Bath and Health: The Benefits of Banya

William Tooke, a British member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, observed: "In general, the common Russian uses but few medicines; supplying their place in all cases by the sweating bath, a practice so universal among them, and which has so decided an influence on the whole physical state of the people..."

Sweating and health are virtually synonymous in Russia. It's a tradition that has been part of Russian culture since the medieval times. Russians view their visits to the banya as both preventive and healing. For them it is the key to continued good health, especially with regards to circulatory and respiratory illnesses.

The benefits of the banya are:

• Opening of pores and elimination of toxins through perspiration

• Improvement in blood circulation, heart and vascular systems and increase in

red blood cell level

• Increased quantity of hemoglobin

• Intensified capillary activities

• Boosted metabolism

• Increased overall cell oxygenation level

• Increased mental clarity, emotional stability and an overall better sense of

well being and balance

• Alleviation of tiredness, stress and great decrease in occurrences of mood

swings, promoting deep relaxation

Through perspiration the skin cleanses itself of impurities and the heat that causes the body to sweat relaxes the muscles and in turn, relieves muscular aches and pains. The heat inside the Banya extinguishes bacteria on the human body, which contributes to faster healing of scratches, wounds and a vast array of other inconveniences; moreover it alleviates exhaustion, nerve stress, restores strength, recovers good spirits and betters our moods. Pardon us for being so technical.

In order to acquire these benefits, however, we must overcome instinctive resistance of the organism to the uncommon conditions inside the steam room. A shock reaction may occur any time the body suddenly enters into extraordinary conditions. The Russian bath, made available at Downtown Banya, provides approximately the same effect of heating as in a sauna, but has an indisputable advantage over other sauna rooms as far as shock goes since the humidity in our Russian bath is only 60-70%. This humidity is similar to the everyday air we breathe everywhere else. Also, the steam in the Russian bath is drier than the steam one will get from a steam generator. This also contributes to making the conditions as natural as possible.

(Learn to bath like a pro.)

The venik massage in the Russian bath plays a great role in warming up the body. It improves blood circulation, intensifies skins capillary activities and metabolism. The venik leaves release phytoncides – a biologically active substance that kills or depresses the growth and development of pathogens. Essential oils released through the beating of the venik also help improve the overall metabolism of an individual and even prevent premature aging of the skin.

Information in this section is based on the material from www.russian-bath.com