Stretching In A Sauna 101

Flexibility is one of the capabilities most affected by the aging process. 

A 2013 study found that "A decrease in flexibility of the shoulder and hip joints by approximately 6 degrees per decade was observed across ages 55 to 86 years in both men and women." 

Having a high activity level is crucial for retaining flexibility, and stretching is the best way to keep your flexibility, as well as, the effectiveness of exercise, especially as you become older as shown in this 2012 study stating, "Older adults over 65 years old should incorporate static stretching into an exercise regimen."

Stretching by itself is no doubt beneficial for the human body, but what happens when you incorporate it with an infrared sauna is a complementary array of health benefits.

Is A Sauna Good For Stretching?

Stretching increases the range of motion of a joint and helps to prevent injury, as well as warming up your system before exercise. 

Infrared saunas have a wide variety of benefits, such as improving blood circulation, assisting in weight loss, detoxification, providing deeper sleep, and lowering stress.

Sauna is good for stretching because the increase in core temperature and improved circulation helps to loosen up muscles and joints providing a wider range of motion during a stretch.

The benefits of both stretching and sauna are synergistic. 

Stretching, in turn, increases your core body temperature further, continues to improve circulation, increases your heart rate, helps with meditation and stress relief, and causes you to sweat more to further improve your detoxification process.

So, combining the two activities is a big win-win.

Get our free eBook

8 tips to get the most out of your Infrared Sauna

Discover proven ways to supercharge your infrared sauna experience.

Download the eBook

By downloading the eBook, you agree to subscribe to the Clearlight newsletter. Unsubscribe at any time.

Mobility And Stretching Exercises For Your Sauna

If you’re interested in stretching or mobility work in your sauna, here are some world-class sources on this topic. The benefit of these sources is that you can fully independently develop a sauna routine where no instructor is necessarily required.

1. The Anatomy of Stretching, Second Edition: Your Illustrated Guide to Flexibility and Injury Rehabilitation, second edition, 2011, by Brad Walker.
2. Yoga Anatomy: Your Illustrated Guide To Postures, Movements And Breathing Techniques, third edition, 2021, by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews. This guide is amazing for yoga, taking you by the hand to learn the most basic to the most advanced yoga poses in a safe way.
3. Magnificent Mobility; 10 Minutes to Better Flexibility, Performance and Health, first edition, 2012, by Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson. The focus of this DVD series is dynamic stretching, but almost all of these stretches can be carried out in an enclosed space like a big infrared sauna.
4. Becoming A Supple Leopard (The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance), second edition, 2015, by Kelly Starrett. This guide once more focuses on dynamic stretching, not static, but it’s a godsend because the exercises are all illustrated and easy to learn.

With these four excellent resources, you not only know more about stretching than you're average sauna user but you'll be able to make your stretching routine as simple or as advanced as you want to in your sauna.

Benefits Of Sauna Yoga

An infrared sauna heats your body directly without warming the air around you. Practicing yoga maintains physical health and mental well-being, but when you combine it with infrared sauna therapy, you get some heavy sweating. If you're interested in a study that looked at sweat analysis after sauna you can learn more about the topic here.

The infrared heat provides you with more flexibility so you are able to do yoga poses requiring more stretching. 

You might have never imagined it possible for you to do the Downward Dog move. 

You may have tried and never completed the move because your stiff joints couldn't stretch that far.

With infrared heat, you can benefit from having sore, aching muscles loosened up and actually feel as it helps with arthritis pain. Not only that, making use of your infrared sauna may have an adverse effect of losing some weight too, and that in itself can help you to perform stretches with a lot more ease.

Using saunas for weight loss is nothing new. 

People have known the positive effects it has on the waistlines for centuries. It has been proven to put the body into the same condition as a regular cardio workout. Imagine the weight loss benefits of a sauna when added to a regular yoga routine. 

Stretch Out The Stress

Once you've incorporated stretching or yoga into your sauna sessions, it'll become a way of sauna-life. 

Yoga fights stress and with it, you can find peace and serenity and is all about balance and bringing your mind and body to equilibrium.

Both yoga and far infrared saunas have been shown to decrease stress levels. Not surprisingly, these two holistic health technologies have a lot of similar benefits. Using them in unison simply strengthens their potency.

If you're interested in an infrared sauna cabin for home, click here to view our range of full-spectrum saunas, far-infrared saunas, and outdoor saunas.

Clearlight would like to remind users that this should not be taken as direct medical advice, and you should always consult a licensed health practitioner before making any significant changes to your lifestyle or existing pain treatment regimen.