You can see why a sauna door window is a good idea

A sauna door with no window at all

The only time to build a sauna door with no window at all is if you are living with your in-laws and you can only build the sauna in their laundry room.  In law underwear:  “ugghhhhhh” (voice of Simpsons’ Sideshow Bob after he gets hit with a rake).

A sauna door with a full length window

This set up is best reserved for a very public sauna, or a very private sauna.  Full length sauna door windows work in health clubs because they create an open feel to what is beyond: usually a pool area.  Further, young kids love to stand in front of out swing doors.  Sauna users can see everything going on beyond a sauna door with a full length window.  A very private space, like Gweneth Paltrow’s bathroom, allows for openness and connectivity to a private spa area.  In this instance, there is no concern for nude-ing up and being fully exposed because it is the antithesis of a mobile sauna parked in the middle of a winter carnival.  This is a private gig.

I recommend that all sauna doors have a small window.

When I build my sauna doors, I like to cut in a modest sized 12″x12″ window.  This is in addition to installing a candle window between the hot room to the changing room,.  Why?  A 12″ square window has feng shui, good karma, and helps those of us with ADD: “Where’s my water bottle”?

We can see through the window in our sauna door with full intention.

• We look through the window to check the temp, or to see how the fire’s going.
• With a knock on the window and hand gesture, we silently ask if anyone needs a beer.
• We can look through the window and spot our towel, or our water bottle, or our sanity.
• And when it’s all over, we give another knock and wave goodbye, “until next time.”

We can do all this and more, without having to open our sauna door.

A window in the sauna door connects the changing room with the hot room in a perfectly subtle way.

A sauna door window represents what we value in life when we are faced with change.  Instead of blindly moving forward, we appreciate a peek at where we are going next.  Wherever You Go, There You Are, may be Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life.  And in our case, we can look out before we walk in, and we can look in before we walk out, while still being present with where we are at that moment.  Heating up or cooling down.

As in sauna as in life: when one door closes, and you are ready to move, look for the window.