Infrared Saunas--healing heat from the inside out

I just stepped out of my first infrared sauna session on a cold and rainy Winter Sunday in TriBeCa.

A bit light headed I’ll admit.

Considerably flushed as I moved from 45 minutes in the 160 degree dry sauna room, to a cool shower, then into the weather.

My interest in this as a wellness booster worth incorporating into my weekly regimen is seriously piqued.

This was really easy to fall for as there is a sauna backstory here.

Some 30+ years ago, my buddy Nevar and I, our families living off the grid in the Monashee Mountains in central British Columbia, built a log cabin sauna in a steep gorge by a mountain creek.

We would clomp down in the deep snow, cleaning the path for others to follow, stoke the wood fire till it was crazy hot, steam our bodies till pink, throwing water on hot rocks, then run outside, chop a hole in the ice on the creek, and jump in. A group of young, naked and screaming people in the middle of nowhere melting the snow under our feet.

That is honestly what I was thinking about today—that edge feeling—while I slipped into a meditative state in the intense, inside out heat of this sauna.

Cold plunge and screaming hordes aside of course, it was that state of mind that I got again, when my body was an all-inclusive platform for my mental state.

My blog community knows that I’m a health and wellness geek, obsessed with nutrition, exercise, and meditation. Open to whatever works to make me feel better, healthier and more productive.

Infrared dry saunas are something new-2-me, to look at in the experimental wellness category.

Saunas where you heat the air with fires or stones, warming your body from the outside in are timeless. Think of the steam-sauna scene from Ingmar Bergman’s Virgin Spring.

Infrared or FIRS (far-infrared-saunas) use infrared light (between visible light and radio waves on the electromagnetic spectrum) to create heat from the inside to the outside of your body.

This one was 160 degrees and while hot, was cooler and less abrasive than the wood heated, steam-infused saunas of my memory.

And obviously something that can exist in urban NY in a high-end gym, down the street from my place, where you can schedule online, and pop in and out.

Unlike Salt Caves which I blogged about last year, there is not a lot of historical studies on the benefits of saunas in general. And unlike Cryotherapy, there does not appear to be a pure physiological thread of what is actually occurring.

But beside my initial visceral reactions, there are some obvious ways to frame your thinking about this.

If you heat your body on a cellular level, your heart rate goes up, blood circulation increases, and you oxygenate your cells, muscles and joints. That is the general reality of what is happening.

And logically, with that, with circulation increasing and ton of sweat (trust me!), toxins are released.

There are a plethora of claims around the aerobic impact of this (I believe that from my increased heart rate), caloric burn, soreness lessening, arthritis pain softening, skin renewal, and just a better frame of mind while less tired and feeling more vital.

We shall see about this over time but it is an immensely satisfying and intense experience.

There is as well, a scientific string that ties infrared spectrum lighting (I recently purchased a Joovv unit btw) through the field of light science called photo-biomodulation to an impact on our mitochondrial health. I am prone to believe this, as the impact of mitochondrial health to our total health is not the question, just what impacts their communications channels and whether infrared is a trigger.

I’ll add some additional thoughts on this after I do a few more sessions over the next month or so.

In my opinion, 30-minute sessions are way enough (and less expensive as well). It is really hot, internal generated heat and quite intense.

I went to HigherDose studio at my local Equinox which was great—affordable, convenient and with the much needed locker room facility. High tech, private and easy to plug in your phone for music or podcasts.

I believe SaunaBar and SweatTheory are similar in LA.

Really fun and interesting experience.

I don’t honestly know that I’m glowing, but feel damn good with no reason to supplement this with another gym workout today.

If your heart is healthy and you are in shape, this is something to try.