We live in a quick response culture:
We live in a quick response culture:- Have you ever sent off an email and before the Lumineers can sing “Ho, Hey” you get a chill up and down your spine… “Ugh, I shouldn’t have sent that!?”
- Have you ever barked something at your spouse, significant other, child and instantly, you regret it?
- Have you ever answered your boss with “let me sleep on it”, yet find instead you have to talk it through NOW and come to a decision?
Filled with overload addiction:
- Driving our car isn’t enough: we need to be talking on our phones, and gosh knows what else with our smart phones.
- Watching the news isn’t enough: we need the scrolling bar of *fresh* news rolling at the bottom of the screen to hold our attention.
- Email isn’t enough: we need instant messaging because people are too busy to answer their emails.
Quick response culture and overload addiction. They feed each other like pushing a shopping cart and hearing the “save big money” jingle at Menards. So much stimuli messing with our psyche, ends with wrong means. (ie. buying more shit, just to save money).
Sauna is different.
Sauna is about introspection. Relaxation. Slowing the clock down. Thinking. Processing naturally.
We need more of this.
For those too busy, note the big print above.
13 thoughts on “Sauna for a fast paced overstimulated world.”
https://porn-thai.org
www.hothdjizz.com
As I’ve said many times before, the sauna is my “reset button.” That’s the best way I’m able to make sense of the profound relaxation I get from my sauna at home. It never fails to remind me of what’s important in my life. I slow down, become incredibly relaxed, and the business from the day goes right down the drain. Great post Glenn.
You are preaching to the choir here. It always reminds me of the line in Shaw Shank Redemption when the older man was released into society after many years in prison. He said, “the world went and got itself in a great big hurry.” Great post.
What’s amazing to me, and also sad, is that we (sauna goers) know how amazing a sauna can be. Yet, so many in the U.S. find sauna’s to be mysterious or even down right scary. I’ve had a number of people tell me they’ve tried a sauna briefly at a hotel. I can assure you, not to sound snobbish, that if you’ve never heard the wood stove “pop”, seen the warm ambient glow of a sauna fire, had the bone-warming pleasure of a natural sauna, or felt snowflakes melt on your skin as you step out into a 20 degree day…….Then you’ve never had the pleasure of a “Real Sauna Experience”. So with that, I throw down the challenge to introduce your friends, family, neighbors, and local skeptics to experience what they’ve been missing. It’s my New Years Resolution! I think if the world were to have an annual Sauna Day our politicians, leaders, and families of America would have a better chance of getting back to the true importance of living our lives in the fast paced world in which we live. And we would all be better for it!
Great post, Glenn.
You hit the nail on the head, as usual.
Oh yeah – can’t rush a sauna. You hit the nail on the head Glenn. Love this site.
Can’t wait till I get mine built and ready to begin some introspection. Have the shed built, sauna stove has been delivered. Need to get frame done and start on insulation. Need to start de-stressing!
Nice post Glenn.
For this writer, the wood stove is a central element of the sauna experience. It adds a visceral living breathing spirit who’s entire purpose is to take you to the “sauna space”. The ritual of coaxing the stove/room up to temp during the hours leading up to Sauna gently reminds me to reflect on what sauna is about. As such, I often find myself taking several 5 or 10 minute breaks in the sauna during that time. Easing into the space, if you will.
While the traditional Finnish Sauna hasn’t changed much over the years, the importance of its role as a sanctuary from the outside world certainly has. To me, what’s so rare about the sauna is how it gets you far beyond the idea of slowing down. The sauna isn’t an intellectual exercise. It is an embodied experience. The sauna bakes the slowness into your bones. You remember what it’s like to FEEL slow. In a time when all the information in the world is just a click away, it feels more important, novel and exciting than ever to reconnect with embodied knowledge such as this. Thanks for the reminder, Glenn, and thanks for everything you do help people experience this for themselves.
I love my sauna. Its like having a prescribed time for myself to read, think listen to music or talk to my spouse. It cant be rushed, its a process that helps me to slow down and enjoy the moment. In this world that got itself in a big hurry its a place of contemplation and profound relaxation.
Yep. Like my father in law used to say. “I don’t know where we are going but we’re making great time!”
Love that there are counter balances to all the craziness. Times of community and introspection and saunas fit the bill. Can’t wait to get back in one on the island. Thanks for the reminder, Glenn!
There’s a special at Menards? Did it expire?
Juuuust kidding. it is good that we get away from the firehose of information whilst in the sauna.
As I live in a “sauna’s starting to warm up” climate and culture, I see, for most, the sauna slow-down-the-clock mentality for most and, for some, it’s more of a throw-the-clock-out the window. I come from the “the big print above” mentality racing around this sauna country looking like Speedy Gonzales, even the Tasmanian Devil at times.
A Sanctuary from the Outside. I like that.
Thanks for such a pleasant thread starter.
I definitely enjoy the time slowing down or being completely still feeling of being in the sauna.
Ultimately the modern world requires a lot of automaticity(is that a word?) making any resistance to pre-occupy one’s self with the constant noise difficult. the more ways of connecting the more unconnected we become in the real life or non-virtual environment.
For example, it’s hard to give that attractive passerby a nod and a wink if they are staring at their tiny screen texting about what they had for lunch to their best friend who they probably see everyday.
I think outlets for escape, like saunas, rock climbing, wilderness hiking, etc will become a bigger trend and passion as people discover their necessities away from the barrage of information.