As I mentioned before, getting the blood flowing throughout the body is one of the most important ways of keeping healthy and young. Once you start moving, new blood is being rushed to all areas to ensure proper rejuvenation. There are many ways to do it, but another way to improve circulation is by taking a warm bath, or even better, a steam.
When I was about thirty and at the tail end of my athletic peak, I experienced a severe hamstring injury. It was so extreme, and the recovery time took so long, that I had to go to a massage therapist to scrape away all of the scar tissue that had built up over the tear. Once it was removed, new repair tissue could take its place. The time and pain to recover was bad enough, but what was even worse was the frustration of not being able to exercise while it was healing. I was really motivated to find other ways to get the flood flowing without putting any stress on my hamstring.
My first thought to solve the problem was going to my gym’s steam room. On my first visit, it was a little depressing just sitting in a room and sweating. My mindset quickly changed when I came out and looked in the mirror. I couldn’t help but notice that my face was flush from all the heat and steam. But more importantly, every line in my face had disappeared and my skin appeared fresh and even. Better yet, I looked years younger! Of course, this affect wore down a little bit after I cooled down. But later that night, my skin still looked refreshed and it even had the natural oil on my face that usually showed up after exfoliating. I loved this effect so much that I continued to steam once my hamstring healed up. I started a routine where I went into the steam room every week on one of my days off from exercising. This new system helped because the circulation helped avoid any lactic acid build up that my muscles might experience from the previous day’s strenuous work out. The steam room also made it easier to stretch afterwards since the warm moisture loosens up muscles better. If you don’t believe me, read what others are saying about the benefits of steaming.
After taking frequent steams, I realized the warmth and moisture was a great way to exercise the pores in my skin since they were being used more. What a perfect time to slightly exfoliate my face while I was sweating out all of the oil, dirt and toxins. Your sweat also has natural oils in it like urea and sebum to naturally moisten the skin. So once a week, I began looking forward to my steaming day while I sat in a warm room and let my body recover and rejuvenate my skin.
Many of you do not have access to a steam room. And now that I moved to another area of Chicago, my gym does not include one either. The next best alternative is taking a bath or whirlpool. Soaking your body in warm water has the same effect as a steam in that it gets new blood to all the hard to reach areas in the body. You can just sit down and let the warm water do their magic while you lay back and relax. I also use this time to stretch out my hands and fingers since I’m using them so much on the computer. The downside is that the pores in your skin may not sweat as much as in a steam room. Another positive is that I still get the naturally oils to my face afterwards. And for those people who always have cold hands, I bet your hands will not feel clammy after a warm bath.
I know some of you are wondering if a sauna has the same effect. It does have the benefits of heating up your body and circulating the blood, but it doesn’t open up the pores as much, and you’re not breathing in any moisture into the lungs.
