The purpose of sauna is not primarily to warm yourself up like everyone outside of Finland/the nordics seems to think, it's to clean yourself, which it does way more effectively than showering or taking a bath, anmd also to relax because the heat boosts your bodies production of Melatonin which is the natural sleep hormone. And there are also a ton of other health benefits

@CheriTheBery

5 ай бұрын

It's almost spiritual for some people, it relieves stress and relaxes you as well.

@antcommander1367

5 ай бұрын

@@CheriTheBery in sauna you should behave like in church.

@juhokaartoaho

5 ай бұрын

I would also add that the sauna heat is nothing like sweating in summer heat. It is not nearly as bad since it's pretty fast often compared to constant heat in summer and after sauna your body has acclimated a bit to the heat from sauna so you actually feel cooler out of sauna for a bit and at cottage it's common to go swimming to cool off.

"Of course you don't take babies to the sauna" Well, in Finland, before modern times, sauna was most hygienic place in the house (since the hot killed bacteria) and it has been the place of birth and death. So before the modern family clinic system for expecting families most Finns were born in saunas. That's why we don't have preconceptions of sauna not being good for childs 😃

@kah227

5 ай бұрын

My father was born in a sauna.

@anonymousSWE

3 ай бұрын

@@kah227 My grandfathers brother was born and died in a sauna.

Sauna use to be a holy place for ancient Finns. People were born there and washed there after they died. Sauna was the first building people built when they moved in a new place. I took my son to sauna when he was three months old. Recommendations say one year but Finns laugh at that. First times sauna was very mild temperature, he sat on my lap on the lowest bench and the second he started to squiggle I took him outside. When he learned to sit well we put him on the washbasin with water so he could play at the same time and the water wasn't very hot so it also kept him cooler. Kids are never forced into sauna. We monitor them very closely so they don't get uncomfortable or over-heated. Now my son is 17yo and still comes to sauna with me every week.

The sauna whisk is made of birch branches in the summer. It's good for your skin and blood circulation, also it has nice oils in it and it smells good. My grandma was born in sauna. We used to wash our beloved dead in sauna, just to give them a last wash.

@juhokaartoaho

5 ай бұрын

Tho would advice against it if you are allergic to birch pollen. I was completely covered in red dots as a kid after I first had used it. It was almost like second chicken pox for me.

There is a rule in Finland that the person that throws the water (löyly) must stay in and take it all, but everyone else can leave or sit on a lower bench if it is too hot for them. Your body tells you when you need to go out. Some people can take more löyly than others. The biggest rule in Finland that everyone know and have been told form a young age that you NEVER sleep in a sauna. You can literally die. Kontio is one company that exports log houses and Saunas all over Europe.

If you go to the sauna in the summer when it's warm you will feel cooler afterwards. So it actually kind of makes you feel better if you go to sauna on a really warm day.

This little dude just explained the core of sauna. Being in the moment, leaving everything behind and just letting it go. I'd like to add that everyone is equal at sauna. Being naked (that's what you gotta do) and vulnerable really strips all your insecurities. You can be a CEO of a company, regular worker or unemployed. You just talk everyday stuff and connect with people.

When I was a conscript in the Finnish Defence Forces we occasionally would go to the sauna together with our superiors and I remember how refreshing it was to just be guys there, without all the hierarchy. In the sauna everyone is equal and we'd talk about sports and cars and hobbies and normal stuff like any civilians would. Once we got out of the sauna and put our uniforms back on, it was back to business as usual.

During summer,the constant sweating is so annoying..It´s so refreshing going to sauna,it cleanses deeper and leaves a nice clean feeling.

I have seen this video before too and for some reason it gets me to tears everytime. For me it represents Finnish culture so perfectly and it captures that meditative feeling which you get in the sauna. Love it

In finnish culture and in history people were born in sauna and also when someone died, you washed them in a sauna. It really is something where all life comes together. I have 2 saunaa, both are warmed up with wood. One sauna is inside the house and the other is outside. I think most people would say the wood burning sauna (puusauna) is the best one, or the smoke sauna (savusauna). But you can have a good elektric sauna too (sähkösauna).

