Infared Sauna & Heat Therapy for Health | Benefits 

My infared sauna is one of the BEST health gadgets I've gotten to date.  I first started going to an infared sauna at my Chiropractors office and loved it.  It became a hassle to go often, so it was on my personal 'wish list' for about 8+ years, and I did a lot of research on which one to get.  There's a lot of options out there now and a lot of price ranges.  I wanted to share my experience and thoughts with you if you were interested in this kind of therapy as well.  Let me start by answering some basic questions, then I'll tell you which one I got, how long I've been using it and my overall thoughts.

What is a Far Infared sauna?

An infrared sauna is a type of sauna that uses light to create heat. This type of sauna is sometimes called a far-infrared sauna  "far" describes where the infrared waves fall on the light spectrum.

Whats the difference between and Far Infared sauna and a regular sauna?

Regular saunas, like you mostly see in gyms and spas are a wet heat, and need moisture to create heat.  Those are great too.  An infared sauna uses light to create far infared heat, usually though panels to heat the unit, and it penetrates faster and deeper into your body.  Many people who can't take regular saunas often do better with infared heat since its warming and not as overwhelming. 

Why would you want to do regular infared sauna sessions? What are the benefits?

Infared light is light emitted by the sun and has many benefits.  Sweating is needed in the body to rid of toxins and get the lymphatic drainage moving.  Infared saunas use both technoligies help to increasing core temperature, mobilize the lymphatic system, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the mitochondria and increases circulation.

These are other benefits I have personally found or have found in my research:

1. Relieve stress

2. Regenerate muscles

3. Reduce anxiety

4. Treat muscular disorders

5. Increase white blood cell count

6. Reduce muscle tension

7. Enhance exercise performance

8. Detoxify the blood

9. Sleep better

10. Improve heat endurance threshold

11. Ease symptoms of depression

12. Improve cardiovascular health

13. Reduce pain of osteoarthritis

14. Fight genes responsible for muscular atrophy

15. Reduce joint pain

16. Decrease rheumatoid arthritis pain

17. Reduce muscle soreness after exercise

18. Promote relaxation

19. Help with sports injuries

20. Lower blood pressure

21. Help treat type II diabetes

22. Help capillaries grow

23. Lower joint replacement pain

24. Increase range of motion

25. Relieve menstrual cramping

26. Create new mitochondrial cells

27. Help with insomnia

28. Help with soft tissue strains or injuries

My sauna choice

After looking at so many options on the market, (and there some great contenders) I decided to go with a Relax Sauna.  This is why I chose this.

• Price. The price was really great compared to other big name saunas and affordable for my budget. And I thought, if it didn't work out, or I didn't use it, I wasn't out thousands of dollars.  It also didn't require an electrician to come set up a special outlet.  It is $1,400 and a large wooden unit can be anywhere from $2,000-$15,000+ dollars.
• Recommended to me. I had it recommended to me from people I trust, and also found other influencers online who used it as well.  I had also seen some EMF videos on it, and when was tested, it was low EMF, another plus.
• It heats up fast.  When you get in it, it heats up so quickly.  I do my sauna session at night before my shower, and i don't want to wait 20 minutes for a sauna to heat up.  So I usually just turn it on, wash my face, have a glass of water, and its already hot by the time I sit inside.  I don't even have to wait a few seconds, it is ready when you turn it on, the benefit of the small size. 
• The size & portability.  I have a little "spa" room that I have my treadmill, red light and other health items in.  However, it's not very big.  This takes up very little room, and if I have to move someday, or want to move it to another area of my house, it's no big deal.  It folds up small so I can keep it in my closet, if I wanted to.  It takes 1-2 minutes to set up (literally!).  If I had a big wooden sauna, it would have taken up half the room and I would have to be committed to it staying in that area.  If I ever wanted to travel with it for some reason, like a very long vacation or working remotely, I could bring it.  And yes, I love it so much and think it's so important in my health routine, I would consider that.   I also love the fact that my head stays outside the unit.  
• Design: head stays outside the unit.  Often saunas can be hard for people because your body and head are inside. In this type of unit, your head is outside, and it doesn't feel as hot which makes it easier to tolerate. Also, I have a TV in the room that this is in, so the 20 minutes pass by super fast since I usually turn on a cooking show while I'm inside.  

