What is Heat Therapy?

What is Hammam or a Turkish Bath? They combine steam, body treatments and massage into one experience. It has functionality and architecture of Roman thermae and Byzantine baths, with Central Asian Turkish tradition of steam bathing, ritual cleansing and respect for water.

1. Enter: Greeted by an attendant, you are given a pestemal (cotton or silk wrap), a pair of nalin (wooden clogs) and a key to a cubicle to store your belongings
2. Change: Undress in the camekan and wrap the pestemal around you
3. Pre-Shower: Shower prior to entering the hottest room
4. Detox: Apply clay to your body to draw out impurities
5. Steam: Relax in the hot and steamy sicaklik
6. Rinse: Rinse off the clay
7. Exfoliation: On the goebektas (a heated marble slab in the center of the hot room), the tellak (bath attendant) roughly exfoliates you with a kese (coarse mitt made of goat's hair) to remove dead skin cells
8. Wash: You are soaped up and rinsed off in the warm room
9. Massage: You are massaged on the goebektas
10. Cool down: Relax in the sogukluk to cool down and rehydrate
11. Dress: Redress and leave

At some tourist hammams, cleanliness can be an issue.

Typically there are three interconnected rooms:

• The sicaklik: A room with a large dome decorated with small glass windows. The goebektas (a large marble stone) sits at the center and niches with fountains sit in the corners. Used for soaking up steam and getting scrub massages
  
• The warm room: Used for washing with soap and water
  
• The sogukluk: Where you relax, dress up, have a refreshing drink and nap in private cubicles after the massage

What is Traditional Sauna? Also called rock saunas or Finnish Saunas, various types of heaters warm the air in a room made or lined with wood material. Fist sized Peridotite stones are arranged over the heat source, attaining and maintaining high temperatures. The rocks are periodically splashed with water to generate humidity.

What is Modern Sauna? Thermostatically controlled electric stoves or wood stoves with chimneys, reaching up to 175 degrees, while smoke saunas can reach up to 200 degrees.

Allowable duration and frequency:
15 - 20 minute intervals; 2 – 3x per week

1. Shower: Clean off dirt
2. Sit 'n' Soak: Find a comfortable spot to sit and relax. The heat is most intense on the upper levels. To add moisture to the air throw water on the stones
3. Break and Rinse: Step out of the sauna and cool down with a cold shower, drinking water, or a cold plunge
4. Repeat: Step back into the sauna and repeat steps 2 and 3 as many times as you like
5. Final Rinse: Take a final shower to wash away the sweat and cool down completely

• Don't have before or after certain body wraps, because both will elevate heart rate and blood pressure. Check with the spa and aesthetician to be sure
• Don’t take a sauna when you are ill

What is Far Infrared Sauna (FIR)? FIR uses electromagnetic radiation to heat you from the inside out, heating you more deeply than traditional Finnish sauna. The radiant energy is the same as the heat from the sun, only without the harmful ultraviolet rays.

Allowable duration and frequency:
20 – 40 minutes per day;Best if taken first thing in the morning or last thing before bed

1. Shower: Helps increase the amount you sweat
2. Sit 'n' Soak: Find a comfortable spot to sit and relax. The closer you are to the infrared coils, the better the penetration of the IR energy
3. Cool down and Rinse: When you are done, take a cool shower to wash away the sweat and cool down
4. Rest: For at least 15 minutes, relax in the shower or with other relaxation techniques

• At around 110 to 130 °F, temperatures are much cooler than a Finnish sauna, allowing people to stay inside longer, enabling them to get more out of their session
• Information and claims about FIR Saunas is not fully proven

What is a Steam Bath? Similar to sauna, but with steam (or mist). Temperatures are most effective between 43C (110F) and 46C (116F).

Allowable duration and frequency:
15 - 20 minute intervals; 2 – 3x per week

1. Shower: Clean off dirt
2. Sit 'n' Soak: Find a comfortable spot to sit and relax. Note that the heat is most intense on the upper levels
3. Cool down and Rinse: Cool off completely with cool fresh air or cool water
4. Repeat: Step back into the steam room and repeat steps 2 and 3 up to 2 to 3 times
5. Final Rinse: Take a final shower to wash away the sweat and let yourself cool down completely

• Consider switching from sauna to steam for different benefits/effects
• Hydrates skin, leaving it feeling soft, clean and silky smooth
• Can help with problems of the respiratory system, hoarseness, non-acute rheumatic complaints and restricted or painful movements of the joints
• Can help with sleeping disorders, poor skin circulation, muscular tension and/or weakness

What is a Sweat Lodge or Temazcal? Depending on the tribe, different styles and construction is used, however, with most, stones are heated in an exterior fire and then placed in a central pit in the ground. Often the stones are granite or volcanic rock that glow red in the dark lodge.

General duration and Frequency:
Varies from tribe to tribe, region to region and family to family, however, most last from 2 to 4 hours and include 4 rounds, with each being hotter than the previous.

1. Ceremonial Gathering: The participants encircle the stone pit inside the lodge. The Shaman or leader may bless you or have you say a prayer
2. Stones: Each round, the leader of the ceremony receives the glowing hot stones from the firekeeper and places them in the pit
3. Sweat: The leader closes the door, sealing off all light and keeping in the heat. He pours water (sometimes with herbs) on top of the stones to fill the lodge with steam. Each round can last for periods of ten minutes to an hour within the lodge
4. Slather: Some types may have you slather mud, honey or aloe vera onto your skin
5. Rhythm: Drums or maracas keep rhythm for group chants and prayers
6. Rinse: After leaving the hut, take a cold shower or jump into the sea to rinse toxins.

• Avoid if you have major medical or psychological issues, are in late term pregnancy or in a post-surgical state
• If you have beliefs that conflict with the ceremony, obtain specific permission to attend by the leader