I have pictures taken of me in sauna when i was 3 months old😊. Also our dog sits on the bench with us every time we go to sauna. He is very relaxed after sauna, on his back paws up😅. And btw our dog is almost 11 years old❤

In this baby guide booklet thingy I got from the health care center when I was pregnant they recommended that one should wait until the baby is 6 months old before taking the baby to sauna but it's common to take babies to the sauna earlier. I heard on average Finnish babies start going to sauna when they are 4 months old. My kids were around 9-10 months so pretty "old" lol. 😄

I think the smoke Sauna is the best, but since it's also the most laborious to warm up, it's also the rarest. Because smoke sauna is no more heated during sauna bath it's the smoothiest and the most constant temperature of saunas. One can not batha in smoke, so first you heat up a ton(metric) or two stones, ventilate smoke off, and then take a sauna as long as the stones are hot. All the other sauna forms have a constant heating going on during bathing, either with wood or electric heater.

We always had a sauna in our house, even though we are all Swedish. When I get into a sauna, I instantly feel relaxed. Its peacful and you are able to get rid of anxiety and worries.

You are so cool (🤣) my dear neighbors of Finland ❤ We have a say in Sweden "Det ska krökas i tid det som krokigt ska bli" "What is going to be curved must be curved in time" I think of the very small children who is introduced to the sauna tradition early in life, perfect for their wonderful sauna future. I'm impressed and a bit jellous

The heat of the sauna usually varies depending on whether it is at home or e.g. in a swimming pool. At home, those who like milder heat usually take a sauna first, followed by the "sauna masters" You can also sit on the lower boards, which happens very often in public saunas if there is a brisk water thrower. The sauna whisk is made from birch twigs and the leaves contain saponins, which act as a mild soap and help in cleansing. In addition, it removes dead skin cells, invigorates surface blood circulation and promotes metabolism. Usually the water is about body temperature. As a plus, the sauna whisk has a pleasant scent that spreads when it is whisked. Sauna in the summer is more about cleansing yourself from the sweat and dust of the day. Sauna is for all ages! Just take milder heated saunas with babys.

If you aren't sure how much heat is ok for you, you sit on the lower benches. In a typical Finnish sauna, there are three benches on top of each other, and all of them are at a level that is comfortable to sit on, but since hot air travels upward, the lower benches get a significanty lower level of heat. This is facilitated by the fact that a traditional sauna door does not go all the way to the floor, but has a large gap that allows cool air to come in. So it can be a really hot sauna, but sitting lower is a totally different experience from sitting on the highest bench.

My father was born in sauna. Many of his age group has.... So that's how young 😁

If it's too hot, you take a seat on a lower bench, or leave. But it's good etiquette to ask whether it's hot enough whem about to throw more löyly, especially with strangers. And it can evolve into a competition when teenagers and young men sauna together, kinda immature but easily understandable.

At my current company we always go to sauna after work on friday, it helps us to relax both mentally and physically and it gives us time to talk about life and things that normally you don't have a change to talk while working. I always look forward to the friday sauna as a time to switch off from work "mode" and just relax.

I have 2 cats and they love the sauna

@9Misaki3

5 ай бұрын

My uncle's cat also likes the sauna.

We usually ask if it's ok to throw more löyly. In many public saunas there are one hot and one hotter sauna. Whisking smells lovely and enhances blood circulation. Fun fact: they sell frozen birch whisks in the supermarkets. And there are several health benefits. Mental and physical. For heart it's basically like jogging.

All sauna's are different but I think most Finns agree the overall ranking is: 1. Smoke saunas are the best, but take the entire day to heat. 2. Wooden saunas are second best and everyone wants to have one, but in apartments rarely can. 3. Electric saunas are ok, but require a lot more to get good steam out of them.

Löyly is kind of soul of sauna and each sauna has a different one. Best löyly is one where it's warm/hot but you don't feel like you are running out of oxygen but rather it feels tender and wonderful. In those saunas you can spend a long time without feeling any lightheaded feeling. The best löyly I've had was in a smoke sauna, sadly I've only been able to be in a smoke sauna once as they are rare.

