Winter Fun in Russia. Part II (Russian Banya)

One more experience you can get fond of in winter is traditional Russian ‘’banya’’ [баня in Russian]. Generally, you can visit banya at any time of year but I feel when it is cold outside, hot banya becomes especially enjoyable pastime. :)

If you never heard about this remarkable thing before….well, it is pretty much like a Finnish sauna, even though these two are not fully the same. What makes them similar is their common mission: they both not just clean but heal your body as well. In fact, yet Hippocrates said that a “steam bath helps to cure diseases when all other means are helpless”.

Nowadays the Banya’s amazing effect was scientifically proved by Nobel Prize winner August Krogh, who discovered the benefits of steam in opening up the body’s capillaries, increasing blood flow and jump-starting the metabolism.

A bit of history of the phenomenon: the Russian Banya has been around literally for centuries, since medieval times, and has been a staple or culture and health in every part of Russia. Every village had at least one banya, which served as a place of not only bathing and cleanliness, but also as a place of magic and Slavic folklore, personified by the Banya’s Spirit: mischievous little sprite known as “Bannik”.

Bannik symbolized the place itself and was considered to be the guardian of the steam and also the caretaker of the banya and its residents. Moreover, there was unwritten ritual of communication between him and patrons of the banya, the last ones for example are expected to clean it after each use. In return, the spirit would reward his patrons with good heat. Old legend tells that banya etiquette implies to appease the Bannik everytime you go bathing: you should enter the banya clean and in a good spirits and to leave the same way.

Thus, banya used to be so very typical pastime for many generations of Russians, that it was even expressed in the painting, depicting banya scenes.

Moreover, many foreign travelers, when traveling through Russia, also recorded their first-hand observations about the incredible impact that the Russian banya had both on health and on its patron’s happiness. One of such observers was the Englishman William Tooke, a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. Here is the extract of his diary: “It is not to be doubted that the Russians owe their longevity, their robust state of health, their little disposition to certain mortal diseases, and their happy and cheerful temper, mostly to the baths.”

That was written in 1799.

It’s 2009 now and nothing really changed! :)

Of course, today’s banya get modernized in every way possible but the ultimate idea stays intact: Russians love going to banya and Russians know how to benefit from it. To illustrate how almost genetically this love is wired in many of us, read what Great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin wrote of the banya in 1832: “The banya is like the Russian's second mother.”

Now let’s finally move from historical excursuses to most pleasant part: the banya EXPERIENCE as such.

Alright, here we go:

PLACE: Steam-room with bottom and top shelves that features a wood-burning masonry stove and is kept at temperature of above 200 degrees with 40-65 percent humidity.

THINGS TO DO: Well, there are no rules actually; apart from you should bath of course LOL. Normally, you start from laying down on one of shelves just to keep your entire body and head at the same temperature. Then you can follow up with getting an invigorating venik massage.

VENIK: Perhaps one of most important ingredients. A venik is a bundle of either birch, oak, or eucalyptus branches bound together that you either use yourself or ask someone to massage all over your body. It’s difficult to underestimate the health effect a good venik massage can do for you: it takes away not only any muscle pains you might have but all your troubles and worries as well. But beware: this procedure will also make you extremely famished, so expect to eat an elephant when you finally came out (I’m serious! :)

DOUSING WITH COLD WATER: When it gets too hot inside, they do practise dousing with fresh, cold water. Some even used to jump into snow for a few seconds (of course, it’s possibly only if you have an own banya that also located on your dacha or any other private land) and then quickly get back into steam room again. This quick change of temperatures produce a unique rejuvenating effect.

Still, for those willing to have a fully authentic Russian banya experience, you guys are not recommended to enter the cold dunk pool after the first journey into the banya. Remember the purpose of the banya is to cleanse and detoxify your body by opening the pores; what the cold dunk does is sealing in your pores quickly so that no more toxins, milk acid included (thing that makes you feeling tired) can leave your body.

At the same time, not so many people can bear the heat even for health effect and need some refreshing along the way, so here is the list of rules to follow for novice banya-goers:

• When entering the banya first time, start out by sitting on the bottom shelf so that your body has a chance to adjust to the increased temperature. It is necessary because the heat causes blood to flow from the center of the body to the extremities, and for a novice, this process will take some time.
  
• Don’t emulate the experienced bathers who will be able to immediately go to the top shelf. Practice makes perfect everyone and if pushing yourself too hard, you can end with being overheat and feeling sick instead of enjoying the experience.
  
• Make your stay in banya maximally comfortable: some folk even bring a felt hat to wear but I actually much prefer just wrapping a towel around my head to protect my ears and head from the heat.
  
• Avoid drinking alcohol while using the banya as this will further increase the effects of the heat on your body and your heart in a negative way.
  
• Do not eat a lot of food before entering the banya, as this directs a lot of blood toward your digestive track, while the heat directs heat to the outer shell of the body (i.e., your skin). Thus, the strain on your heart is very great because your blood cannot all be at your core and at your extremities at the same time.
  
• If you have any kind of diseases, check with your doctor first about using any banya’s facilities. As everyone knows, without proper preparations even best things can be injurious to your health and vice versa.

Bottom line: when done right, Russian banya is almost solemn performance, no spa can be compared. Even ONE such session guaranteed to give you not only physical refreshing but a real spiritual lift so you feel literally reborn. BTW, one more fact proving the beneficial influence of the banya is that it's safe and wholesome for your baby to join you there! Just wait till he or she turned at least 3-4 years and practice a sparing regimen (be sure to consult with a specialist).

My personal experience (and believe me, I am an avid banya goer and fan ;-))) is that banya gives you two things: 1) inner peace and 2) crystal-clear, positive vision of life. What else you need to feel absolutely happy?

Gotta LOVE it!