Downsides

• The look. It's just not super cute and there is no way around that.  It definitely doesn't 'look' as cool as the big wooden saunas and it sort of looks cheap, even though its pretty well built.  
• It's not super big inside.  I'm only 5'3" so for me, not a big deal.  I also don't care about laying down when I'm in there, or doing other things. I stay in for 15-25 minutes and I'm done.  I do like the bigger saunas that allow you to do that, but it wasn't a game changer for me.
• Longevity.  I really don't know how long it will last. I've had it for about a year now, and it seems to be holding up well.  I assume it won't hold up as long as a big wooden built unit, but only time will tell.

My main reasons for getting it now

Why did I want this sauna?  Well, to be honest, for some reason the Covid pandemic made me think more about my overall health.  Sure, I ate right and took supplements, but what else could I do to be healthier? I already had a chemical free home and exercised, too.  I took the time I had to think about these things, and I thought it was time to amp up my overall wellness routine.  So these included things like red light therapy, sauna, my overall sleep and exercise routine, as well as mindset.  Things I always cared about, but I wanted to go the extra mile.  I had been going to a sauna for years, or taking walks in the heat and doing other things and I knew the benefits and loved it.

I also had a wisdom tooth surgery scheduled, and I wanted to detox the drugs out of me afterwards, so that was on my mind.

The personal reasons I decided to get it was:

• I knew infared and heat therapy was good for people with Lymes disease. I had seen countless testimonials on this.
• I wanted to start detoxing heavy metals and other toxins from my body, on a consistent basis.  We know that many health issues are due to a toxic overload so I wanted to address this in my own life.  To do this, you need to sweat through exercise, being outside in the heat, or sauna therapy.  
• I knew about the other benefits of sweating and heat therapy and wanted to do it on a consistant basis.

My experience 

How I use it & my routine

I did a lot of research on how to use this heat/sweat therapy and loved the book "Detoxify or Die" and I recommend it. She takes you through all the toxins in our environment + how it effects your body, and it's enlightening even if you already know a lot about this subject.

• I take 2 Chelated Minerals supplement soft gels 5 minutes before getting in the sauna.  When your body sweats it releases minerals along with the toxins and they must be replaced.  If I don't take minerals, I get a headache the next day.
• I take 2 biotox binder supplements from Microbe formulas 5 minutes before getting in.  These binders latch onto the toxins in your body to help remove them more efficiently.  It's not needed for you to do this, but it does help your body since it's detoxing anyway, so I think it's best.
• I have a full glass of water, sometimes 2, about 8-16 ounces before getting in.  This is needed for your body to sweat and so you don't get dehydrated.  Some like to have electrolyte water, but I don't.
• I dry brush my body, in the direction of my heart, before each session to improve circulation and remove dead skin cells on the top, and to encourage lymphatic drainage.
• I often put castor oil or an essential oil blend over my areas of my body, like my liver and colon to encourage detox.  If you have a specific health issue, its a good idea to rub castor oil over that area to increase the detoxification and effectiveness of heat.  It's not needed but its a great 'extra' idea.
• I stay in the sauna for 20 minutes. I sometimes stay in for 25, but rarely 30.  I recommend you start with 5-10 minutes and work your way up. It's not good to over do a sauna, you win no awards for that and will pay for it later.  I find a regular session of 15-20 minutes is all people need.  I do try to go in the sauna each night, occasionally skipping a night.  I do this becuase I like it.  If you are only doing it for health and don't really love it, 2-3x a week is a good schedule, and even if you only do it 1x a week you'll definitely get the benefits.  

Where to get the Relax Sauna

You can get the Relax Sauna online here.  I have never seen them used, and I would not get a used one.

Note: It looks like the cheaper versions you can get on Amazon.  Believe me, it's not the same.  Get the better quality one that is tested, good quality and uses proven and tested infared technology.  I do not recommend getting the black model, as I don't think that is worth the extra cost.  I would recommend the blue/silver unit that I purchased.

I was able to get you a coupon code for $70 off!  Enter in "AAJ" at checkout to get the discount.

Other options

If you do want to get a larger wooden unit because you have the room and money for it, I recommend the Clearlight Saunas or Enlighten brands.   If you are looking for another portable far infared option, go with the Therasage Sauna.  It's a good company and I have also heard good things about their saunas.