And yes in Britain had own Saunaculture! After Secound World War in London arranged Olympic Games for Finns was build own Sauna (surprise)! After the Olympics sauna was transfered other place and it was only publick Finnish Sauna until it was closed! Because it needed repairing and some peoples want to safe it good shape keeping it publick use and memory of Olympic games!

(Swedish) When I was a kid, my dad took me swimming once a week, and of course sauna was the "after party". There was a Finn in a wheelchair who was usually there, and he kept pouring water on the stove since he wanted it "hotter" (water cools it down, but it feels hotter because of the humidity). I was a bit stubborn and competitive, so I always sat on the top bench where it's the hottest. Let's just say I didn't like that guy too much. Bathing suits and towels were forbidden and you had to take a shower before entering the sauna (not sure if it's the same now). My guess is that Swedish saunas typically are around 90 C. After a while, you'd go out for an ice cold shower (this was at a public swimming pool, so no rolling in the snow etc) and return to the sauna. When done, we sat and relaxed in a room in-between the sauna and the showers for a while to let the after-sweat pour out, and then shower in "regular" temp water. You get rid of quite a lot of dead skin in a sauna, we don't do the whipping thing usually, but I guess it's a way of more effectively removing it, and perhaps enhance blood circulation? I think I started going to saunas regularly when I was 5 or 6, since that's when I learned to swim, but I vaguely remember that I had sauna visits before that. Finns are the kings of saunas, but it's pretty popular in Sweden too

@Sarmaamy

5 ай бұрын

Saunas are also popular in Estonia

@hapkido7442

5 ай бұрын

No. Saunas in Finland are about 80 degrees centigrades. If it'its more so you are in torture chamber. And the litte ones is in the sekond or third floor. More floors do we even exept.

@matshjalmarsson3008

5 ай бұрын

@@hapkido7442 85 Celsius according to google, but can be up to 110 C, again I'm talking of Sweden and I think Swedish saunas are usually a bit less humid than Finnish ones

I'm Shawnee and we have something similar called a sweat lodge, many tribles have sweat lodge

@penaarja

5 ай бұрын

"Swead lodge", my ass far away from Sauna, the Real Finnish Sauna

Our favorite style of sauna is the one we have or the one we want, but often if you own your own sauna (and dont rent the space you get access to it) is wood heated sauna, the electrical is often a rented or otherwise a community sauna. The reason why many take a sauna bath during the summer is to cool your self off afterwards, cuz if you take a 85 - 100 c sauna bath, even a 35 c weather is cool afterwards. But during the winter, its getting even colder afterwards as if you just have been in a room thats 85-100 c and go out in like negative 15 - negative 25 c its even colder afterwards and you start to freeze even more. And the "proper way" to regulate how hot you want it in the sauna is to sit lower down or higher up in the sauna on the benches (or the lavas) and "adjust" how hot the air are around you. But then also we don't throw more water on the stove then the rest of the group of people (friends, family or other guests) want, if you know each other you often know how hot you and them want in the sauna beforehand and often just heat it up to that temps. But if it gets to hot inside for any reason there is no shame in going outside and cool of. Some people even go outside and take a bath in a lake/sea/ocean or any other water close to the sauna, some even take a snow bath during the winter. And then come back in the sauna to warm your self up again. And the electric saunas that you often find in hotels and renting complexes or even some public bath/swimming places make the air in the sauna so dry that it's not comfortable to have the same degrees in the sauna as a wood heated one, specially if you also have a water bath (a separate water tank that also heat up the water, to moisturize the air. Many hotels in Finland will have the electric style, or a steam sauna model. You might wanna ask the hotel when you are doing your booking what style of sauna they have, and if it's included or an extra fee for taking a sauna bath on your hotel. You are to "young" for a sauna bath like the first 14 days of your life, then it's open season to take a sauna bath! But then also we have a smaller plastic bathtub for them to sit in with water. We often let the kids take a sauna bath at lower temps like 60 - 80 c before the grownups temps are a thing, but often they also take a bath in the "grown up temps" as listed above in my comment

You can always ask not to cast so much löyly if it feels too hot. Vihta, whisk, is activating your pulmonary circulation. Also there're good oils in young birch that are good for your skin when whisking and it smells very nice. I took my daughter to sauna when she was two months old.

