Need for Heat: A Complete Guide to Far-Infrared Saunas

Chapter 1: History of Saunas

Recorded ‘sweat’ for bathing begins all the way back in Old Testament times. Recorded entries throughout Biblical time refer to bathing, cleansing, washing. We find more cohesive recorded history beginning with Mediterranean Baths in Roman and Greek times moving into Turkey and further into Islamic countries. Finnish use of the sauna became so ingrained in their culture that sauna (pronounced ‘sow-nah’) is what most of us understand and experience today. European and Eastern cultures were not the only cultures deeply involving ‘sweating’ for bathing into their cultures. In North and South America, Sweat Lodges or sweathouses, are also intricate and valued places of health and spiritual practices. Today, saunas are used world wide in health clubs, spas, recreational or sports centres, by massage therapists, chiropractors, natural healers, yoga instructors, and individuals to improve and enhance health practices.

Chapter 1.1: Mediterranean Baths

Hot air bath history goes back at least as far as the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks used hot-air baths heated by hot rocks or coal burning devices. Greek baths excavated during the 20th century showed these baths near or adjacent to gymnasium sites and near libraries or places where quiet contemplation and intellectual thought took place. Greek bathing rites were included in the rites of birth, marriage, and death.

Aaland (1997; 2007) discusses the image Rome brings to mind as visions of great baths in large areas and on a grand scale. As with the Greeks, Romans included hot bathing with their entire complex of sports halls, libraries, restaurants, and neighborhoods. Roman baths were named in honor of the emperors of the time such as Nero in 65 AD, Titus in 81 AD, Domitian in 95 AD, Comodus in 185 AD, Caracalla in 217 AD, Diocletian in 305 AD, and Constantine in 315 AD (Aaland, pg 3). An emperor would ensure his popularity through his structures and availability of many to enjoy their constructed baths through having little or no fees attached to the experience. Technological advances allowed the Roman Diocletian bath to have a capacity of 6,000 bathers at one time. The amazing technological design of the aqueduct, first developed by the Greeks, pumped more water into the baths while architectural designs of high ceilings supported by concrete roofs towered over bathers in enormous rooms heated through hypocaust systems. Developed by Roman engineers, a hypocaust system is one that heats bath air to temperatures well over 210 degrees F (100 degrees C). According to Aaland (2007), the baths were so hot that bathers had to wear special shoes to keep their feet from burning. The hypocaust system consisted of heating a raised marble floor from underneath with a log fire. Resultant hot air was then channeled through ceramic pipes set into the walls of the room. To heat a room the size of the large Roman Diocletian bath would take several days, so the fires were kept burning and the bath continually hot.

Hot bathing became a ritual for the Romans and soon began to have its own set of rules and traditions which bathers followed. How one would use the hot bath varied from province to province, but the method of hot bathing became an integral part of the all-encompassing recreational center. Exercise, sports, swimming, theatre, libraries, music, and parties were all a daily part of the typical Roman citizen life – added to that was the important hot bath. Bathhouses of the time advertised special features incident to that particular house. The advertising of special attractions is similar to clubs we see today – recreational facilities, golf courses, etc. bath houses or thermae might have other attractions besides the bath such as libraries or unique sports halls, but the main draw was always the hot bath. Most baths opened to the public in the afternoon designed to follow the morning practice of intensive sporting activities. Each participant was escorted by a slave that would brush them, scour them with a metal tool used to scrape them of unwanted hair, oils, and sweat, and then anoint them with moisturizing oils. Participants would move through a series of rooms in their bathing ritual beginning with a tepid or warm room and progressing gradually to the tepidarium or the largest and most luxurious of the rooms in the bath. This was a room where the participant received their hot oil treatments and relaxed for an hour or so. After this restful hour of quiet or social contact, the next step was to wash off with either hot or cold water in the private individual side rooms called the caladarium. Finally, the bather moved to the last and hottest room known as the laconicum. As this room was the hottest of all the rooms, the stay was short and the bather’s body ready for the intense massage. All of this was followed by a scraping off of dead skin by a strigil and a finishing dip in a cold pool known as the frigidarium. Clean, fresh, and rejuvenated the bather now moved on to more intellectual pursuits in the libraries. The fall of the Roman Empire obliterated these elaborate baths.

