OXYGEN YOGA AND FITNESS HAS LOCATIONS FOR YOGA AND FITNESS IN VANCOUVER, LOWER MAINLAND AND FRASER VALLEY
What Is Far Infrared Heat?
Far infrared heat is radiant heat and radiant heat is simply a form of energy that heats objects directly, without having to heat the surrounding air. It is a section of the natural band of light that is not visible to the human eye, but can be felt as heat. The sun is the principle source of radiant energy. Never confuse it with ultraviolet energy. Remember the last time you were tanning with sunscreen? Were you hot? Of course you were, because sunscreen stops only the UV (ultraviolet) light from hitting your skin. Far infrared penetrates your skin to a depth of 1.5 to 2 inches, giving you a natural warmth feeling.
You can be exposed to far infrared heat for hours and it will never burn your skin. Far infrared heat is completely healthy and safe. In fact, it is so safe that it is used in hospitals to warm newborn infants.
How Does Far Infrared Work?
Our body’s tissues normally produce infrared energy, which is used by the body for a number of healing processes. By delivering penetrating warmth to the body, the far infrared in a sauna increases the body’s own infrared energy levels, encouraging a slight rise in body temperature that boosts natural detoxification systems. Our palms emit infrared energy too, from 8 to 14 microns. Palm healing, an ancient tradition in China, has used the healing properties of infrared rays for 3,000 years. Yogis in India also employ palm healing and recommend it especially for relieving eyestrain.
A far infrared sauna duplicates these healthy far infrared frequencies. The tissues selectively absorb these rays as the water in the cell reacts in a process called “resonant absorption.” This resonant absorption occurs when the frequency of the far infrared matches the frequency of the water in the cell causing toxins to be dropped off into the blood stream and excreted in sweat, feces, and urine.
What Makes Infrared Saunas So Unique Compared to Conventional Saunas?
A conventional sauna must rely only on indirect means of heat: First on convection (air currents) and then conduction (direct contact of hot air with the skin) to produce its healing effect on us. A Far Infrared sauna uses less than 20% of the infrared energy that heats the air, leaving over 80% available to be directly converted to heat within our bodies. Thus an infrared based system can warm its user(s) to a much greater depth and much more efficiently than a conventional sauna, as its energy output is primarily used to convert energy directly to heat in us and not create excessively hot air which only heats the skin superficially. This crucial difference explains many of the unprecedented benefits reported to be available through a Far Infrared sauna and not attainable through the use of a conventional sauna.
The infrared energy may induce up to 2-3 times the sweat volume of a traditional hot-air sauna while operating at a significantly cooler air temperature range of 110 degrees to 130 degrees F vs. 180 degrees to 235 degrees F for hot-air saunas. The lower heat range is safer for those concerned about cardiovascular risk factors that might be adversely affected by the higher temperatures encountered in old-style hot-air saunas. German researchers report beneficial effects from an hour-long whole-body infrared exposure in two groups of hypertension patient that they studied in 1989, including a 24 hour-long increase in peripheral blood flow and a decrease in high blood pressure.
It is also more pleasant to breathe in Far Infrared Saunas with air temperatures about 50-125 degrees cooler than in traditional hot-air saunas. Due to its user-friendly nature, people naturally prefer to use the Far Infrared saunas and will continue to do so on a regular basis because of the ease of breathing the much cooler air while feeling as warm as they choose, and the distinctive feeling of well-being reported by users as an after-effect. These Far Infrared Sauna Systems may even be used with the door fully open if the only effect desires is infrared penetration, or if a very cool, minimal-sweating experience is desired as a pre-activity warm-up while fully clothed. This approach might be used in warming up prior to stretching, working out, running or exposure to cold weather.
Discover the Extraordinary Health Benefits Attributed to a Far Infrared Sauna
Improves the immune system
An infrared sauna’s deep penetrating heat raises your body temperature inducing an artificial fever. As your body works to fight the fever, your body’s immune system is strengthened. Combined with the elimination of toxins and waste, your body’s resistance to disease is increased.
Removes toxins and mineral waste
Increased blood circulation stimulates the sweat glands, releasing built-up toxins and waste. Daily sweating can help detoxify your body as it rids itself of an accumulation of potentially carcinogenic heavy metals (lead, mercury, zinc, alcohol, nicotine, sodium, sulfuric acid and cholesterol.
Burns calories and controls weight
As you relax in the sauna, your body is producing sweat, pumping blood, and burning up to 600 calories in a 30-minute session. In Guyton’s Textbook of Medical Physiology, we find that producing one gram of sweat requires 0.568kcal. The Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) states; “A moderately conditioned person can easily sweat off 500 grams in a sauna, consuming nearly 300kcal – the equivalent of running two to three miles. A heat-conditioned person can easily sweat off 600 to 800 kcal with no adverse effect. While the weight of water loss can be regained by rehydration, the calories consumed will not be.” Since an infrared sauna helps generate two to three times the sweat produced in a conventional hot-air sauna, the implications for increased caloric consumption are quite impressive.