna essentials:
- Candles
- Essential Oil
- Whatever book I’m currently reading
- Water
- Towel
I pack all of those items into a little tote bag and then, over my swimsuit, I pull on a pair of pants and a sweater that I don’t mind getting wet, that way I have something to wear on the walk back. Once 30-40 minutes has passed, I head out for the sauna.
Pro tip: I’m not Finnish and don’t follow the traditional Finnish way BUT I wouldn’t be doing you justice if I didn’t tell you that the Finnish way is to sauna in your birthday suit.
3. Set the mood
There are three things I do once I’ve shed my winter layers:
- Light candles! My sauna has no lighting except for the window in the door. I’ve found the best way to remedy the lighting situation is to light some candles. Very relaxing!
- Depending on how I’m feeling, I’ll put some essential oil on the stones. My favorite, at the moment, is Eucalyptus Oil. It kind of acts like Vic’s Vaborub.
- Unless I’ve got a podcast I want to listen to, I will typically put some tunes on. For some reason, I really like to listen to the oldies while I sauna. Here’s my oldies playlist for you:
4. Crank the heat up
Once I’m all settled in and ready to really sweat out some toxins, I do two things:
- Add more firewood until the stove is plumb full
- Pour some water on the stones to create steam
6. Have a snow bath
Once I’m a puddle of sweat, I gather up a little bit of courage, take a deep breath, and jump in the snow! I’ll be blunt, it stings the moment you get out of the snow but shortly after it feels oh so refreshing!
7. Repeat
Sometimes I want to lay in the sauna for a while after my snow bath but sometimes I just wrap myself up in a towel, put everything back in my bag, and march on home.
It’s up to you how long you sauna and snow bathe. However, I want you to do 2 things for your own safety:
- Drink lots of water before, during, and after your sauna.
- Pay attention to how you’re feeling! Saunas are upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and extremely dry. You will begin to sweat immediately but you may not notice because the sweat evaporates quickly. You’re a big kid so please use your best judgment when it comes to how long you sauna!
The Benefits:
There are many benefits when it comes to having a regular sauna! Women’s Health Magazine, Finnleo, and Bustle all tout benefits like lowering blood pressure, reducing incidences of Alzheimer’s, inducing deeper sleep, and relief of chronic pain.
While I don’t doubt any of those benefits, I can only share with you the benefits I personally experience. I keep coming back to the sauna because they do these three things for me:
- The deep sweating cleanses my skin keeping it soft and circulated. If you’ve got a blemish, I swear the sauna will help get rid of it asap!
- Next to yoga, taking a sauna is the most relaxing thing I can do if I’m feeling stressed. When I walk out of the sauna I feel like I’m floating on a cloud without a worry in the world.
- I’m flushing toxins simply by laying down! I especially need this in the winter when I’m not sweating as much and therefore not detoxifying like I do in the summer.
There you have it – my weekly sauna routine and why it’s important!
While I have my routine, I certainly don’t know all the tips and tricks to a perfect sauna. If you have some good tips I would love to read them in the comments section!
Enjoy,
Want more? I've got you covered ↓
Very interesting read tonight, I have only been in a sauna a couple times in my life, I consider my sauna the sunshine of summer, just turns me into a puddle lol, thank you for the story Ashley,
The sunshine sure is nice! Thanks for reading, Paul!
Remember sauna times at my old house?? 🙂 loved my family’s tradition of Saturday Saunas. Love reading about your adventures Ashley! We should really try to catch up sometime soon.
How could I forget!?! The Evan’s sauna was the place to be :)! Thanks for following lady! Next time you’re up north give me a holler!