History of the Sauna

Palm healing, which has a 3000 year old tradition in China, has been based on the healing properties of the natural infrared rays.

Sauna use has been popularized by the Finns whose old religion used it as a ceremony for the mental, spiritual and physical cleansing. This came with the Finns when they migrated from an area northwest of present day Tibet, between 5000 and 3000 BC, to their present location in Finland. Today there is one sauna for every two Finns and sauna design is a revered art here.

Numerous saunas appear along the Mediterranean and the world’s first bathtub appears in the palace of King Minos of Crete in 1700 BC.

Native American sweat lodges are used.

Whole body infrared therapy has been used for greater than 80 years by German physicians in an independently developed form.

Dr. Tadashi Ishikowa received a patent on the zirconia infrared heaters in 1965. These were mostly used exclusively by medical practitioners in Japan until they were released for public use in 1979.

The infrared idea has been further refined and sold in the United States since 1981.

Chinese researchers consider the band from 2 to 25 microns as the most therapeutic.