岩盤浴 - Ganbanyoku is a Japanese stone spa

岩盤浴
This week, my co-worker is taking me to do Ganbanyoku. It's a detox treatment that's popular in Japan. It's similar to a sauna and involves lying on a heated rock. It's pretty cheap (around 1200 yen/10 dollars to stay as long as you like) and done fully clothed wearing a ganbanyoku gown that they give you when you arrive."Ganbanyoku is a sauna and a bath in one. It heats your body deeply from the inside and makes you drip with sweat. The Japanese word “Ganban” means “rock”. The Ganban used at stone-spa parlors contains a lot of minerals and emits far-infrared ray. At such places, the rock is heated up to about 40c (105F) and you spread a towel and lie on the rock for 15 minutes. After taking a break for 5 to 10 minutes, you will repeat the same set for 3~4 times."Ganbanyoku is supposed to activate the metabolism, increase blood circulation, promote detoxification and relieve stress. Have any of you ever done it? My co-worker says that it's very strange because of the infrared they use. If you lick your arm (she says) the sweat doesn't taste like salt. It just tastes like water. I don't feel like licking a sweaty arm, but I'll tell you how it goes this week.