Sweat: The Illustrated History and Description of the Finnish Sauna, Russian Bania, Islamic Hammam, Japanese Mushi-Buro, Mexican Temescal, and American Indian & Eskimo Sweatlodge

I did not discover this 1978 work until the late 1990s while studying the impact of sweat rituals on cultures throughout the world. Still to this date, no other book illustrates, as richly and comprehensively, sweat rituals as an archetypal experience as does Mikkel Aaland’s SWEAT.Stephen A. Colmant, Ph.D.

This illustrated history and description of the Finnish Sauna, islamic hammam,russian Bania,Japanese Mushi-Buro,Mexican Temescal and American Indian and Eskimo Sweatlodge has been out of print for over 25 years. It consists of three parts,sweat bathing and the body which describes the phenomenon and function of sweating. Skin, the body's largest organ. Postive effects of negative ions. spiritual and social implications of sweat bathing. Part two which describes sweat baths around the world consists of Hammams in Turkey. Early greek and roman baths. Bathing in Medieval Europe. Finnish sauna,history and influenance. Sauna in america today. Bania, the great russian bath.Sweat baths in Ireland and tribal Africa. Japanese Mushi-Buro in Kyoto. Native American sweat lodge as used by the Navajo and sioux. Mayon origins of the mexican temescal. Eskimo sweat lodges. Part three building your own sweat bath. A permanent Sauna. A simple tent sweat bath. A portable trail sweat bath. A portable sweat bathing cubicle. The appendix list precaution, Amenities. Sweat bathing's effects on women. Effects on arthritis and rheumatism; on sleep,hangovers, and weight reduction. The author Mikkel AAland is a second generation Norseman who spent three years writing this book, traveling with typewriter and camera. Visiting sweat baths in far corners of the world. The sections on the native American sweat Lodge include Joining running foot in a Navajo Sweat lodge. A guest at an Ogala Sun Dance Ceremony. History of sweat lodges. Hot rock sweat lodge. Sweating without a sweat lodge. Origin of the temescal. The Temescal today, and the sweat lodge joins the modern world.

This book is, without question, the most comprehensive collection of sweating traditions ever recorded. Aaland traveled great distances to document virtually every cultures use of heat for therapy, relaxation, illness, etc. If you're an avid sauna goer this should absolutely be part of your library.

I'm passionate about saunas and traditions involving sweating. In researching the topic, I kept coming across this book. Unfortunately, it is out of print, and physical copies have gotten very expensive, so this I acquired a digital copy as an ebook.As the title suggests, the scope of the book is ambitious, and Aaland gives an excellent delivery. In the seventies, Aaland spent three years traveling the world, partaking of various sweating traditions (Finnish Sauna, Russian Bania, Japanese Mushi-Buro, Native American Sweat Lodge, Mexican Temescal, Islamic Hammam, etc.). During his travels he meticulously documented these traditions, and compiled many illustrations, contemporary and historical. The last quarter of the book is about building your own sauna.As anyone that loves the sauna might be inclined to believe, sweating practices are near-universal across traditional cultures of the world. For many of these cultures, sweating was a fundamental aspect of their medicine. You have to wonder how many of our modern ailments are in-part due to our aversion to sweat.If you're a sauna enthusiast, this book will help to ground you in the tradition and provide you with inspiration for how to deepen into your practice.

i is a good book on the history os the sweat .and i know know more than i previously did