Messages from the Red Planet: Infrared Sauna Therapy

"Divine Waves In  Me"

   This week's subject: Infrared Therapy Saunas and how easily and affordable it is to have in your own home. After reading several documents and scientific papers on the effects of "red light therapy" on the human body and how it can help my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, I set on the journey of how to build a portable unit for my home. The benefits of infrared therapy are vast. On my road to recovery from my latest Hashimoto's Thyroiditis flare, centering on key healing points is essential. Detoxification, pain relief, stress and balancing body chemistry are the key points to this plan and the answer that hits all of those points is the infrared sauna.

Sweating is a perfect way to rid the body of unwanted toxins. But what if you can't exercise due to illness or injury? The infrared sauna is your answer!

   Just what is a sauna? There are several types of saunas and the one that is most prevalent in the United States, where I live, is the Finnish style of sauna that is known as a steam sauna. Steam saunas utilize water on a heat source that creates steam to heat a closed off unit or area where a person is sitting or laying. They can take up for 30 minutes to heat up for usage and unless you want to plunk hundreds of dollars into a unit, it is not feasible....I'm leaning more in the price range of under $100 to see if it really works.

   My search started to become a reality when I learned just how easy it is to build an infrared sauna in your home. After looking into the basic materials I would need, I set out and had my own sauna in two hours. With just a wood board, three porcelain "chick" heating lamps and three infrared bulbs (both of these items can be found at a farm supply store, hardware store of online)  and a frame with heavy material used as an enclosure, a small ceramic heater and a temperature gauge  I had in my closet and I was cooking!

   I installed my new healthy infrared sauna (basically a wood board with three lamps attached to in inside a curtain of fabric) in my basement. No worries for me about a fire hazard besides making sure the fabric wasn't touching the lamps or the heater. I sat in the radiant heat with my workout bikini on because it is essential to have as much as your skin being exposed to the therapeutic waves. Remember to not look directly into the bulbs but other than that, I read a book and chatted with my outside world :). Also, you must rotate your body every five minutes for maximum benefits.

If you are new to infrared saunas, it is recommended that you start with 4 minutes sessions in 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit and work your way towards 30 minutes sessions.

   After my first session, which I stayed in for 25 minutes, I reached a level of relaxation that I've only been able to achieve through therapeutic massage. My skin was soft and silky. I felt refreshed and centered. I couldn't wait until my next session. Two days later, I again went in my DIY sauna and the result were the same. I also had some very sore muscles from my previous yoga session and I came out with no soreness at all! In 30 minutes, my muscles were not sore or stiff.

   There are three types of bulbs you can chose from: Near, middle or far.

• Near infrared bulbs are best used for wound healing and immunity boost.
• Middle infrared bulbs are designed for increasing circulation and promoting muscle relaxation.
• Far infrared bulbs are suited best for detoxification.

After three sessions, the verdict is in! Infrared saunas are an essential tool for anyone's health arsenal, not just for chronic illness sufferers. With just a few minutes three times a week, the body's immune response can be boosted, cortisol levels can become balanced and stress will melt away with the sweat running down your body. People can even use this tool to get over viruses and infections  more timely and boost your immunity for infections...and this therapy has been found in some cases to affect and kill cancer cells.

   Of course, as with any treatments, be mindful of your body. You know your body best. With this therapy there is risk of heat exhaustion. Watch yourself for light headedness or dizziness or clammy skin ( you will be sweating, but it feels cold and clammy, get out immediately).

   Do yourself a favor and think of ways to incorporate this in your home, especially if your health conditions make it difficult for you to exercise! People even set this portable system in their bathtub and then remove it and store it in a closet. It's so versatile and easily one of the best ways to help your body to heal and function at the best level it can!

And Ill close this post with a word to my fellow Hashimotians: BE IN CHARGE OF YOUR OWN HEALTH! Read, read, read. Try a new avenue to a better you and although you aren't the person you used to be, you can become a better version on this new person you've become. Hashimoto's is a personalized, invisible illness. Become your own crusader---even if all you can do is be a crusader from the comfort of you bed at times, we've all been there!