Benefits of the Sauna (Shower)

I finally swallowed what little bit of fear I had of my physique and went into the sauna lastnight. I wore a bathing suit which covered my entire tummy area and it came with some booty shorts. You could still see my cellulite, rolls of fat, dimples in my thighs, and my arms resembled tree branches but I didn't mind. What was more important to me was getting in that sauna to sweat out the toxins which we accumulate through out our lives. It was a bunch of giggly, skinny, long blonde haired chics in there talking about skinny girl stuff. I almost got up and left but I knew I had to stay in there to sweat because a session in the sauna (20 mins) burns a total of 400 calories. I was so happy to see another heavier girl walk into the sauna. She looked sort of insecure when she saw the skinnys hurdled up and talking about nail polish and stuff - then she saw me in the corner and she looked so over joyed! She came and sat beside me, and we just exchanged diet secrets. I think I have a new gym/sauna friend YAY! She said shes going to meet me in the sauna every 2 days at 6pm...

Don't have access to a sauna? Well you can recreate this at home and burn almost the same amount of calories if you know how to adjust the heat on your hot water furnace. Just turn it up about 5 degrees. If you don't know how to adjust it, skip that part. Just turn on the shower to the hottest setting, put a towel under the door to avoid a draft, and sit on the toilet (naked) for 30-45 minutes. You should be able to burn about 250 calories! Hey, thats not too shabby for just sitting around, and you're doing something healthy for your skin at the same time.

The skin is also an organ so treat it right. We need to release the metals, toxins, and impurities from the skin by sweating it. Saunas has been around for thousands of years and they still prove to be a great way to take care of your skin. Here are some tips I took from this site

• Improved blood circulation: The sauna increases and improves the rate of blood circulation and breathing.
• Weight loss: Sauna is similar to mild exercise, it burns about 300 calories per average session. Regular sauna treatments combined with a healthy diet and moderate exercise will help you lose weight and stay fit and healthy.
• Skin cleansing: A profuse sauna-induced sweat followed by a shower cleanses your skin far more thoroughly than just taking a shower. It makes it soft and healthy with immediately noticeable effects.
• Body relaxation: Stress build-up creates tension in the body manifesting in various aches and pains. The heat and humidity of the sauna diffuses the pain and relaxes tired muscles. A sauna in the evening will leave tense muscles and sore limbs totally relaxed. Sauna also temporarily relieves arthritic pain.
• Mind relaxation: The sauna is essentially a place to relax. Regular sauna adepts all agree that it effectively helps relieve physical and mental fatigue and stress.