Summer foraging – a natural sauna experience

Alice in Fungusland

This is our first summer on the homestead where we are out daily to see what is springing up! Well, with all the rain and humidity, it’s been fungus heaven!!! The shapes, colors, oh my! Thats why I say it’s like Alice in Wonderland, so funky, so bright! Fall (scroll) down the rabbit hole and join me below to keep reading….

It’s 90 degrees out today and the heat index with the humidity is well into 100. I’m still in pants (first pic) because A) I’m highly allergic to poison ivy and when I go in the woods B) I don’t want to give ticks easy access.

Standing outside I’m sweating. Now add hills, bending over, standing up, dodging spider webs, more sweat.

My ah-ha moment

It made me think about saunas and how I was literally in one….that was the whole environment. No need for me to go sit my butt in one later!

So we’ve created convenient inventions to replace what we naturally would be experiencing…by doing the things we SHOULD be doing, but don’t HAVE to anymore because of more convenience:

I’m foraging for my food that I don’t have to be doing because air conditioned grocery stores exist. Or food delivery/pick up.

Instead of spending money on an at-home sauna or place to go experience a sauna, one could simply get outside and do something productive…..yes?

YES!!!

Benefits of a Sauna

Sauna’s and sitting in heated, enclosed spaces have been around for as long as humans. Native American’s have their “sweat lodges” while most every culture has some sort of ceremony around a sauna experience. It’s a very mental practice in addition to the toll it takes on the physical body.

When you’re in a heated sauna, your heart rate increases, blood vessels widen, increasing circulation. This increases lymph drainage (taking out the garbage) and delivery of oxygen and nutrients to cells.

Saunas also:
Ease pain
Reduce stress
Enhance heart health
Rid body of skin problems
Clear congestion
Improve glucose regulation

So yes, saunas are great. But does it need to be something SEPARATE that we have to add into our schedule? Or can a heated experience be something happening while we do other things?

If you haven’t noticed from these last two posts, I’m here to pick on the age of technology we’re currently experiencing. It’s ruining us. Most of ‘modern society’ is sick, unfit, mentally unstable, addicted to unhealthy things, disconnected from self/others/spirit, lost, angry, and weak.

The way we get healing is through lack of technology – yes, the thing I’m currently writing on and you’re reading. I know, I know. If I could write for a paper I would. But they probably wouldn’t take me. I’ll ask, but I doubt it!

Anyways, more to come on reconnecting with nature, it’s power, and all that jazz. For now, I’ll leave you with pondering the ways we can be healthy and fit, without the extra gadgets.