A bath house sauna can still be found in some European communities, though they’re much less likely to be built in America, where people prefer their saunas private. Bath houses go back to Greek and Roman times, of course. Since approximately the sixth century B.C. there have been public baths, and they grew increasingly beautiful and lavish as time went on.

Saunas originated far from Rome, in the Scandinavian countries. Traditionally they were places of solitude, childbirth and healing. The sauna, or sweathouse, was a place where the body could cleanse itself by self-purification. Sweat sent toxins out of the body, resulting in an internal cleansing.

Native Americans also recognized the healing powers of a good sweat. Many tribes built sweat lodges or long houses in which participants could relax and receive the healing benefits of a sweat.

Bath houses and saunas can be found in the United States today. There are actually more of them now than in previous years because of the influx of immigrants, who bring some of their traditions with them. Eastern Europeans and Scandinavian people have built bath houses and saunas in the tradition of their homelands here. Some of them are open for public business.

A sauna can be used either as a dry sauna or a wet sauna, where steam is introduced into the warm interior. Bath houses typically have one or more pools, sometimes of varying temperatures, where bathers can either rest and recreate or do some actual swimming.

In a bath house sauna, you have the best of both worlds. Take your sauna, dry or wet. Work up a good sweat while you lean back on a bench, or stretch out if there’s room. Then once your sauna is finished, step out and plunge into water.

The sauna pushes toxins out of your body, and the bathing pool then washes the sweat and toxins away. It also brings your core body temperature down from the rise it experienced in the sauna. Most medical experts recommend that exposure to the high temperatures of the sauna be for a limited duration for most healthy people, and even shorter times, if at all, for people with medical conditions or pregnant women.

Bath houses and saunas are an excellent way to rest and relax while letting your body naturally detoxify. If you don’t have one of the combination houses available and you can’t put one in your residence, then consider joining a health club that has a swimming pool and a sauna available.

You can don your swimsuit and spend some quality time relaxing in the sauna. Work up a good sweat, cleanse your body of toxins. Most health clubs or fitness centers will require you to take a shower in between the sauna and the pool, but then plunge into the pool and swim for a while.

Let your body cool down and enjoy the community atmosphere of the "bath house" in contrast to the quiet of the sauna. You’ll leave feeling like a new person.