"Imagine sitting peacefully, privately, in a small room heated to a comfortable 100- 110 degrees, healing fragrance permeating the air. The only sound is the bubbling of the water while the herbs and flowers heat enough to release their essence. You lie back and relax and the oils from the plants, transformed into vapor, surround your skin. Your body absorbs the sweet-smelling vapors and uyour skin and complexion take on an unbelievable softness and clarity. Your mind relaxes through fragrance and (your) tension slips away. Here is the secret that the nose, (your) sense of smell, shares with the entire body."
--The Aromatherapy Book, by Jeanne Rose

Sauna Time

The first improvement when I bought my home was neither in the kitchen nor the bathroom. I took a walk-in closet and installed a sauna. It is the single best investment in health I have ever made. We use it almost every day in the winter. I added an overhead full spectrum light so my intimate partner and I get our daily 20 minutes of sunlight no matter what the local weather is like. We do yoga there, jump out and take a very quick cold rinse (great for heart and circulation), jump back in and rub some essential oils onto our skin after we shower.

Many traditional cultures used sweating to purify themselves, and take some of the workload off their liver to eliminate toxins.

Recent studies

Some of our favorite aromatic sauna blends include:

Of course my next home improvement was a big soaking tub, see Tub Time.