So to kick off this occasional how to heal autoimmune disease series once again, a passionate rundown of the joys of the infra-red sauna.
Image by Tierney Gearon
Nora Gedgaudas first suggested I use one. That’s all she said. Go. Use one. I’ve done it a number of times since, and it’s made a HUGE difference. I get a lot of lymphatic blockage and it bloats the right side of my body and my face. I also get joint pain from toxin build-up…and it all just… goes…. after a session in one of these. I can go in “thyroidy” and come out calm, enlivened.
I dug around a bit to see what’s been said about them and from a range of literature, this is what I found:
Is it just like a normal sauna?
Not so much. It heats objects rather than the surrounding air. Normal saunas get you sweating by sheer force of heat; infra-red saunas heat the deepest organs and tissues of the body by penetrating the infra-red band of light about 3-4cm below the skin surface. This causes the body to sweat at a temperature of only 35-45C, heating the internal tissues without overheating the skin and respiratory system as ordinary saunas do.
What will they fix and how so?
It assists with a whole bunch of auto-immuny symptoms and issues.
Detoxing
Infra red waves matches the frequency of the water in our cells, causing toxins to be released into the blood stream and excreted through sweat. Increased blood circulation caused by sweating stimulates the sweat glands, releasing built up toxins and waste. As the heat penetrates the deeper, denser tissues, the infra-red heat softens deposits of crystallized toxins and acid wastes in the joints, nerves, and connective tissues allowing them to be dissolved and excreted via the bloodstream, lymphatic system, and through the skin as sweat.
A lot of AI issues stem from heavy metal toxicity. This kind of heat is particularly effective for eliminating heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, zinc and nickel from the tissues as well as toxins like nicotine, alcohol and chemicals.
Immune support
Each time you take a sauna session, there is a brief increase in body temperature, which boosts the production of infection-fighting white blood cells (leukocytes) by your bone marrow and killer T-cells by your thymus. This process has a beneficial effect on your immune system.
High blood pressure
The soft heat relaxes blood vessels, helping reduce high blood pressure and not adding to it as conventional saunas can.
Water retention, lymphatic issues, bloating and weight gain
Infra-red therapy helps eliminate excess moisture, salt and subcutaneous fat from the body. Sweating is a part of the complex thermo-regulatory process of the body that increases the heart rate and improves the heart-pumping capacity of the heart. It also uses up energy to burn fat as at 43 C fat becomes water soluble and can be dissolved and disposed of by sweating. A single sauna session may burn up as many calories as a 30 minute jog, so you can lose weight at the same time as detoxifying your entire body!
Pain and joint stuff
The deep penetrating heat of infra-red saunas dilates blood vessels increasing blood flow and improving circulation which in turn allows more oxygen to reach the muscles and other body tissues. This makes infra-red sauna therapy very effective in treating arthritis, rheumatism, muscular spasms, soft tissue injuries, general pain relief and fibromyalgia-related symptoms.
Some extra reassuring stuff
Infra-red sauna therapy has been used safely for over 30 years in hospitals for premature babies, and in the United States NASA uses it in their spaceships to provide health and safety benefits to their astronauts.
what about EMFs?
Most of them have electromagnetic shielding on ALL wiring (the one at Mullum Sari does) and are perfectly safe. Check first.
where to use one?
I currently go to Alkaline, in Potts Point. If you’re a Sydney sider, check it out.
You can also buy one for at home (I’m coming across a lot of AI folk who have one in their backyard). Vitality 4 Life sell them online here.
Hope that inspires. Feel free to post below if you can recommend a infra-red set-up in your area….
A girlfriend of mine swears by Infrared Saunas. She’s been using them for years and now has one in her bedroom! It’s fab to sit in there and meditate!! Especially lush for us vata types as we can feel all warm and calm in the dark box
Fab article, I like the info on benefits. Have a lovely day xx
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and for the most random quesiton today… what do you wear in it? just a cossie?
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January 12th, 2012 at 10:02 am
just a cozzie
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This might be an ignorant question, but I regularly do Bikram Yoga – does that provide the same sort of thing? I do not have an AI disease, but do have IBS, celiac, fructose/lactose intolerance and am prone to shingles. I find this assists me with my ‘stresses’ of dealing with my health troubles. Is Bikram yoga an ‘irritant’ for AI sufferers? Do any AI sufferers do it to help them?
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January 12th, 2012 at 10:09 am
Hi Miranda. In terms of Infra red heat and yoga, there is Hot Box yoga (in Melbourne anyway – check out details here http://www.hotboxyoga.com.au/heat.html) which uses Infra red panels in the ceiling to generate the heat for the room. This is a different heat to that which is generated for Bikram. It feels different as well. Am sure Bikram still has benefits though!!