@XtreeM_FaiL

5 ай бұрын

Laws of thermodynamics tell that a sauna will cool down when you throw löyly. ;)

@hextatik_sound

5 ай бұрын

@@XtreeM_FaiL Yes, for awhile, but the hot steam makes it feel hotter. And the temperature eventually rises. You should know this if you've ever been to proper sauna.

@XtreeM_FaiL

5 ай бұрын

@@hextatik_sound Yes, it feels hotter because we don't feel temperature. We feel heat transfer.

@hextatik_sound

5 ай бұрын

@@XtreeM_FaiL Indeed. The hot is real.

@pluggedfinn-bj3hn

5 ай бұрын

​@@XtreeM_FaiL pretty sure it does also transfer heat from the stones to the air, since the air is usually less than the boiling point of water :P but yeah the steam preventing your sweat from evaporating is what causes you to feel hot

We go to sauna even on Christmas and midsummer (Juhannus)

The hiss is the sound of steam created by warm water hitting a hot stove. The steam goes around the sauna, and is therefore in a way the spirit of the sauna. The water thrown into the stove is always warm water. You have to experience a proper wood-heated sauna to understand the idea of ​​a sauna. It cleanses from the inside out, and relaxes even tense muscles and mind.

Main thing for me about sauna is that it's calming. Hard to imagine going to sauna in a rush. Or sauna being somehow hectic.

My first time in sauna was when I was 4-5 months old. Sauna is our way to meditate

Summer is the time for Sauna because it's the time of LONG annual work holidays. Like said in the video, people escape into the woods to their small little cottage/-saunas. Around 3-4 weeks for almost every working adult, almost 2,5 months for children in school/students.

@samil5601

5 ай бұрын

Exactly. A proper sauna is one by lakeside wooden cabin. It is not solely about the sauna, but the isolation of urban society. Sauna in the city is never the same experience.

Us Fins usually have a system In public saunas that if you have few persons sitting, you let the water thrower know if heat is in your upper limit. And they let you take little moment in lower temperature and then they up the heat and it is your choice if you stay or go. That whist is there for improving your blood circulation. When you hit yourself blood starts to flow much faster to impact area.

I'd rate it like this. It's refreshing either way but in the winter you might get lazy and not want to dress up those layers again. 1. smoke sauna - arguably the most enjoyable experience 2. wood stove - soft and long lasting löylys there 3. electric stove and circular stove with metal frame and ceramic rocks (w/ electric / wood stove)

You don't go to sauna because it's cold, but rather you take a bath. 🤷‍♂️ Fun fact: When showers were invented and brought to Finland, the word ruiskusauna meaning "squirt sauna" was proposed for it, which unfortunately did not become established in the Finnish language. 😂

So apparently the birch twigs have medicinal properties and the whipping is good for circulation, strengthens the skins barrier against infections and strengthens the heart, according to science. And it smells nice and keeps you clean as it removes dead skincells. A part of a ritual I suppose.

sauna and the bruce whip is like holebody massage.

Sauna pretty much capsules the Finnish people and their mentality. It's not a religious thing, but it's still "sacred". Most people absolutely adore sauna, and use it for both relaxation and socializing. It's an essential part of local bathing culture, and indeed has many health benefits, both mental and physical. There's zero sexual innuendos in the sauna culture, and the matter of laying bare not only makes us all equal, but also teaches natural stuff at young age. Not long ago, we had a couple Asian transfer students visiting Finland, and after some gentle persuasion, they did indeed try the sauna with us. They absolutely loved it.

Do you know the joke about a Finn, a Russian and a sauna? A Finn and a Russian enter a sauna. The Russian dies. =(

@Sarmaamy

5 ай бұрын

That is sadly no joke. That actually happened. The Russian died and the Finn spend long time in hospital in coma because he had burnt his skin so badly. It happened in a Sauna competition.

