America has truly been abused and over-used to such an extent that it
has lost its true meaning. When a person mentions the word " sauna " in
North America, visions of seedy bathhouses and steam rooms come to mind.
The use of the term " Sauna " as it has been referred in most of North
America has truly been abused and over-used to such an extent that it
has lost its true meaning. When a person mentions the word " sauna " in
North America, visions of seedy bathhouses and steam rooms come to mind.
The home sauna is in most instances a pleasant enough enclosure heated
by various devices that range from electric sauna heaters to far
infrared units. These saunas are what have interestingly enough been
called a " dry sauna ". There is no steam .The one thing these home
saunas have in common with a traditional Finnish sauna is the generated
heat because there really is no such thing as a dry sauna.
The true " sauna " has lasted for well over a thousand years. It has
been tweaked and minutely altered over all those years but in its true
essence, very little has actually been changed. Any changes that have
occurred have been mostly health improvements like better ventilation
and heating units. The form and function of a traditional Finnish sauna
remain intact.
Another term that has taken a pounding in North America is the " sauna
session " or " sauna ritual ". A sauna session has come to mean nothing
more than a naked or semi-naked individual or individuals sitting in a
nice wooden cubicle and just plain sweating. This of course is followed
by the occasional dip in the pool or a nice invigorating shower.
Although this is so-called sauna session is better than no session at
all (at least you clean out and purify your skin pores a little), it is
hardly worthy of the term.
The original Finnish sauna incorporates several elements that make up
the actual sauna session or sauna ritual. The primary difference between
the Finns and most North Americans is the abundance of time that they
lavish on the experience. In a Finnish sauna, time is not of the
essence. The pleasure of the ever-evolving moment is.
The different elements of the true sauna are the Preparation,
Perspiration, Lowly (does not quite translate the right characters here,
but it means the hot steam of the sauna), Whisking, Cooling, Washing and
finally, Relaxation. There is no schedule or timetable whatsoever and a
watch is definitely an optional attachment. Plenty of time is allotted
for a true sauna session and many of the actual elements are repeated
more than once.
The sauna was introduced to North America in the 1960ès as a status
symbol for those that had it all and wanted something different. Even
today it is considered to be something of a symbol of wealth, or at
least of being well off. Considering that the Finns had a 2000-year head
start, it is little wonder that here in North America there is little or
no tradition attached to the use of a sauna.
The one true driving force in North America is commerce, and commerce
drives the evolution of products to be bigger, better or best. There is
no in between. Perhaps in this light, the sauna is evolving into
something different and unique to this marketplace. The actual sauna
ritual as it pertains to Americans is something that will just have to
take more time to develop.
Perhaps we need a new term to describe the North American Sauna Culture.
Let the Finns keep their sauna and their sauna ritual. Here we will
develop and enjoy our own rituals. Maybe we can use the Native American
sweat lodges as a starting point. Or not. I would just like to have the
term sauna mean one distinct thing. Then again, I would have to change
the name of my site and start from scratch. Never mind. If you can
afford it just get the best North American built sauna you can and
start your own personal sauna ritual.
No comments:
Post a Comment