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January 12th, 2012 at 10:47 am
Miranda, I find Bikram not great. It follows the principle of heating the air and so it overheats me too much – which is not great …it’s an irritant and can over-stress my symptoms. I also find Bikram waaaay too agressive. But that’s just me. Love the idea of the hotbox, though
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January 12th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
I go to Hotbox yoga in Melboure and attend Power Flow class (this is a warm room not hot). I find that class more benifical than hot yoga. It helps with pain and joint stiffness and you feel detoxed after every class!
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January 12th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
I find Bikram great if done occasionally. For some reason the heat & stretching seems to soothe me? If I do it too often though, it seems to have the opposite effect. And Sarah is right about the aggro, some instructors can make it into a quite brutal session, which I dont think is necessary for AI types.
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January 12th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
Hi,
I am a Yoga teacher and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get my ten cents in here
I am not a fan of Bikram because it heats the body from the outside in, instead of the inside out, and therefore provides a false sense of flexibility and means students are more prone to injury. I get a lot of students that come through my door who have done Bikram and have consequently injured themselves. I recently had a guy who said he felt his tooth extraction was more pleasant! I would recommend ‘Hot Yoga’ if you’re enjoying the heat as it is generally only ~30 degrees (no worse than a Qld summer!) and not as severe as Bikram at 40+ and will provide the same benefits to your body.
For me personally, I like to feel the change in temperature that each day brings and practise at room temperature without the stress of excessive heat. It also seems more true to the practise (none of the ancient Yoga texts/Gurus chose to practise in heated studios) and allows the opportunity to reconnect the mind, body and spirit.
Each to their own, but maybe something to think about.
Namaste
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January 13th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
I’m a yoga teacher as well (well, trained, not teaching) and I concur with what Sculley says. I’m rather anti-Bikram; yoga teaches that you should heat your body up from the inside, as you move and breathe. Of course if it’s a hot day you will get the external stimulation as well, but still be moving your body to warm it up.
Having said that, I have never been to a Bikram class, and sometimes feel I should so I can confirm or deny my prejudices against it! But I have passed out in an astanga class on a hot, steamy day so I know Bikram is not for me.
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April 18th, 2013 at 11:31 pm
Hi everyone,
I just came across an article which mentioned Hom yoga in Darlinghurst in my search for infrared saunas. Apparently they heat the room with infrared. Might give it a go. Anyone been there yet?
How long do you go for? There is a place near me that offers 30 minute sessions. I might have to give it a try.
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January 12th, 2012 at 10:02 am
30-50 mins is recommended
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Sunlighten saunas are a great buy
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HI Sarah – I have one at home and it is fantastic. I have been using while doing the IQS. If you get one it is better to get one with carbon heater which apparently lasts longer than ceramic heaters. I looked around for ages and then a great deal got it online and they delivered for me. I haven’t looked back. I love it.
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January 19th, 2013 at 5:32 pm
Hi Kate
Read your post on IQS site
Would like to know the details of your sauna please
Cheers
Caroline
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Nora recommends Sunlighten Sauna. She has a Solo unit…reasonable price plus very portable and easy to setup. Her Sunlighten contact in Australia. Happy Sweating!
Roseanne Fedrick
Sunlighten Australia
Melbourne: 03 9696 4602
Mob: 0412 191 857
admin@sunlighten.com.au
http://www.sunlighten.com.au
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So happy to hear you sharing the benefits of far infra-red saunas Sarah! I was diagnosed with CFS last April and obtained the most detailed biochemical analysis of my system available at that time – my biggest issue was toxicity off the richter scale, particularly heavy metals. Not long after diagnosis someone recommended I give a FIR Sauna a go and 4 months later, after having sat in one 3-5 day’s/week for 3 months I am now almost totally free of CFS. There is no question that the sauna played a profound effect on my recovery – I felt like a new woman after the first go, it was just amazing. As part of my CFS I suffered joint/arthritic pain and that disappeared in no time. My energy levels shot up (particularly in the 24 hour period post sauna) and my skin looks fantastic.
I would however suggest people be a little wary of using just any FIR Sauna, I have heard there are a few dodgy operators out there. I can’t recommend Sunlighten saunas enough, it’s worth doing your research. The owner of Sunlighten had CFS for 10 years, sat in a FIR sauna twice a day for 2 weeks and it disappeared (he had viruses which can’t survive in that heat). It was pretty remarkable. They sell and rent saunas and you can have them at their store in South Melbourne.
Now that I have recovered I am looking at buying a cocoon style of sauna that you can fold up and pop under your bed.
Clearly I am quite the fan!
Clearly I am quite the fan!
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ooops!
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Googling now for one in my area. So, so bloated – legs and ankles worse for me – after four days of really hot, humid weather here. My body goes all thyroidy like a switch has been flicked.