@XtreeM_FaiL

5 ай бұрын

@@Sarmaamy That's why it's so funny.

I love the wooden sauna, they are getting rarer all the time but the löyöy you get in a wooden sauna is so much better than electrical ones :)

My favourite sauna is maybe 4 people outdoor wood heated sauna with no electricity and carry on water. Friends,beer and sauna,perfect

In the winter and continuation wars, in frontline, soldiers built saunas; cleanliness helped to keep diseases away. Nowadays e.g. Finnish peacekeepers also benefit Finnish sauna. (Foreigners sometimes are a bit surprised, especially if it is a country with a hot climate - but usually they are curious enough to try sauna.)

in public saunas there are some idiots that keep throwing water even if other people complain. usual comment from them upon someone complaining is to use the other sauna cause theres usually 2 saunas where one is for "the kids" cause it says its for mild steam (miedot löylyt) but generally most of the people ask if everyones ok for throwing some more water on the stove. when you have a personal sauna available its easy to go there every day if you want to but i personally prefer to going there in about 2-3 times a week and during the winter its a nice warming effect and you can go outside for a moment to cool down and sometimes i like to even roll in the snow if the amount is decent and the temperatures havent made the surface hard... but during the summer time it feels a lot cooler after visiting the sauna so you can take the summer temperatures better afterwards... also the whisks are used for increasing the surface blood circulation and hitting sore spots works as a soft massage. yeah there really is no age limit on visiting a sauna... it doesnt matter if you are a baby or a 90+ grandma just remembering to take them into consideration so that its just a mild experience and nothing life threatening cause you can harm or even kill a person with enough heat and time in there even if they are of decent physical fitness. (obviously if the baby shows any discomfort you are to remove them asap from the sauna) on a side note some cats and even few dogs like going to the sauna but you have to bee careful that they dont stay there more than just briefly cause their fur can seriously fuck up their internal temperature control and be harmful.

@elderscrollsswimmer4833

5 ай бұрын

Hydration is important too. Babies go with their mothers so they get their drinks too.

In the old days babies were born in saunas because it was warm and you could wash the baby and mother. You teach the baby by holding it on your lap on the lowest step. We took our daughtersnin the sauna ar8und the age of 3 months.

about having more frequent sauna during summer: After being in 80 - 100 Celsius sauna, the 20 - 25 Celsius weather doesn't feel too hot. Also, you sweat more during summer and sauna is a nice way to bathe that away

Recommended age to take a baby to sauna is not before 12 months (used to be 6 mo). My two oldest were 3 moths when they went to sauna the first time. The youngest was only 1,5 months, but that was because it was the Christmas sauna.

Jokainen on taa-arvonen saunassa.

My son is 1yr and 8months now and he is absolute sauna lover! If it was up to him to decide we would go to sauna everyday😅 But yeah you can take your baby to sauna. You just dont throw so much löyly so its not too hot😊 It is very important to drink water (or something else) after sauna!

your first question, you do not even need to ask or say anything, if you feel like you do not want to be in that hot... you just go sit lower. thats how it easiest works... if its too small and people need to get thru you always can go out from the sauna

I think Sauna was just a practical solution for the cold weather. Imagine yourself in the old days where there was not a warm shower room to wash yourself after working in the woods all day and it is - 30 outside. Try to take a shower in those conditions 😅

@onerva0001

5 ай бұрын

Especially since there were no showers 9000 years ago 😂😚

If you are in a public sauna, it is polite to ask if it is okay for everyone to throw more water. The person who throws the water must stay in the sauna as long as the water heats the sauna. There are no rules between friends😂

Some people make saunaing a competition, but that's not the norm and some people frown upon that anyway. Sauna has sitting possibilities usually on three levels, so if you want cooler, you just go lower :) In the summer it is much more efficient way to get rid of your sweat than just a shower. Sauna is definately one corner stone of spirituality. Everyone in finland, no matter the religion or religiousness, knows saunatonttu, the deity which lives in the sauna, who you have to treat well. 1 year of age is the official recommendation to take a baby to a sauna, though many do it earlier - obvously one doesnt take the baby straight away to the hottest sauna, but just easing them in the atmosphere on lower benches

We have 2 dogs that always enter the sauna first. They are absolutely obsessed with being there when they know their humans are intending to enter. Literal sauna dogs

my daughter was only like a month old when we made first touch to sauna. ofc baby was we hold baby lower stage and we had little bathtub with us and so on.

