Discover The Benefits Of The Sauna Culture
What Fascinated Me About Finnish Culture Regarding Sauna
September 2018: I’m going to Helsinki for my Erasmus.
I remember a lot of things about it. But two things remained stuck in my head: Sauna and cold showers.
My First Time in a Finnish Sauna
It was a cold day. I wore my heavy coat, scarf, gloves and hat, and I went to ‘Sompasauna’ — the public Sauna of Helsinki.
It was built by Finnish people. And it’s free. Isn’t that amazing?
The idea that people build a sauna on their own, bring their own wood, and take care of it for free really enlightens me.
This is definitely another mentality level.
I arrived at the Sauna, and I saw two guys outside having just a towel to cover themselves (without other clothes!) talking normally as Italians do in a bar or Czechs in a Pub.
And I was like: “How is it possible?! Aren’t they cold?” I was feeling cold with the coat. For the people who don’t know me, I’m Italian. Part of my family is from the South of Italy. They still do not believe that this is possible.
“How do you do this?” — I said to those guys. “Trust us and do as we do”.
I know, it sounds like an initiation rite for a sect. But it actually happened, and it changed my life.
The Sauna Method
I remember that there was one guy that looked crazy in my eyes. He was standing alone in a super hot sauna (It was so hot that I couldn’t stay even for one minute there).
After 15 minutes of burning, he went out, swam for 5 minutes in the cold sea, and finally ends up rolling into the snow.
I was fascinated.
But yeah, the method is more or less like this:
- You go into the sauna after a quick shower with a cotton towel
- You stay there a maximum of 15 minutes, even at high temperatures (like 90 degrees)
- Then you jump into the cold water (or you can do the cold shower)
Cold exposure will activate the cardiovascular system, which will regulate body temperature. So, for a few moments, you will not feel much cold outside after the method, even with low temperatures (I tried this at -15 °C).
Cold Shower As Meditation
I used the application ‘Headspace’ for more than one year. Do you know it? It’s an application that teaches you various meditation techniques. I paid 74 euros for the annual subscription. (“Here it’s for free” — E.S.)
But then I got bored. It was when Covid19 started. So, I looked for some alternatives in the AppStore. And I found the WHM application: the strategy of Wim Hof.
I swear that I found it randomly in this way. I hadn’t any clue who was this guy.
However, he was brilliant: proposing the cold showers as a method for staying in the present.
Normal Meditation
When we meditate, we need to enjoy the process, accept it as it is, and see the natural behavior of our minds. We focus on only one thing (our breath for example), and when we get lost in our thoughts, we get back to our focus. By doing so, we stay in the present.
Meditation With Cold
Cold showers force you to stay in the present. For example, when I feel that my mind is wandering too much, I do a quick cold shower to go back to the present. It’s so cold that you can’t avoid it.
The Science Behind It
Here are my favorite benefits:
- When you sweat, you detox your body (source)
- Sauna relaxes the muscles and reduces inflammation. This makes it the perfect closure after a training session. (source)
- Cold exposure helps you to burn fat for energy to keep you warm (source)
- Improve your immune system. The heat from the Sauna increases the temperature of the body mimicking a mild fever that activates your immune system (source)
- Improve your skin. When you sweat, you detox your body and your skin. You replace the dead skin. And Sauna enhances the production of collagen (source)
DISCLAIMER: Sauna is not for everyone, and you should check your specific case before proceeding further. For example, a Sauna is not recommended if you have high pressure or cardiovascular problems.
In Sauna We Are All Equals
Did you know that Finnish people don’t use pronouns divided by gender (she/he/it)? They have just “Hän” to refer to the third person.
The Finnish culture is based on the idea that everyone is the same. There are no differences between status or gender. And this idea is reflected in the language but also when you are in the Sauna. It doesn’t matter if you are a businessman, a waiter, or a housekeeper, in the Sauna everybody is equal.
Develop Your Grit
You can call it Grit, motivation, willing power, or as Finnish people “Sisu”. According to the Finnish culture, you can train it.
For training it, you can:
- do your housework on your own
- go into nature and disconnected from the world
- go running under the snow
Or you can do the flagship: do a Sauna and cold bath.
Definitely, the best thing I know is to improve my willingness and discipline.
PS if you want to know more about the concept of “Sisu”, I will definitely recommend you the book “Finding Sisu” by Katja Pantzar.
Conclusion
I prefer cold to hot. For me, it’s easier.
Here, I wanted to show the major benefits that cold showers and saunas brought into my life.
Finnish people have their own way of living, a philosophy of living, which goes beyond the one “avoid pain; look for pleasure” way of living that I learned in Italy.
Learning it just blew up my mind.
