Sweat Therapy
By Jackie Christensen, BS, HHP, NC, MH
Faculty Member of GCNM
Ceremonial sweating and sweat rituals have been widely documented and practiced throughout the world. Native communities in virtually every continent have practiced some variety of sweat therapy since antiquity. While the methods of sweat rituals have varied, the importance of the rituals for health and spiritual significance is consistent throughout the cultures. Ceremonial sweating is probably most widely known as a ritual healing practice in native North American sweat lodges, but it is also practiced amongst the Finnish, Russian, Islamic, Japanese, Indian and African cultures. The oldest sweat ritual structure was recently found in Scotland and dates between 1500 BC and 1200 BC.
When the Finns were nomadic, they used a portable sweat lodge. However, once they settled, they built sweathouses in villages. The sweathouse was valued for its social aspects as well as the sauna, which was the only warm, germ-free place with plenty of water. The savusauna's smoke contained tannic acid that sterilized the surfaces. Therefore the saunas were also used as an infirmary where women gave birth and an operation room where minor surgeries were performed. The old Finnish proverb, "Saun on koha apteet" says "e;The sauna is the poor man's apothecary" (Aaland).
Banya is used to describe any type of Russian steam bath or sauna. Russian banyas usually have three rooms: a steam room, a washing room and an entrance room. Banya temperatures often will exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit and special felt hats may be worn to protect the head from this intense heat. In Russia, special felt hats are commonly sold in sets with felt mitts, along with aromatherapy extracts to add to the steam water. People enjoying the saunas also tap themselves or others with bunches of dried branches and leaves from white birch, oak or eucalyptus to improve the circulation.
Sweat therapy or swedana is also used as a traditional Ayurvedic treatment. In Ayurveda, it is believed that sweating brings the dosha to a more fluid state, where impurities can easily flow out of the body systems. Sweating allows the pores to dilate and eliminate toxin through the sweat glands. A variety of herbs such as castor root, barley, sesame, and jujube can also be used to promote sweating. A heating chamber such as a sauna or medicated steam may also be used to warm the body up.
Modern society has developed a new type of sweat therapy, which encompasses a combination of group psychotherapy or talk therapy and group sweating. The sweat therapy theoretical model was developed by Colmant and Eason in 2009 and describes the importance of sweat rituals to develop positive effects to the mind, body and spirit. The theoretical model includes cultural priming, exercise, self-regulation, metaphorical contextual elements, and interpersonal factors.
Sources:
"The Universality of Sweat Rituals." Saunatimes. 13 May 2011. Web. 23 May 2011.http://www.saunatimes.com/sweat-therapy/the-universality-of-sweat-rituals.
Aaland, Mikkel. "History of the Finnish Sauna and the Nordic Bath.& Cyberbohemia | It's All an Adventure. 1997. Web. 19 May 2011. http://www.cyberbohemia.com/Pages/historyofnordic.htm.
Russion-Bath.com - Guide to Traditional Russian Baths and Banya Reviews. Web. 19 May 2011. http://www.russian-bath.com.
"Ayurveda - Sweat Treatments (swedana) - Ayurvedic Treatments.& Alternative Medicine, Complementary Medicine, Integrative Medicine, Mind-Body Medicine, Herbs, Nutrition. Web. 24 May 2011. http://www.holistic-online.com/ayurveda/ayv-treatment-swedana.htm.
Book Review
The Practitioner’s Journey
By Dan Clements and Tara Gignac ND
Dan Clements and Tara Gignac ND are holistic practitioners, and the owners of Stone-Tree Clinic in Collingwood, Ontario in Canada. They have co-authored a previous book entitles Escape 101: Sabbaticals made Simple and the developers of a “practice growth” blog, which has caught the attention of thousands of practitioners from a diverse scope of health care professions. In this helpful and accessible book on holistic practices, they offer valuable advice for health care practitioners. They believe "the biggest way to help CAM thrive in our culture is to help its practitioners thrive in business."
With business being a key word here, you can already interpret this book as being intended as a guide to successful business models , behaviors and attitudes for those of us who tend to be of a more spiritual and holistic orientation and who have grown up thinking this is incongruent with being successful in business! They highly recommend sharing this book and their ideas with others as a mean of cultivating success in holistic practices.
Chapters in this small but information packed book of 260 pages include an introduction on the path to success that opens with this quote from Bodhidharma:
"Many roads lead to the path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice."