I go to the sauna in Sweden in the swimming pool area. If you’re unlucky people sit in the sauna and talk about office work. If you’re lucky people have swam far enough before to just lie in silence and rest.

There are considerate people who ask, if everyone's okay with throwing more water, and then there are those whose goal is to drive others out of the sauna. There used to be a sauna competition: "VI BASTAR MED VÄRLDSMÄSTAREN I BASTU (SUPERHUMAN). Sauna is part of the summer cottage experience. There are half a million summer cottages in Finland. You do need to wash, relax and socialize during the summer also, and people socialize more during summers. Even during a heatwave you can go to sauna, because the heat doesn't feel as bad after sauna. And sauna is addictive, so there's a need to go to a sauna: "Trying Finnish Self Care Summer Habits | Ep.1 | Peaceful Cottage Culture".

And smoke sauna is my absolute favourite, the most ancient form - that soft löyly and the smell, god how perfect...

my mother says that me and my siblings were 1 month old when we went to the sauna for the first time and we have been going ever since

My twins went to sauna when they were 3 weeks old.

7:25 I think I speak for most Finns when saying wood fired sauna is the best. Haven't actually tried smoke sauna tho.

The sauna is for washing, not for warming up. In the summer, we maybe sweat a lot, and then it and the dirt stuck to the sweat are washed off during the sauna. After a warm sauna, the extreme heat of e.g. 15-20 degrees Celsius doesn't feel so oppressive anymore. Whisking can enhance muscle recovery and improve joint mobility, speed up metabolism and surface blood circulation, and enhance lymphatic circulation. A skilled bath whisk user consciously tries to create a framework in which the body relaxes and the secretion of pleasure hormones is enhanced. And it smells pretty damn good.

Finnish babies sleep in outside at winter and go to sauna with adults. 😊 With my niece we waited until she could sit on water bucket safely and the we just lifted her in the bucket to the lowest laude. I think she was less than 6 month at that time. We monitored the whole time that she looked like having good time. playing with the bucket water babbling to us her baby talk and and of course only made really soft löyly. I think she was there about 10 - 15 min. Helped a lot to calm her down that evening. After she was out of the sauna we had hard löyly for rest of the adults making the temp rice from 70 to 100 c 😂 so everyone got good time.

In the past, most babies were made in the sauna and also born in the sauna. It was very practical.

The effects of sauna have been studied widely, especially in finland, 3-4 times a week led to 40% decrease on all cause mortality. Its super healthy as long as you do it correctly, stay hydrated etc.

And like 100 years ago and even later it was very common to delivery a baby in to this world in sauna. At least in country side.

Just for your information, us finns even in Australia keep the sauna tradition going with one in nearly every home here. Also i was born and only days old when i was taken into a mildly hot sauna for the first time to help me calm down and sleep, it worked.

Sauna is nothing about getting warm or clean. It is a social occassion or individual relaxation. You just go to lower bench if it gets too hot. My favorite sauna is our countryside sauna, wood burning and candle light, buckets of rain water or melted snow to wash with.

Definetly traditional smoke sauna !

Foreign saunas are usually more about interior design so you don´t put layers to it, which is prob why you can´t stay when someone who can handle more is in the sauna. When it is too hot for you, you go to the lower bench, most saunas I´ve been to have 3 layers. The lowest can literally feel cold while the highest is hot. So that is how we can be in sauna even when our tolerance is different. Some in the comments have also mentioned the etiquette of who throws the water in and what their responsibility is so I won´t repeat it. The cooling off and going back is also something that I do not see often with foreigners, so that also helps.😁

Hard to explain really, it's something primal and ancient, a connection to nature...

