If you took off your skin and laid it flat, it would cover an area of about 1.9 square meters, making it by far the body’s largest organ. Covering almost the entire body, skin protects us from a variety of external forces, such as extremes of temperature, damaging sunlight, harmful chemicals, and dangerous infections. Skin is also packed with nerves, which keeps the brain in touch with the outside world. 

   The health of our skin and its ability to perform its protective functions are crucial to our well-being. However, the appearance of our skin is equally – if not more – important to many people on this planet. Take skin color for example. Your genes determine your skin’s color, but for centuries, humans have tried to lighten or darken their skin in an attempt to be more attractive. In the 1800s, white skin was desirable for many Europeans. This color meant that its owner was a member of the upper class and did not have to work in the sun. Among darker-skinned people in some parts of the world, products used to lighten skin color are still popular today. In other cultures during the 20th century, as cities grew and work moved indoors, attitudes toward light skin shifted in the opposite direction. Tanned skin began to represent leisure time and health. In many places today, sun tanning on the beach or in a salon remains popular, even though people are more aware of the dangers of UV rays.     Just as people have altered their skin color to show wealth or beauty, some cultures around the globe marked their skin to indicate cultural identity or community status. Tattooing, for instance, has been carried out for thousands of years. Leaders in ancient Egypt, Britain, Peru and other places wore tattoos to demonstrate their social importance or bravery. Today, among the Maori people of New Zealand as well as cultures in Samoa, Tahiti, and Borneo, full-facial tattoos are still used to identify the wearer as a member of a certain family and to symbolize the person’s achievements.

       A Native-American sweat lodge is a ceremonial sweat bath that typically has its roots in Native-American history and culture. Traditionally, it is a purifying ritual that uses intense heat to stimulate vision and insight. A sweat lodge ceremony helps detoxify the body by stimulating blood circulation and causing you to sweat out impurities. You are typically naked or wrapped in a towel.

       A traditional Native American sweat lodge is dome-shaped and built low to the ground. Rocks are heated up in a fire outside the lodge and then brought into the center of the lodge with a shovel and placed in a dug pit. More rocks are brought in, traditionally in four rounds, and the sweat lodge gets progressively hotter. The person in charge of the ceremony “pours the water” and is responsible for the health and well-being of participants. Typically, there are 8 to 12 participants, but there can be as many as a few dozen. Pouring water on the rocks creates steam, which makes the Native American sweat lodge feel even hotter. Sweet grass or sage is scattered on the rocks. You might be smudged with sage smoke before entering the sweat lodge to aid with the ritual of purification. It is usual to offer up prayers, share your thoughts with others, and ask for the release of pain and suffering.

       The sweat ceremony is intended as a spiritual reunion with the creator and a respectful connection to the earth itself as much as it is meant for purging toxins out of the physical body. The ceremony is believed to free the mind of distractions, offering clarity (mental healing)； to allow for introspection and connection to the planet and the spiritual world (spiritual healing)； and to provide antibacterial and wound-healing benefits (physical healing).