How to do it
the "right way?"
Correct
procedure in Banya is something of utter importance. Be it a simplified
version or a version for the professional "banschiks" with
cold water swimming and furious whisking, there are certain rules that
ought to be adhered to and certain things without which banya turns
into sheer washing.
Before
Banya
Rule #1:
No Banya on full stomach! Eating a lot before steam bathing force exccessive
load on the heart. Do not, however, go to Banya on empty stomach. Finns,
for example, before sauna, eat fruit and vegetables. Banya improves
appetite; that's getting ready for Banya, many Russians take some delicacies
with them so that they could eat after the
process.
Rule #2:
Do not go to Banya during illness or overfatigue
Novice
In Banya
A novice
should not go to a banya with other than optimal humidity, temperature
and dryness of air, working ventilation, and ideal cleanliness.
Under no
circumstances should a novice try to "beat" experienced bather
in a competition. For the first time it is not necessary to sit on the
upper bench - it's hot enough on the lower one. One should adjust to
banya and start realizing that the heat is pleasant.
Having understood
the delights of Banya experience and having gotten rid of ungrounded
fears, the novice will come to Banya again and again. It's better to
do that on the same day of the week.
Preparation
of Whisks
A
whisk (a special besom for bathing in Russian Banya) is the single most
important attribute of Banya. It can be made of birch or oak branches
with leaves. It is necessary to prepare the whisk before Banya. It enhances
experience only if properly made and prepared. If the whisk is fresh,
recently picked, it it only necessary to rinse it a little bit and it
is ready for use. If, however, the whisk is old and dry, its preparation
would require some time and patience. First rinse and wash the whisk.
Then, put it into a basin with warm water. Make sure that the water
is not very hot, so that leaves do not fall off. Thereafter, you can
steadily increase temperature. Then put another basin on the top, covering
the whisk and thus creation some sort of "banya" for the whisk
itself. Leave it for some time to get a silky, "steamed",
forest-smelling whisk.
Preparation
for steam bathing
Do not go
into the steam room immediately. First prepare your blood for it. There
is one simple method to get a steam exercise. Take a basin with warm
water and put your feet and legs into it, steadily adding hot water.
10-15 minutes will be enough.
Before entering
the steam room, it is useful and more hygienic to shower a little bit.
Do not wash your head as it might cause overheating
later. This is also the reason, why you must wear a hat while in the
steam room. After light showering, dry youself with a towel completely,
since water on the body prevents sweating. This is why, during the procedure,
it is necessary to dry off the sweat.
Entering
the steam room
Now you
are ready to enter the steam room. If the whisk is ready, take it with
you, not for using it, but to smell it.
First lie
on the the lower bench in order to adjust oneself to the heat. The difference
in temperature between the upper and lower benches is approximately
10-15 degrees. It is better to lie, rather than sit in banya. In this
case the heat is distributed proportionally all over the body.
The first
sweat will appear soon. However, some novices do not sweat a lot, because
their thermoregulating apparatus is not working properly. With practice,
it will improve and sweating will be bringing healthier results.
After that,
leave the steam room to rest 5-6 minutes.
"Whisk Bathing"
Now is the
time to take the whisk out of the basin and go onto the upper bench.
If you are using the birch whisk, do not pour the water away - birch
water is better than any cosmetics when you are washing your hair. Do
it yourself, if you are alone, or ask your friend to massage you with
the whisk. It is very hot and requires a lot of energy to do that; so
the "masseur" will need to use gloves.
Do not whip
a partner with the whisk. The idea is to direct the heat to the body
and to "steam" the entire body. Start with feet, almost not
touching the body, then go all the way up to the neck and then lift
the whisk and lower it first on shoulders, then on the back etc. Repeat
the procedure 4-5 times.
After that
the masseur slightly "whips" the bather with the whisk. And
then he does what is called "birch poultice" in Russian: pushing
the whisks to the body. This is regurarly used to treat pain in the
back. Thereafter, everything abovementioned is repeated on the front,
but only with less energy.
After this
hot procedure, do not jump out of the steam room immediately. Sit for
some time to normalize blood circulation and adjust to vertical position.
Then go sit on the lower bench, because, first of all, steady movement
from one room to another is extremely important in banya, and, secondly,
sweating still continues after whisk bathing. Now you are ready to get
out of the steam room and jump into the cool swimming pool.