Both of our sons have started going to sauna at age of 4 months for couple minutes in lower bench. Going to sauna will increase surface circulation, cleanse skin, relieve stress and relax muscles. Using whisks will increase surface circulation further and clean skin deeper. People might go to sauna more in summer while going to swimming. I prefer traditional wood stove or smoke sauna, depending on the situation.

2:22 Once you have been in a sauna for 10-15 minutes the dead tissue on your skin starts to peel off and it gets a little itchy if you dont deal with it. By peeling off I mean if you rub your palm over a sweaty part of your body, you will end up with unseltting amount of dead tissue. The vihta has couple of purposes. The scent of it alone when mixed with the humid air is pleasant, it is a nice fix to the itcy skin peeling process, when you whip yourself with it (it does not hurt at all) it helps with the surface circulation and many people find it a better option over scratching. It is not mandatory, it is more of a tradition, but a tradition with utility.

1:24 Its that the on with water asks the people can he throw water on the kiuas. When the dude is alone he can throw as much as he wants

Trying to be a bit more concise... 1. Babies in sauna - yes. Kids of almost any age can go to sauna. With smallest babies of course you would be more careful and sit only on the lowest bench, stay only for a short period of time and often your would actually go before sauna has been heated up to the normal temperature. Older kids who can voice their comfort can regulate themselves and usually they just stick to the lower benches. Temperature difference between the highest and lowest bench can be pretty big, especially in the winter; sometimes the floor can actually have ice even though you can totally enjoy sauna on the highest bench. (This would be summer cottage sauna that hasn't got any heating except for then sauna itself is heated; hence in the winter it can get icy.) 2. Best sauna is the smoke sauna. It is, however, the trickiest one to heat up and take care of which is why it is also very rare nowadays. Heating smoke sauna takes several hours and the stove needs to be HUGE as it has to maintain the heat without live fire for hours after the heating process. During the heating sauna will fill with smoke which is then let out and fire is put out just before the actual sauna experience start. Sadly, heating the smoke sauna is a bit of a fire hazard; it isn't rare for smoke sauna to go up in flames... But if you ever get to try a smoke sauna, DO IT. Best löyly ever. 3. Sauna in summer - yes. YES. So awesome. Summer cottage, lake and sauna - also called Finnish Paradise. 4. About UK - when I was 18 years old I spent 8 months as an au pair in Fleet, not far from London. It was nice and all but it did come as a culture shock for me at the time that in UK swimming pools do not have a sauna. In Finland this just does not happen; you have a pool so you also have a sauna. I was freezing in UK all the time when I went for swimming. :D

Best for blood pressure.

slapping whit "Vihta" accelerates and improves peripheral blood circulation.

In old times women went to sauna to give birth, so a child can´t be too young for sauna. However, with infants we need to be careful naturally. As kids we competed who could stay in sauna longest or who could take most heat or löyly. We managed to warm one sauna to 140C , but we couldn´t sit there any more, and one wall started smoking, so we deleted the operation quickly and throw a lot of water to the walls. In 120C one can be inside a sauna, but it´s no fun, and taking löyly is painful, so it´s counterproductive. Almost all saunas are warmed between 80C-100C, but there is no one right temperature. Many saunas are in summer cottages, most of which are in a lakeside or seaside, and especially in the summer, we go to swim, then go back to sauna and so on. Of course this is done also in the winter, but that requires little more work, to make a hole in the ice etc. My favourite sauna is in my summer place, warmed with wood, it´s made of logs (the walls), it´s little dim on purpose, it´s sort of holy place, where you are physically and mentally bare. You can talk whatever, or just sit there with friends saying nothing, in harmony together. There we are all equal. In a very rare case when someone might feel more equal than others... that shit won´t fly at all. Oh, and smacking oneself with "vasta" or "vihta", depending the dialect of the area where you live, makes blood circulate more enthusiastically, it cleans the skin and despite it looking like torture, it actually feels very good, and a fresh vasta gives a smell of birch tree´s leaves, which is very pleasant and refreshing. To make this "vasta", one just gather birch branches, small ones wth a lot of leaves, bind them together from the more wooden end, then just smack away. If you wash them after use, you can use them several times. As birches won´t make leaves in winter, some people put vastas into a freezer and take it from there, for example for the coming christmas -sauna tradition. I probably forgot many things, but let me just add, that as we go naked to the sauna, as a teen sometimes, when young women or girls of my age were in the sauna the same time, I worried that I might have a boner publicly, but the one time it happened I managed to hide it with a vasta, which is a multi-action tool. However, sauna is NOT a sexual place to begin with (it can be in cases, but that is not what it is about), at least in my opinion, but when you are say 15yo boy with hormones, well, I bet every man remembers how it was at the time and boys will understand at the moment.

