Date:

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

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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.

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?

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?

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.

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.

• A Friday afternoon sauna party is a great time to wind down, getting your work week over and some closure to the ‘to do list’ of the week.  A great precursor to a sauna party is finishing all your work stuff!
• A Friday afternoon sauna party is a great primer for your evening plans: whether it’s heading out to dinner or over to friends or even to another sauna party!  It’s great to get clean and refreshed for your Friday night’s activities, or just wear a bathrobe over to your next sauna party.
• A Friday afternoon sauna party may just be a party on it’s own.  I’ve had Friday afternoon sauna parties that bleed nicely into the evening.  Order a pizza, or fire up the grill and invite more friends.  This sauna party AS a party is a traditional thing in Scandinavia.  Look for more information on sauna parties, and traditional Finnish style on a later post.

I love Friday nights.  Knocking off work and hitting the sauna by 4 pm on Friday is a ritual for me.  It’s a party on it’s own.

1. Wilco
2. My Morning Jacket
3. Burning Spear

The commonality of these three artists is as follows:

All three have an uncanny ability to build a rhythm, not often fast, yet methodical and pleasant  (Company In My Back- Wilco, Lay Low-MMJ, Mistress Music- BS)  then have bridges and breaks, then return to the rhythm.. all analogous to rounds in a sauna.  Consistency of rhythm (heat) with breaks and bridges (rounds).

A great sauna music mix- shuffle these 3 albums:

• Burning Spear – Live in Paris ‘88
• My Morning Jacket – Z
• Wilco – Kicking Television

These three lps all capture the value of great rhythms, complimented by bridges and breaks.  All three are recorded live and in the pinnacles of each band’s career.  The sounds of each are crisp and solid… and the cheering of fans after one track mixes wonderfully with whichever track comes next in your 3 lp shuffle.  It’s a great feeling how, in your little sauna, you can bring in recorded moments of wonderfully live music, and as the fans cheer, it’s like a cold water plunge after 20 minutes in 180 degree sauna music heat.

3.5 hours of great sauna music.  Check it out!

Every genre has some slow jams. even the most aggressive music, be it The Clash, Hold Steady or Fela Kuti can turn their angst or knack for protest into a groove that goes well with clearing the mind. In the end, a center is met when the two are mixed, just like a hot and cold rinse.  With The Clash it’s easy to find a more traditional approach to groove, be it a reggae infused rave up; “Guns of Brixton“, “Straight to Hell”, their luscious cover of “Armagideon Time” or the R&B influence in “Jimmy Jazz”.

Ultimately The Hold Steady is a sound that bonds.  Reflections of High School, meeting friends and rocking out, or gallivanting about the celebration of something.  Sauna is a bonding thing too because there is a physical closure to the space you and your buddies are enjoying: the hot room.  Then you escape the heat by going outside, cooling down and feeling the expanse like the loud pressure Craig Finn and his crew powering up a club and bonding the masses.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti was mostly known for his politics and the company he kept.  His Shrine in Kalakutta, Nigeria not only was a gathering place for him and his brethren but also protection from the outside policies and dangers of the government they feared.  Electrifying the stage and the audience at his performances fueled an inner energy and outer confidence in communal and spiritual environment.  The slow groove of everyday Afrobeat compliments the ritual even in remote suburban environments where perhaps the trouble is not as fierce.

Essentially the rhythm of funk flavored African, the straight up American soul or the most technical approach to what moves sonically and has a beat.  The ever resourceful technical Dosh is an artist well suited for the sauna… check him out between or during rounds!

One other note.. these three guys are sitting way too close for my comfort.  check out the sparse crowd.