Part I is entitled The Cave and here the authors explore the mystery of why practices fail. Using real life practitioner’s stories they illustrate the range of obstacles, thoughts and emotions you will experience when feeling your way around in the seeming darkness of the cave and finding your path out of it. The authors use the cave as a metaphor here, a way of describing that lost feeling, of not knowing why things are not working and just feeling stuck. The cave is seen as “a gap in our knowledge of ourselves or our practices”… the biggest reason CAM practices may fail. This part of the book goes on to cover five new truths of being in business. You will have to read this great book to learn what they are; I can’t give them away in my review! I found this part of the book very enlightening, truly, one of those “the lights just went on” experiences for me!
Part II is entitled The River and it is about attracting new clients, which is an interesting title that brings to mind that flow of abundance like a river indeed. The authors reminds us that we are professionals in one of the fastest growing industries in the world, surrounded by a failing global health care system that is overloaded, and wrought with ineffective solutions, and an increasingly aging population that has expectations of great health and longevity who are seeking holistic options. I love that this book is full of wonderful quotes from a variety of sources. One of the gems in this part of the book is an African proverb "No one tests the depth of river with both feet". So, of course, this part offers up ten "stepping stones" to the holistic practitioner who desires to get closer to the other side of the river, and ideas on bridge-building.
Part III is entitled The Boulder and is about making the most of your client base. We can expect obstacles. Here the authors offer a quote from Frank Howard Clark, "If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere." In this part the authors shed light on what they believe are the five reasons clients will be loyal and return to you, and three strategies for increasing your revenues. Here the book also discusses ideas on a group treatment practices vs. solo practices, definitely worth serious review.
Part IV is entitled The Valley and it is about finding balance and building a sustainable career. Some of you already know that finding time for family and self becomes challenging during times of study and practice, and this part of the book addresses that realization with three possible strategies for managing time, coping and keeping things in balance. Six strategies for managing your relationship to money and comments about balancing in a healing profession are included here, along with a great Zen proverb, "The obstacle is the path."
Beginning any business is a challenge, however being in a holistic health profession offers unique challenges and requires a balance of commitment and freedom to still have a life of your own outside of or along with that practice.
It seems to me that Clements and Gignac have gone deep into the issues and dilemmas that confront us in building and maintaining our practices, and discovered resolutions, which they deliver with intelligence and wisdom here. I am pleasantly surprised and impressed with this book and see it as surpassing all previous books I’ve studied about holistic business practices. If you want to have a successful holistic business and still retain balance and health yourself, you will want to study this book, not just read it, but consume all that the authors offer and put the strategies to work for you.
For further reading the Endnotes in the book provide recommended reading and references to blogs and websites, publications on acupuncture, and a link to an interview with Kevin Doherty on a profitable holistic practice.
The authors’ contact is www.practicionersjourney.com They invite you to join them on their blog, share their work and ideas, publish reviews on the book, but please do respect the copyrights. May success and happiness follow your holistic practice into a healthy future.
Reviewed By Moira Khouri NC, MH, HHP, CCP
Faculty Member of GCNM
Exercise of the Month:
Reaching Your Target Heart Rate
By Kathryn Marcinak HHP, BA, C-PT
To reap the cardiovascular benefits of exercise your heart must pump faster than normal for an extended period of time. However, how fast must your heart pump for you to receive those cardiovascular benefits? You can find the answer based on based on your age. The following chart shows the Target Heart Rate Zone you need to have your heart rate in while exercising.
| AGE (years) |
Average Maximum Heart |
Target Zone: 60% to 80% of Maximum Heart Rate |
| 20 |
200 beats per minute (bpm) |
120 to 170 beats per minute (bpm) |
| 25 |
195 bpm |
117 to 166 bpm |
| 30 |
190 bpm |
114 to 162 bpm |
| 35 |
185 bpm |
111 to 157 bpm |
| 40 |
180 bpm |
108 to 153 bpm |
| 45 |
175 bpm |
105 to 149 bpm |
| 50 |
170 bpm |
102 to 145 bpm |
| 55 |
165 bpm |
99 to 140 bpm |
| 60 |
160 bpm |
96 to 136 bpm |
| 65 |
155 bpm |
93 to 132 bpm |
| 70 |
150 bpm |
90 to 128 bpm |
To determine if you are exercising within your target heart rate zone, take your pulse using the tips of your fingers (not the thumb) on the inside of your wrist on the thumb side. Press lightly and count your pulse for ten seconds and multiply that number by six. The number determined by your calculations should be within your target heart rate zone.
Resources:
"Target Heart Rate." American Heart Association. 2005. Web. 1 June 2011. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3030999.
Search online for values in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.
