The ofuro bath is an essential part of traditional Japanese culture, historically associated with the island climate, religious beliefs of the Japanese and everyday life. The ritual of this bath is organically combined with the very course of life of an oriental person and his desire for meditation. The device, healing properties and effect on the body of the Japanese bath ofuro are still highly valued in Japan, and recently throughout the world.
The Japanese bath ofuro is a type of family (home) furo or public (social) sento. Only after washing the head and body do people immerse themselves not in a vat of hot water, but in a wooden barrel or box with heated sawdust, the temperature of which reaches 45-50 ° C. In ancient times, the Japanese simply covered a person with heated sawdust, the heat of which was just enough so that they could cleanse the body and transfer all their healing power to it (it takes 15 minutes). Later, an oven was installed under the barrel.
Modern ofuros are equipped with an electric heating system located under a barrel or box, and an automatic control device that allows smoothly regulating sawdust heating.
In addition, new technologies have significantly expanded the capabilities of the Japanese sawdust bath. So, it is often supplemented with special lighting fixtures, musical accompaniment, etc. The very same wooden barrel (furako) or box can be decorated with intricate carvings and impregnated with oil.
An important role in cleansing and getting the maximum benefit from the bath procedure is played by the composition into which a person immerses. Traditionally, these are cedar, less often lime sawdust, but not only. The Japanese often mix them with rice bran and always with a mixture of dried herbs and flowers.
The herbal mixture includes up to 40 types of medicinal herbs, flowers and roots. The fillers of modern Japanese sawdust baths also include essential oils, which enhance the therapeutic effect of ofuro
Secondary sawdust is not used. They, according to the ideas of the ancient Japanese, absorb not only bodily dirt, but also spiritual – negative thoughts, feelings of hatred, despondency and anger. In return, wood and herbs give physical and moral purity, as well as the energy of stability, which they have in full.
The positive effect of the Japanese sawdust bath on the human body can hardly be overestimated.
Hot sawdust causes deep heating of the whole body and profuse sweating, which contributes to:
- elimination of toxins and toxins
- deep cleansing of the skin
- maximum relaxation
- elimination of joint and muscle pain
- activation of blood flow
- stimulating the work of all internal organs
- breakdown of fats, etc.
When the national team of the Soviet Union arrived at the White Olympics in Sapporo (1972) and the athletes responded to the invitation of the Japanese to visit the bathhouse, there was no limit to the surprise of the Olympians. Indeed, instead of the usual steam room, they were offered to wash first, and then climb into a wooden box with hot sawdust.
Those who were able to go through the entire bath procedure from start to finish were literally shocked by its effect, so indescribable sensations were observed after it
Everyone noted the absence of negativity in thoughts, instead of it there was a complacent and peaceful state and love for everything earthly, while in the body there was an extraordinary lightness and a feeling of absolute purity.
And in fact, the release from the harmful products of decay and putrefaction accumulated in the body gives an amazing feeling of weightlessness. It seems that the body has become lighter by several kilograms. However, ofuro really helps to get rid of excess weight, tk. hot sawdust literally melts fat deposits and “eat” them (in contrast to the effect of the Finnish sauna, where weight loss occurs mainly due to loss of fluid in the body, ie, is a consequence of hypohydration).
How the Japanese bath ofuro works
The heated sawdust, penetrating into the pores, perfectly cleanses the skin surface. The hot healing vapors of wood, herbs and essential oils have a powerful effect on the deep layers of the skin, smoothing the structure and eliminating possible inflammation. In addition, cedarwood contains antioxidants that help maintain youthful skin and a fresh complexion.
Hot cedar sawdust can have an antiseptic and prophylactic effect (prevention of influenza, tonsillitis, acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections). A visit to a sawdust bath increases the immune system and general tone of the body, strengthens the walls of blood vessels and restores normal blood flow, which significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Ofuro, thanks to the opportunity to thoroughly relax, will help get rid of stress and its consequences (insomnia, anxious thoughts, anxiety), as well as safely get out of a depressive state.
Successful stress relief is also helped by the fact that ofuro is not limited to lying in sawdust, followed by an obligatory unhurried tea ceremony that prolongs relaxation
Today, interest in Japanese bathing traditions is growing all over the world. Such attention is also explained by the fact that people are attracted by such a fact as good physical shape, youthfulness and longevity of the Japanese (and women of all continents openly envy the amazingly delicate and smooth skin of Japanese women). One of the secrets of this, Europeans are sure, lies in the peculiarities of the Japanese bath. As a result, ofuro today has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in European, and more recently Russian, wellness and fitness centers, hotels, sanatoriums and health centers, and often in home bath complexes. Ofuro has a huge army of fans, and their number is steadily growing.
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