The oldest know medical document, the Ayurveda, appeared in Sanskrit in 568 BC and considered sweating so important to health that it prescribed the sweat bath and thirteen other methods of inducing sweat. Throughout history physicians have extolled the medicinal value of the sweat bath in its various forms such as the Finnish sauna, Russian banai, Islamic hammam, or the American Indian sweatlodge. Today, enthusiasts claim that beyond being relaxing the sauna gives relief from the common cold, arthritis, headaches, hangovers and "just about anything that ails you." Even if these claims are somewhat exaggerated, medical evidence shows that bathing
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For thousands of years, people of all cultures have indulged in the soothing warmth of aromatic steams baths. The Romans are well known for their elaborate baths. The wealthy of 200 B.C. India did not consider their mansions complete unless it included a bathhouse with a steam room. The Muslim Hamma, or bathhouse, with its domed, central steam chamber is still an integral part of life in Muslim countries. A derivation of the Humman, the Turkish bath, has been popular in Europe for centuries. In the New Worlde, stone houses or temezcals were used by the Toltecs and the Aztecs
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