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Hey Sarah,
Great Post. My doctor suggested I buy a portable infra red sauna from ebay, which I did for around $500. I really love it and find that if I exercise for 20mins first then jump in it the benefits are 100 times better.
I am really concerned about the EMF’s though because it’s from China. How can I be sure it’s safe?
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Wonderful article, I’ve been hearing so much about these saunas. I did one about 6 years ago in melbourne, but never repeated it. I have CFS and can’t work, so find it very hard to pay for things.
I found this infra red portable sauna that is quite cheap http://alwaysdirect.com.au/portable-far-infrared-sauna-silver-standard-size.html
does anyone think this is dodgy? I don’t want to waste my money, or worse, get sicker due to buying a cheap sauna.
Thanks
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January 13th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I have one of these. It is fantastic! HOWEVER, I am now concerned about the EMF it may emit. I’ve been using it on and off for a few years and it works a treat.
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January 16th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
You can purchase or hire a gauss meter to measure emr (electromagnetic radiation) in your home And from appliances such as the sauna.
http://www.emraustralia.com.au/AP.aspx?ID=1301&EID=10207496
A great investment. I purchased one last year and found out our house had extremely high emr levels ( hence my cfs). We moved to a house clear of emr and i got better!
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I’ll try anything once (alas, such easy prey to advertising). I have booked a session with a massage for Saturday – excited to give it a go! I’ve got an underactive thyroid, but my symptoms aren’t anywhere near as bad as yours – just find it impossible to lose weight, and gradually gaining. Hopefully this might kick start things.
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There is a yoga studio in Surry Hills in Sydney that has just moved and now has the infrared heating too…. I had my first class there last week and it was brilliant!
http://www.bodymindlife.com/Story/Newstateoftheartinfraredheatingsystem
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As always, thanks for the post. I’ve read about the benefits of infrared saunas before, but always figured it was something I had to purchase & that’s never been in my budget/space constraints. But I never knew you could go use them elsewhere & after reading this post I checked in my area & by gosh I found some spas that offer them which is FANTASTIC! Now I can give this a go & see if it’ll be beneficial to my CFS management plan!
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Sarah, your post could not have come at a better time. I have been trying to persuade my husband that we should get an infra-red sauna for ages. After reading your post he is now researching models, etc. Thank you!
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[...] if its worth a shot (As you can prob gather by now, I'm open to try anything these days!) how to heal autoimmune disease: infra-red saunas | Sarah Wilson Reply With Quote + Reply to [...]
Oh and I meant to say, gosh I love the idea of these saunas and am going to find one in my area. Thanks so much for the info!
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Interesting article! I hadn’t heard of infra-red saunas before. It’d be really useful to know the sources of all this information though..
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January 16th, 2012 at 10:12 am
I agree, Eugene. Sources would be good.
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Thanks for the interesting post!
Quick question (I’ll ask my Dr when I next see her as well).
I had the lymph nodes in my right armpit removed last year while having a mastescomy.
I’m prone to lymphodema, and carry a lot of excess fluid in my right side (and regularly wear a compression sleeve).
I’ve been told not to have traditional saunas (the heat causes arm further arm swelling).
Is the same true of infa-red saunas?
Thanks,
Nicole
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January 18th, 2012 at 8:43 am
Hi Nicole, hmmmm, I’d do some googling if I were you. I also have lymph probs (all right side, too) and the infra red helps my situation, but it’s clearly not the same as yours. Let me know what you find out!
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I would like to share a simple detox bath you can do at home which I find even more effective than a FIR sauna which I also love.
Run a very hot bath. Add 1 kg Epsom salts and 200ml – 300ml 6% hydrogen peroxide. Soak for 1/2 hour. Be sure to cool down completely afterwards with a cold shower. It can be pretty full on so start out slow (1/2 ingredients, 1/2 time) if you have a lot to detox or you are weak. You can do these daily if you can spare the water.
The heat and epsom salts pull out the toxins (acids) and the peroxide (h2O2 – essentially water with an extra oxygen molecule) provide oxygen to neutralise and buffer the acids. The cold shower will halt the detox process, which is important. Otherwise once you are out of the bath the toxins have nowhere to be released and will just circulate in your system making you feel bad.
This bath is my go to when I am struggling. It never fails to settle and energise me. I also love that I can do it at home ’cause let’s face it sometimes when you really need one getting to a sauna can be a mission.
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January 24th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
This sounds like a great detox option. My husband and I have been having issues for many years and I believe that we both have IBS amongst other things. This may be good to assist in our detox.
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[...] And for more info on the amazingness of infra-red saunas, read Sarah Wilson’s recent post here. [...]