Ancient Turkish baths became the descendents of the early Greek and Roman baths known in the area as the Hammam. Aaland (2007) visited the oldest known existing bath in Istanbul called the Cagaloglue Hammam claimed to be over 400 years old. Aaland compared this bath to a monastery with architectural designs and expression of early Islamic art. According to Aaland, Islam’s believe that architecture is the most important expression of Islamic art with the spaces created to reverence Allah. The notion of physical cleanliness and purification being another key to the Moslem faith, bathhouses became special almost sacred places of worship and practice. Strict rules of etiquette were followed in the Hammam. All participants were dressed, or undressed, with appropriateness with no indecency or display of private parts. An attendant, known as the tellak would accompany participants as an usher, but more importantly as an enforcer of the rules. Dressed in only the waist towel participants were led into the steam room by the tellak who would enter the room with a loud shout to purge the room of phantoms thought to live in the steam of the room. As with the Roman baths, the Hammam had a five-step routine which bathers followed. First, the heat seasoned the body, which was followed by the second step of vigorous massage. Then came the peeling of the outer skin and removal of body hair. The fourth step was the soaping of the body, and the fifth and final step was relaxation. The vigorous massage of the second step could actually be termed as aggressive massage with pulling, seemingly ripping, twisting, and beating of the body. Then came the kneading of the muscles like a baker would knead a pile of dough. This violent massage would rip or injure the body if it was cold making the importance of the pre-heating a strong viable step of the bath routine. Hair removal was similar to the modern practice of depilation done with either razors or a paste made with a powder. Removal of body hair in the geographical area was key to remain odor free and remove irritation of body hair in the hot weather conditions. Both men and women entered the Hammam for bathing, but never at the same time. Both genders followed the same procedures. Following the removal of the hair the body was then rubbed down with camel hair gloves to remove dead skin and dirt from the body. Finally, the bather would towel down and enter a cool room with fans and refreshing drinks. The Turks still heat their Hammams in the same way that Romans did, either building them directly over hot springs or having hot fires burning beneath rock floors. Unlike the demise of the Roman baths, Turkish Hammams have stood the test of time and are still used widely today throughout Istanbul.

Islamic use of hot air baths stretched further than just Turkey. Muhammad believed heat increased fertility, which would ensure the commandment to multiply. He endorsed and recommended hot air baths at around 600 AD which kept the Greek and Roman practice of hot air bathing alive in the Arab world. Arabs thought that bathing in still water tubs was unhealthy and filthy. I had a friend in school that refused to take a bath as she felt it was just sitting in her own dirt. This was the same way the Arabs thought, so hot air bathing was a cleaner substitute to a filled bathtub. It also was a pleasurable experience, one in which enhanced their quality of life. While Arabs would not sit in still baths, they did dip in hot springs or moving water that heated the hot air baths. Moving water was cleansing.

When the Arabs conquered Rome, they took over the existing Roman baths and purportedly heated the baths from burning the works of the Ptolemaic Library rather than using wood. According to Aaland (2007) over 700,00 great works from the libraries were burned to heat the baths. While intellectual stimulation went hand in hand with hot bathing in the Roman culture, Islamic culture shunned the development of the intellectual development and connection to the bathing and focused on the laws of hygiene and physical and spiritual renewal. The rooms of the bath became smaller, the routine changed to leave out study, and etiquette switched from one of pleasure to that of seclusion and meditation. Hammams spread with the Islamic faith to include many areas from North Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and the Middle East. The Islam turned churches, temples, and other buildings into Hammams. Every town had a bath where barbers would cut and shave hair, let blood for health, massage, wash bodies, and scrub feet. Islam believed that any undesirable personal aspects flowed down to the feet and that calluses or rough feet would keep the bad in, so washing and keeping the feet soft and supple ensured a safe exit of any negative toxins. Bathers didn’t eat garlic to protect the barber from noxious smells. Often a Hammam was known by the reputation of the barber.

The rich usually owned their own baths, but would use the public baths at least once a week to display their cleanliness and penitence to the town residents. A very wealthy penitent Islam would construct a public bath as a show of his repentance or humility. As most baths were public baths, there were strict rules governing how the baths ran daily. Health inspectors, similar to those we have today for public recreational or spa facilities checked the baths and workers to ensure cleanliness and proper running of the baths. Stone surfaces were scrubbed daily, water was ensured to be high quality, and any traces of dirt or soap were always carefully removed. No food was allowed in the Hammam, no lepers, no private parts revealed, and attendants would rub their hands in pomegranate peel for hardness and scent.

Islamic stories of spirits dwelling in the hot water springs and steam of the hot water called the individual spirit of each Hammam the Ginn. Strict etiquette surrounded addressing a Ginn. One must speak the Balmala – an invocation meaning In the name of Allah. After the phrase was spoken, the Ginn should leave but often doesn’t. More superstitious bathers would not bath the day they felt the Ginn was present as they were afraid he might slap them in the face with a loud noise causing them to lose their own voice or dislocate their jaw. Not all Ginns were malicious or scary. Some Hammam’s keepers would report that their Ginn would read poetry or tell humorous stories to the bathers. In some areas of Islam, the devil was said to occupy the Hammam as his house during certain hours of the day and attendance at the bath was restricted during the time between the last two prayers of the day as that was when the devil and his friends took their baths.

Women were originally forbidden from the baths, but as the baths became well known for their great hygienic purposes, The Word of Muhammad was reinterpreted so women could attend the bath. This use soon became more to the women than a mere privilege - it became their right. The baths became a key place for Islamic women’s sociality and recreation. The weekly bath day was a holiday looked forward to and each week prepared for with great expectations. The bath was a place to relax, gossip, check out future daughters-in-law, and escape from the drudgery of every day life. Of course, women and men did NOT attend the bath at the same time or usually attend even the same bath. While Aaland does not specifically discuss different baths for men and women, Islamic tradition of separating men from women publicly would suggest that there were indeed separate baths for men and women.

Different religious people were allowed into the baths after a length of time, but were required to somehow signify what religion they were. For example, a Christian must wear a cross around their neck and a Jewish person must wear a necklace of a calf-head. At one point, discussions took place to build separate Hammams for separate religious cultures, but this rarely came to pass and all continued to use the