Steaming is a deeply rooted part of many cultures. It’s also completely absent in many more. Often first timers are at a loss of what to do at a Bathhouse. They come in, steam once, change, rehydrate, eat, and leave. They miss out on the heart of the experience and don’t take advantage of the mental and physical benefits steaming has to offer. Our mission is for ALL our visitors to experience steaming the way it’s meant to be experienced, so read on, ask questions and leave shyness at home!
Recommended items:
Felt hat (keeps you head cool)
Venik (for exfoliating massage)
Honey face masks and sea salt body scrubs
Robe, slippers, towels
Bathing suit (only mandatory on Unisex days)
Recommended Schedule:
1. Take a warm shower. Wash away any dirt or oil from the skin as you don’t want anything to clog your soon-to-be-open pores.
2. Enter the sauna and lie down or sit in a comfortable spot (use your towel if the surface is too hot). Lying down helps spread the heat evenly throughout the body and is the ideal position for relaxation.
3. If it’s your first time (or you haven’t steamed in a while) we recommend 3-5 minute sessions inside the sauna with short breaks in-between. Increase time spent in sauna as you get used to the heat.
4. For your longer break: Exit the sauna and take a quick shower to rinse off. Towel dry and robe up.
5. Drink some tea, water, kvas, or anything else that will re-hydrate you, and pick a comfy spot. Relax, read, watch tv, socialize.
6. After 10-15 min return to the sauna. Repeat step 2 but stay a little longer this time.
7. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6, increasing the length of your steaming session each time. Keep in mind to always listen to your body so you don’t over do it. A good indicator that it’s time to take a break is a noticeably increased heart rate.
A Venik massage during at least one of these sessions will help heat your body to the core.
8. After you have had several sessions and you feel heated through, you can begin taking cold tub plunges or icy showers after each session. This will strengthen your immune system, shrink pores, etc (see health benefits). Traditionally, jumping and rolling in snow is ideal, but this is not available all year
9. Try sitting in the cold tub for 5-10 minutes between your last few sessions. It takes a bracing attitude but the payoff is incredible. Your core will remain hot while your skin cools down. When you re-enter the sauna it will feel as thought it’s room temperature and your body will tingle as it warms back up.
10. End with a quick last steam, a thorough shower and more rehydration. At this point you may want a light meal and a nap!
Recommended Activities Between Steaming:
A game of backgammon
A friendly debate
Napping
Trying Russian drinks such as kampot (homemade juice), kvas (bread drink), kefir (yogurt drink)
A Russian snack of dried fish, salo (cured pork) or seeds
Nature movie
Girl talk
Not Recommended:
Drinking too much alcohol
Fisticuffs
Eating a giant poutine right before steaming
Smoking between sessions
Banya Etiquette
We love seeing newcomers at our bathhouse. Trying something that is completely new is a sign of open mindedness and perhaps bravery. It’s fun to share the history and etiquette of steaming with newcomers, after all, it is our passion. There are some unspoken rules at all bathhouses, and it’s understandable that not everyone would be aware of these rules, so we’ve compiled a list of tips to help every one of our customers become a true bathhouse pro!
#1. Never leave steam room doors open
Leaving the door open to a steam room is definitely the most common mistake that beginners make. It is innocent enough, but often results in a myriad of groans and remarks from regular patrons. The reason for this is that a steam room cools down surprisingly quickly when the door is open since all of the heat is let out. This is obviously not ideal for people who come to the bathhouse for the sole purpose of warming up, especially if they are using a venik. For the same reason, it is also considered common curtesy to enter and exit the steam room as quickly as possible.
#2. Communicate
In the Russian parilka (sauna) guests are allowed to control the humidity of the room by pouring water onto hot rocks. We encourage you to warn other people in the room before doing so. This is the fair thing to do because it gives people who don’t like high humidity a chance to leave before you start. The key here is communication. Don’t be afraid to talk! Unlike other spas, we don’t have a “quiet” rule. In fact, we encourage friendly conversation here. Historically, the bathhouse is as much a place to socialize as it is to get clean and healthy.