Hi Sarah
I’m sorry this is not strictly about this post but was wondering if I could ask you about your comments that you supplement your thyroxin with a compounded T3? I take 200mcg of thyroxin a day. That’s quite a big dose – I started on 50mcg about 9 years ago when I got post-partum thyroiditis and then stopped about a year later. After my second child it came back with a vengeance and I also had part of my thyroid removed when I had para-thyriod adenoma removed. Since then I have been on about 200mcg consistently right through pregnancy and 15 months feeding of number 3. I’m just going back to being a bit thyroidy at the moment (I think my body is still getting used to not breastfeeding – or perhaps that’s just an emotional reaction, or both), and I have a problem with T4 uptake (or as my doctor describes it the production of false T4) so was interesting in your comments. Who prescribes the compounded stuff to you? My doctor is at a wholistic style clinic (he also gives me regular B shots when I get too run down) so I would just like to be armed when I go and see him if that’s ok?
thanks very much
Rebecca
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For Sydneysiders, there’s also an infra-red sauna at Boda in Mosman. http://www.boda.com.au/ You should check them out for loads of cleansing/ detox assistance; it’s fabulous! In fact, I believe Sarah visited Boda some time ago for one of her columns…
Also, another note on hot yoga, you could try Power Yoga http://www.powerliving.com.au/ It’s still pretty vigorous, but only heated to just over 30 degrees.
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Interesting article on hashimotos and gluten http://thyroidbook.com/blog/
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I’m a tad skeptical as to whether this is the real deal or just another placebo effect. I have lupus and have only ever gotten relief from painkillers. Heat helps (I like to take baths), but the moment I get overheated, I feel nauseous and my blood pressure plummets. I get massaged every week to remove knots, I’ve tried acupuncture with no avail, various pharmaceutical treatments, weight loss, vitamins etc. I really don’t buy into a lot of treatments out there, because what works for one person may not work for another. My mind is not easily fooled into the placebo effect. I don’t tolerate pain very well and I feel it constantly. My painkillers have worn off, so I’m going to go on a bit of a tanty right now:
I’ve been reading a lot into physics for a few years now and never have come across infrared light referred to being something that resonates (the frequency that a molecule will vibrate more than at any other frequency, to put it simple) in water. Going back to electromagetic radiation (wave) theory, infrared radiation is given off as *heat*, because although it is part of the light spectrum (proceeding radio waves), our eyes are just not tuned to “see” those frequencies (like our ears can only hear certain frequencies, ie the butt of the electromagnetic spectrum). The frequency at which water has resonance is 2.5GHz, which is what your microwave oven gives off (in higher than safe doses within a contained environment) that makes water vibrate really fast and *heat* up, this is close to 1000x less than where radio waves become infrared radiation. Microwave radiation wavelengths are much longer than infrared waves.
I would believe this kind of sauna just radiates dry heat instead of steam (much like sitting in a car on a hot day).
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Thank you
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Hi there,
I was curious if you know of any in the brisbane cbd area? I live at kangaroo point and have been googling away but havent found any yet…
any help would be great
Thanks
nik
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Good afternoon!
Love that article Sarah and parking it on my website too so hope you don’t mind
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Yes, I’ve invested in a Far InfraRed Spa for my clinic…a 2 person FIR sauna and 2 Migun FIR thermal massage beds that operate on the principles of acupressure, heat, stretching and massage etc. My sauna is a HealthSmart…lowest EMR rating on the market. I love them…very relaxing and better than a facial on the complexion I reckon. Best way to look after me at the end of a busy day, and provide extra benefits for clients undergoing their massage, Bowen therapy and Naturopathy programs. I’m in Belmont Geelong, so if you’re a local, come along and try out those healing wavelengths! Thanks Shirley
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Does it increase your heart rate though? If it increases the tachycardia associated with Hashimoto’s, then that would be bad.
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[...] Remedy #2: sweat. Hot yoga or a sauna. Preferably infrared – read here for why infrared is good for auto-immune disease. Again, sweat gets lymphs moving. But heat also takes the strain off my body. It was windy on [...]
[...] am also considering including additional detoxing tricks like dry body brushing or even infra-red saunas. But I think the best approach is slowly slowly, get through the first 2 weeks, see how I feel and [...]
I have Hashi’s too and found the infra red sauna a deeply meditative and relaxing experience and would recommend Denmarks’ Karri Mia Chimes in Western Australia. I have had acupuncture and bowen to get the lymph moving, and found walking great, and wearing lots of clothes so you dont get too cold. I think we are body sensitive generally, including really hot days. Its one of life’s lessons though; be kind to yourself!
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Zen hot yoga in Sherwood (Brisbane) uses FIR …best yoga studio i have ever been..
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yuzduxeijwaq
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I’m travelling at the moment and FYI Bodyworks day spa in Seminyak Bali have an infrared sauna. Seemed a bit nuts sitting in a sauna in Bali – it wasn’t much more humid or hot than outside ! felt good though and I’ll be jumping back into it when I’m back there at the end of next week.
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