“Don’t fuck with the water bucket.”

Dub had heard and read a lot about me – “sauna guru” – but the last thing I was looking for was a pedestal to stand on.

We were settling into round one in one of my favorite saunas in the world, along the North shore of Lake Superior in Northeast Minnesota and Dub was questioning me about sauna rules.

“Ok, Close the door.  That’s a sauna rule.”  Other than that, I said, there aren’t too many more.

Dub considered this for a few moments, then, hungry for more information:

“So, what’s another sauna rule?”

“Well”, I said, looking around, and pointing to the water bucket:  “Don’t waste the water or drip sweat in there.”

A few more silent moments.

“OK, I get that rule, don’t fuck with the water bucket.  But what else?”

“That’s all you need for rules, Dub.”

Between rounds, we talked about enjoying the cool down.  Not so much as a rule, but as an exercise of consciousness.

Sauna is a celebration of freedom.  Few rules.