Guest post series continues. Today we head back to Sipoonjoki Heritage Sauna, outside Helsinki, Finland where Laura walks us through the deep essence of sauna through three elements: leaves, lores and löyly. Welcome Laura!
Leaves, the touch of nature.
Lores, the songs of the generations before.
Löyly, the spirit of sauna, breath of life.
Inhale and exhale.
Sign of a living being.
Löyly comes, löyly goes. Heat is the consistent.
This is sauna.
The naked truth, you as you are.
Your voice being heard echoing ancient songs.
Expression, resonance. The words that have been sung by many before.
Soft touch of the forest. Touch without touching.
Scents unfolding memories you did not know you have.
Fragrances that guide you to different dimensions.
What is Saunotus?
Saunotus is the art of Finnish-style sauna healing treatments and ceremonies. Not even many Finns themselves fully realize the incredibly rich cultural heritage behind the Finnish sauna.
Saunotus means that there is a practitioner who guides sauna bathers through the bathing experience. Until the 1920s–1930s, sauna healers, bathers, and other practitioners played a prominent role in Finnish sauna culture.
This practice of guided sauna ceremonies performed at the turning points of the yearly cycle and life span along with sauna treatments, was largely forgotten. Saunotus brings it all back into practice: the use of forest gifts, sauna songs and runes, and the art of the guided sauna ritual.
The Finnish sauna is raw, naked, arctic. You undress and enter without titles, without the need to perform. You enter the kingdom of löyly. The Saunotus practitioner is a servant of the löyly. With the help of ancient sauna songs and runes as well as plants and herbs Saunotus practitioner is providing the guidance and tools needed for your journey to the core of sauna, the breath of life.
Löyly.
– Love and Löyly, Laura, “Sauna-Akka”
For more with Laura, please check out or joint podcast episode available here.