While the idea of a steam room is something that many of us in the modern world enjoy the idea of the steam room itself is not something new. In the olden days the steam room was known as a sweat lodge. These sweat lodges were designed primarily to allow various people to purify themselves before religious ceremonies.



The sweat lodge was constructed of material like wood or animal hide that would hold the steam that was released from the hot rocks inside of the lodge as steam. This steam would build up sufficiently to cause the inhabitants of the sweat lodge to sweat. This was the primary reason of the sweat lodge.

When the people had built up a good amount of sweat they would find that their limbs were completely relaxed. The sweat helped to purify the body and ready the body for a state of meditation. To enable this to occur the sweat lodge would be placed in a location where there was ample room to build a large sized lodge.

Today the sweat lodge idea is still used but it is made from modern materials. In many sweat lodges the primary covering is treated wood. This wood is pre-cut according to various sizes that may be needed to construct a sweat lodge.

The sweat lodge is generally constructed in the basement or just outside of the house and it is large enough for about five or six people to enjoy the benefits of the sweat lodge. In the center of the sweat lodge floor a small stove or gas, electric burner is placed on the floor.

On this stove you will place good quality Finnish sweat lodge rocks. These rocks will be medium sized and resistant to the constant heating and cooling effects of the sweat lodge. The stove heats the rocks up so they are hot right throughout the time that the sweat lodge is being used.

The rocks are used to heat the sweat lodge up to a certain temperature. This heat helps the body to start sweating. To aid this process even more but also to make sure that the rocks and the sweat lodge are not overly heated water is ladled over the heat rocks in small amounts.

When the water hits the highly heated rocks there will be a super heated steam mist that will begin to circulate through the sweat lodge. The combined heat and water vapor all contributes towards the sweat lodge giving the inhabitants of this lodge a relaxing feeling.

Additionally there are certain other benefits that staying in a sweat lodge can give. These include your skin clearing up of various skin complaints, losing weight and feeling more energized than before you started using a sweat lodge.