Shvitz
Russian bath, also called Russian banya or bania for centuries was an essential part of living in Russia. People from Tsars to peasants not only washed there, but used it for religious ceremonies, to heal when they get sick, women gave birth and young couples found seclusion in there.
Spend a day at Dillons Russian Steam Bath and you will sweat in bath, enjoy oak leaves platza massage and struggle with the heat. But after all, walking out of the banya, feeling ten years younger with skin soft and smooth like babies, you will promise yourself to come back.
So what makes the Russian Bath special?
Baths differ greatly in temperature and humidity. The hottest contemporary Finnish saunas have only about 5-10% humidity, which allow boiling temperatures (100C/212F) to be tolerated and even enjoyed for short periods of time. Other types of baths, such as the Turkish bath Hammam have almost 100% humidity, but the temperatures there are no more than 40C/100F. Russians believe that hot and dry sauna will only dry your throat and skin. And high humidity baths with heavy drops of water in the steam are also not healthy.
Effects of Sweating
Sweating by overheating the body produces these effects:
- Burns calories and therefore assists in fat loss programs
- Speeds up metabolic process of vital organs and endocrine glands
- Places demands upon the cardiovascular system, making the heart pump harder and producing a drop in diastolic blood pressure
- Creates a "fever" reaction that kill potentially dangerous viruses and strengthening the immune system-important for fighting colds, flu, cancer and bolstering resistance to infections
- Excretes toxins from the body, including cadmium, lead, zinc, nickel, sodium, sulfuric acid and cholesterol
- Stimulates vasodilatation of peripheral vessels, which relieves pain and speeds healing of sprains, strains, bursitis, peripheral vascular disease, arthritis and muscle pain
- Promote relaxation, thereby lending a feeling of well-being
Heat has been shown to be extremely important therapy over millennia of time. Sweating in a sauna room is one of the oldest folk remedies in the world. "Give me a chance to create a fever, and I will cure a disease", said Paemenides over 2000 years ago.
Platza
Platza Oak Leaf
Lie down while in the Russian Room and a platza specialist will scrub you (actually beat you) with a broom made of fresh oak leaves, sopping with olive oil soap. The oak leaves contain a natural astringent, which will open your pours, remove toxins, and actually take off layers of dead skin. Some described the platza as "Jewish acupuncture".
Massage
Russian massage integrates sports massage with the relaxing techniques of therapeutic massage. It offers a number of benefits because the style of the treatment depends on the physical makeup of an injury, rather than the person’s body as a whole.
The massage therapy can be received for those suffering from an injury, have an illness, or just want to promote general well-being.
