Ukrainian Traditions: Banya

 With the dawning of a new day I saw Kiev in a new light.

It was time to rise and face the challenges ahead. With my soar throat now raging it would be difficult to do the speaking program that was lined up for me. Veda Life was expecting about 100 people to show up to listen to me speak on "The Secrets of the Vedas."

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The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. But the people of Kiev have an organic answer: it's called "Banya."

A typical "Banya" setup

Banya is a kind of indoor sauna practiced by Ukrainians since time immemorial. You sit in a wooden hut with hot rocks and sweat the poisons out. So we loaded up the truck and drove through the Ukrainian countryside.

Birch trees in snow outside Kiev

We drove over icy streets in the snow and through the beautiful birch trees.  The leaves of the birch trees have medicinal properties and curative alkaloids and are used in the Banya. The leaves are formed into switches which are steam-heated. The banya-master is expert in their application and beats you about the head, neck and legs with the birch switches, forcing the poisons out in sweat.

Arrival at Banya

Here we are arriving at the Banya, out in the Ukranian countryside.

Rustic cabin

Banya Ice Hole

Outside the Banya was the typical ice hole. The more extreme Banya enthusiasts jump in the ice hole after a hot sweaty steam bath.

But our group is a bit more easy-going.

The Banya Crew Ready for Action

So we prepared ourselves and the Banya master adjusted the heat. I'm standing next to the Banya master. There's Vallabha on my right, Birchandra on the end.

Typical Banya Situation.

It's enough to sit in an oven-like setting, beaten by birth brooms. I imagined myself in Calcutta during the tropical heat and made it through. Another aspect of the Banya program is the salt masssage, where your entire body is dusted with salt, there's a macho rubdown followed by the hot-cold treatment again. Works wonders. After this, my throat was in good shape for the talk.

Typical ice-hole procedure after Banya.