The term “Swedhana” is used in Ayurvedic treatments to describe treatments which involve sweating. Many people use it specifically to refer to one Swedhana treatment, the closed steam box. In Ayurveda, Swedhana is used to relieve excess doshas from the body, establishing a state of balance which promotes general health. The reason being, that Swedhana is a heated application to the body that melts toxins and draws these toxins up and out through the pores. Also, the act of sweating is a healthy, natural way to detox. In the cold, northern climates, 6 months go by without people having that ability to release toxins through the skin which is why the use of the steam box is extremely beneficial. Many people who don’t even practice Ayurveda use saunas, steam rooms, hot showers, warm baths believing that they have health and beauty benefits.
This word is derived from the Sanskrit word swid, which means “to sweat.” According to the principles of Ayurveda, sweating releases toxins from the body, promoting general health. In our practice, we use a specific combination of herbs and/or essential oils to remove certain toxins from certain tissues. When we use the term doshas and talk about imbalances of these doshas, we are refering to the percentage of the 5 elements: ether or space, air, fire, water, and earth and how they exist in the body. If a client has acid reflux, ulcerative colitis, any kind of inflammation, then the element of fire is in excess and needs to be reduced. If a person is constipated, dry skin, dry eyes, dry, brittle bones, then the elements of air and ether are in excess. Swedhana is an effective therapy to reduce excess within the doshas and Diva Ayurveda can customize a specific sweat for each individual client. Swedhana can reduce excess heat from the body, can make the channels of the body flow better whether that is through circulation, blood flow, breathe, etc. and also water retention and excess weight can be easily reduced by using this therapy.