I am excited to announce that the first mobile Finnish sauna will be idling warmly as part of the annual New Year’s Day polar plunge on Lake Minnetonka.  Click here for more videos and photos. (This guy needs a sauna):

Date:

Friday, January 1, 2010 @ 9:30 AM local time

Address:

“Ummm.. I think I want to take another round.”

My 10 year old had a friend over.  My son is no stranger to the sauna, but it was his friend’s first authentic Finnish sauna experience.  I thought i’d sit quietly on the bench and see how he took to it.  After a good amount of time on the upper sauna bench, they escaped the hot room to prance around under the outdoor backyard shower.

After a bit of standing around steaming in the crisp air of an early fall night, my son asks.. “so, what do you want to do now?”  There was a whole list of things they could have chosen: TV, computer games, etc. etc. but a smile came to my face when I heard:   “Ummm.. I think I want to take another round.”

Taking a sauna with kids is a great way to reconnect: unplug from the screen, sit together and share an experience of simplistic therapy.  A virtual escape to a vintage cabin without electricty and distractions: share stories, or just sit quietly.  It’s the simple moments of parenting that count.  Family psychologists talk about the importance of eating a meal as a family, as a time when parents and their children can reconnect, and i’ll offer that a sauna presents the same opportunity.  If you’ve ever heard your child, or your child’s friend say , “Ummm.. I think I want to take another round” you’ll know what I mean.

Not sure where it came from, but hanging on our cabin wall is a little sign that reads:

cabin (ka ben) n. 1. a place where Minnesotans go every weekend to spend two days waiting for the fish to bite, the bugs to go away, and the sun to come out.  written by Lori Olson c. 1985

Now, i’m not about to start picking away at her glass half empty typical Minnesotan style, Garrison Keillor would be proud.  What I will take to task, however, is that one need not sit looking out the window wishing for the sun to come out.  Weather happens whether we wish, will, or whine about it.  With a sauna, a rainy day is a WONDERFUL day.

Every cabin/cottage should have a sauna, an insurance policy against cabin fever and Murphy’s Law.  Chances are a family reunion will fall on a weekend when a misty morning builds into a downpour by dinner.  We’ve turned a long rainy day into a wild fun party, speakers turned out the windows, floaty toys bobbing around the dock, and even an awesome game of Bocce Ball, all in the rain, thanks to the sauna, humming along, providing warmth and joy and a new outlook on a rainy day.

Does your cabin/cottage have a sauna?  If not, what is your weather insurance policy?

We have the drinking water issue covered in this post here, but what do you like to eat after a long sauna party?  I have experienced folks who dive enthusiastically into a candy bar (very American) and Finn’s traditionally break bread and slice up salty makkara sausage, but for me, I’ve refined my after sauna food to:

1. Pretzels – little sodium replenishment and no oily fats.
2. Cheese – dairy protein jives much better at night than meat protein.
3. Fruit – natural vitamins and fiber via Granny Smith apples or any fresh fruit.

These three foods work well together, without any red dye #5 or poly-splenda-msg-benzoate.

I sleep great after this light snack… Any other suggestions?

Ever threw a party and nobody showed?  Ever threw a party and everybody showed?  Well we had 10 at this sauna party.  Most sauna parties flow well with 4-5, but double the bodies, you’d think it would be log jam in the sauna.  However, we had flow.  If you want to have a big sauna party, I encourage you to:

1. Set your sauna party date far in advance, so folks can get it on their calendars.
2. Set your sauna party for a time and date that is easy for people.  This sauna party was on a Thursday, and most folks had Friday off work.
3. Remind your invitees personally of the upcoming sauna party with a phone call or two and a personal email.
4. Keep your sauna stove hot.  More bodies and more in and out traffic can cool your sauna faster.

My sauna in Minneapolis is NOT a big sauna (about 6′x7′).  However, what works with my sauna is flow.  A good sauna party is as much the vibe in other spaces as in the sauna room.  I took a moment a couple times throughout the night to analyze the sauna party flow, and here is a typical snap shot:

• 4 people in the sauna room.
• 2 people talking outside by the shower after a sauna round.
• 2 people playing ping pong between sauna rounds.  (I had set up my ping pong table in the garage).
• 1 person trying to talk to me, as I walked around and counted what everyone else was doing.

How can a 6×7 sauna keep up with 10 sauna enthusiasts?  Well, I encourage you to do the sauna party math:

SAUNA PARTY EQUATION:

1. take the number of people at your sauna party
2. multiply by 3 (avg. number of rounds for a good sauna session)
3. multiply by 1/3  (avg. sauna round is about 20 minutes or 1/3 hr.)
4. divided by total hours of your sauna party (my sauna parties usually run from 9 pm – midnight)
5. equal average number in your sauna at one time.

10 people x 3 rounds x 1/3 hour / 3 hours = 3.333 people in the sauna at one time.  Perfect.

The great thing about a sauna party is that people are free to do what they want, when they want, and can mix conversation with others at the sauna party.  It’s like one of those cocktail parties where the host puts numbers under the chairs and has people divide into odd and even and play charades.   You don’t need such chenanigans with a sauna party.  Like it says on the laundry detergent box:  Heat up, rinse, cool down, visit, repeat.

There are so many “threes” relating to saunas:

Three major attributes of saunas.

1. Health and Wellness
2. Escape
3. Green

Three sauna rounds make for a complete sauna.

1. Round 1: heat up and cold rinse
2. Round 2: induce loyly (steam), sweat heavy, and cold rinse
3. Round 3: sweat heavy, muscle stretch, skin cleanse and clean rinse

When you build your own sauna,  consider the three zones for optimal sauna enjoyment

1. sauna room: 7′ high ceiling max.  optimize your cubic footage, consider bench height.
2. changing room: lots of hooks, music and small fridge for cold water and beverages, good flow.
3. outdoor patio: outdoor shower, nice sitting area to chill out and look at the stars, privacy, buffer.

Three beers make for a good sauna party.

Three guests make for a fun sauna party.

Three hours is about how long a good sauna party lasts.

Ever heard the one about fish and guests both start to stink after three days?   3 saunas a week can minimize this.