#3. Keep track of your robes, towels, and locker keys
The robes, towels, and locker keys you get are your own responsibility. Keep your key on your wrist or ankle, your towel wrapped around yourself or hung on a hook in the sauna area, and keep your robe inside of your locker until it’s time for a meal or if you want to lounge around in our relaxation room. This will save you a lot of confusion and wasted time. It also makes things less confusing for others because when everyone keeps track of their things, mixups are minimized.
#4. Veniks are not communal!
Another innocent but common error is the assumption that all veniks are up for grabs; often people will use veniks which are not their own. We have tubs by the parilka door which customers use to soak their veniks. If you see a venik soaking in one of these tubs, leave it be! If you would like to use a venik, make sure to find the person who owns it and ask them before doing so, or you can purchase your own from us at the front desk.
#5. No beauty products in the wood saunas or cold tub
No one wants to jump into a tub full of oily or filmy water, so please be considerate and wash off any oils, masks, lotions, ointments, muds, scrubs, or salts before submerging into the cold tub. Same goes for the Finnish & Russian parilkas. Most beauty products ruin wooden panels and leave behind a smell. If you like to get pretty, you are welcome to use all of these products in the Turkish Hammam!
#6. Cellphones
The Banya is a place to relax, unwind, and be healthy. Cellphones are not permitted inside the sauna area, and although phones are not outright banned in the lounge and dining area, we do discourage their use for several reasons; they can be disruptive to others, they are disruptive to the user, and they are completely contrary to a relaxing atmosphere. If you do have to use your phone, be discreet and minimal.
The Complete Guide to Veniks
The venik can induce feelings of confusion, curiosity, and horror in the average newcomer to the South-Western Bathhouse. We don't blame them. It is easy to see how whipping oneself and others with a bundle of tree branches can seem a little barbaric, but anyone who has been brave enough to surrender themselves to the leafy lashes of a venik massage will tell you of the incredible relaxation it brings. But the venik is much more than just a tool for massage; it comes with its own set of health benefits and in many ways it has become the symbol of the Russian bathhouse, as it is such a unique aspect of our culture. So if you wish to become a true "баншик" (banya pro) you must master the ways of the venik.
What is a Venik?
A venik is a bundle of leafy tree twigs that’s used to draw down the maximum amount of heat and steam to a person's body. Veniks can be dried or fresh, and are most commonly made out of several species of tree. Each type of venik has its own set of health benefits.
~The South-Western Bathhouse sells Oak Veniks~
Preparing your Venik and Yourself for the Massage
Take a bucket and fill it with warm water. Submerge your venik and leave it for at least 15 minutes. In the meantime, make sure you go in for a few steam sessions before the venik massage begins. It's important to get your body accustomed to the heat before the massage to avoid lightheadedness.
The Massage
Amp up the heat & humidity by adding water to the hot rocks (do not do this in electric dry saunas). Once you feel the newly formed steam in the air, it's time to begin the massage. You can perform a massage on yourself if no one else is around but ideally you should have someone else perform it on you. Ask a friend, a fellow banya goer, or the bathhouse's venik masseuse. Lay down on a top bench and let the massage commence. The venik massage isn’t just random whipping - there’s an art to it - so pick your partner wisely.
Cool down and Relax
Leave the parilka immediately after the massage is over and take a plunge in a cold tub, or run outside and jump in the snow! The rapid temperature change tightens pores, leaving your skin feeling clean and taut. This is also a great way to strengthen your immune system, as the extreme change in temperature tricks the body into believing it has a fever which triggers the production of white blood cells. After the cool down, your muscles should feel loosened, you should feel light, and you should breath easily; in other words, total relaxation. This is a good time to take a break, drink some tea, and have a light meal.