If drunk, definitely a competition

It works like this, the rules: If there is a sauna commander, you will take it as hot as they wish. You can voice your opinions, but they do not need to hear it. If you can't endure, you leave. No penalty for leaving. Bonus round: You can be the sauna commander.

And I have to continue, that even though people have different sauna cultures, in my circle we go to sauna all together, men and women. And me and my friend have get to gerhers where we eat and drink well and go to sauna and drink cold beer and talk about anything and everything. Sometimes we even cry. 😄

Sauna is religion to most Finnish people.. its a place for tranquility, getting purification place to birth and also to die... well also many babies have been put in start there too :D , very important political decisions have been made in sauna.. President Kekkonen used to have political guests in sauna and they discussed really important issues.. the smell of birch bunch is awesome and it feels so good when hit in your skin.. my grandfather teached me how to make "vihta"

All my kids have been only couple of weeks old when I took them to sauna for the first time. Only for a short while, not to the highest bench and before the sauna got really hot, but still. It's safe when done carefully and it's important to get babies acquainted with sauna from the early age.

Just not long ago, children were born in sauna. Dead were prepared for funeral in sauna.

People used to cure meats in sauna too

that what they use ther is in sauna is call Vihta it dip on water and then you use it

Usually sauna is around 90-100°c and there is basically lower stair as a seat too if it gets too hot.

In Finland, sauna is part of the culture, if it gets too hot, you go to the lower shelf.

There is a fairly vibrant Sauna culture in Ireland, funnily enough. I lived there for nearly five years and it has taken a decent hold also amongst the irish. I found a good few proper Finnish built commercial saunas and even wood stove saunas, while over there. Many companies in Ireland are selling garden saunas etc.

He who throws the water must outsitt the steam...

Summer you have the possibility of spend the evening outside, swim in a warm lake. In the winter it os more rare, perhaps once or twice a week. The official sauna day was historically a Saturday. It was the day when your clothes were washed by the mother and you got to put on your cleab Sunday clothes on for the church. Some people didn't have many pieces of clothes, so that was the day when you got cleaned.

I believe there are actually more proven physical benefits than mental benefits from using a sauna. Numerous studies have explored the various advantages of sauna usage.

@samil5601

5 ай бұрын

Agree and disagree. I believe the mental benefits of sauna to be far greater than the physical ones. Of course, those are harder to measure.

@hmmm9806

5 ай бұрын

I believe that mental benefits are more individualized and do not apply to everyone in the same way, unlike physical benefits.

When it is warm in summer.. even too hot, so suprising that is good to visit hot sauna. Afterwards the feeling outside it is the good feeling to be little less warm. You must try

I always use vihta in the sauna for sore spots. Usually on the shoulders, if the shoulders are really sore from the week's physical exertion, I might also use raw sea salt. It helps a lot off.

The general etiquette is that the one who adds löyly, needs to stay on the highest bench for the whole duration of it. That is the rule basically everywhere. There's bunch of other rules too depending on where you are. For example one really old public sauna near me I have gone to few times, you need to ask if you can add löyly, and if anyone says no then you can't. That is done in many places, but definitely not universal. Other common rules are such as, if the bucket is empty, the next person going out (or coming in, depends) needs to fill it.

My first sauna was 2 -3 months old 😊

Woodburning sauna..Unfortunately I have to use electric sauna,once a week.

I have been inside a ”cooler” sauna in the local swimming arena with my 3-month old baby nursing her after a babbyswim sesion. Don’t know howmhot. Maybe 60-70 degrees.