"What does a man look like?"
That was the headline of an article in the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti in spring 2023. In the story, four men of different ages and appearances sat down on the benches of Sipoonjoen perinnesauna to talk about the pressures they had faced around their looks. I was one of them, and the article got me thinking about what sauna bathing can tell us about our own bodies. So what does a man look like? On the sauna benches, the answer is fairly simple: perfectly ordinary.
How many men have sat in the sauna with a friend for years and talked about everything except their own bodies? Adverts and the endless stream of images on social media show us what a body is supposed to look like, and it is easy to compare our own body to them. On the sauna benches, the point of comparison is different. Next to you sit ordinary people in ordinary bodies.
Sauna bathing and self-esteem
In the article I talked about the journey I have made on the path of getting to know and appreciate myself. I also talked about the important role my yoga practice has played in that process. In yoga, attention turns to how the body feels. It is not a competition over whose leg goes highest. When you practise long enough, that inner sense gradually starts to matter more than your reflection in the mirror.
I also said this in the article: "And the sauna, the sauna is the yoga of the Finns. Everyone is undressed there, and you get to be exactly who you want to be."
You can take that line with a twinkle in your eye, but it holds an idea that matters to me. Sauna bathing does the same thing without a yoga mat. In everyday life our clothes say a lot about who we are. In the sauna they stay on the coat hook, and part of our role stays there with them. When the löyly (sauna steam) hits your shoulders, your attention shifts to how the heat feels. In that moment, the shape of your belly or the thickness of your arms doesn't count for much. The heat feels the same on your skin, whatever your body looks like.
Perhaps sauna bathing could be an ally on the journey towards self-esteem that grows from how your own body feels. I mean what I said in the article: "that you can look any way or be any size and still value yourself, without depending on whether others value you."
Meeting as fellow human beings at public sessions
Sipoonjoen perinnesauna aims to be exactly this kind of place, for men and women alike. It has been a joy to notice, time after time, how diverse the people at our public sauna sessions (yleinen vuoro) are. On the sauna benches you meet the other person first and foremost as a fellow human being, and in that kind of encounter there is no room for roles or titles. In the changing room, people rarely ask what you do for a living. Your first time in a public sauna can still feel a little nerve-wracking, and that is completely normal. Once on the benches, you soon notice that everyone else is focused on their own löyly.
In Finland, nudity has traditionally been a natural part of sauna bathing. Families have gone to the sauna together, and the body has been an ordinary thing on the benches. Children and the elderly, the slim and the round have all sat there, and nobody has made a fuss about it. That naturalness is worth holding on to now that the screens around us are filled with edited images.
We have a men's sauna session on Mondays and a women's sauna session on Tuesdays. At the men's session it is natural to drift into these themes between rounds of löyly, if it feels right. You can just as well simply sit and enjoy the löyly. You can come on your own or with a friend.
On the sauna benches, everyone looks human.
Read also: Public smoke sauna and room for silence and When time disappears during a sauna session
Frequently asked questions
Does Sipoonjoen perinnesauna have men's and women's sauna sessions?
Yes. There is a men's sauna session on Mondays and a women's sauna session on Tuesdays. There are also public sauna sessions during the week. You can find the times at saunotus.fi.
What does it mean that the sauna is the yoga of the Finns?
The idea is Otto Kronqvist's. In the sauna everyone is undressed, and you get to be exactly who you want to be. Your attention shifts to how your body feels, in the same way as in a yoga practice.
