Our flat in Kazakhstan boasted a steam shower. I used to turn it on at its fullest capacity, highest temperature and sit in it until it turned itself off, and then just waited in the shower until the steam disbursed. It was one of my favorite rituals, after working out or coming inside from a walk through the snowy park and Central Asian steppe temperatures. I miss that steam shower dearly.
Softening the blow of no longer having a steam shower in my bathroom is that I have access to a dry sauna and steam room at my gym. My favorite part of my Sunday morning gym ritual is sitting in the dry sauna. I get the sense that it is many people’s favorite part, as the sauna is always full. Luckily, my gym has a second choice in the form of the steam room.
The sauna has a built-in fifteen minute hourglass, allowing me to track time while sweating it out. I can easily take fifteen minutes in the sauna; I have recently managed thirty minutes in the sauna. My next step is to sit in the sauna for forty-five minutes and I hope to work up to an hour.
