The Art of Taking Sauna

NOTHING TAKES THE CHILL OUT OF WINTER LIKE A SAUNA

Marquette, MI – In my opinion, no retirement is complete without the use of a sauna. Nothing takes the chill out of those aging bones like a warm baking in a 150 degree oven for a half hour at the end of a busy day of golf or fishing.

A glance at a world map will show you that Finland is even farther north than the northernmost United States.  To say that it gets cold in Finland is like calling the Titanic a boating accident.  Consequently, Finns have learned to deal with these horrid Ice Ages we call winters.

Being a true Finn, I built a sauna in my basement and my parents had one for as long as I could remember.  Some of my earliest memories were of cold, wintry Saturday nights spent in the luxurious warmth of the family sauna, or of coming home from ice skating and leaving a trail of wet clothing on my way to that fabulous, 150-degree heat.

During my travels, I’ve also taken saunas in backyards, basements and on beaches, in motels, gymnasiums, health clubs, and on military bases and college campuses.

Inside view from an all cedar wood contemporary sauna at The Second Street Sauna in Marquette, MI. (photo by Ron Caspi)

Consequently,I consider myself qualified to render an opinion on the proper way to take a sauna.

First, we must distinguish what a sauna is and what it is not.  Those luke-warm piano crates with the high ceilings that you find in motel chains are not saunas.  They are stuffy imitations of Phoenix in June.

Some say a sauna should use only dry heat and that the addition of steam makes it a Turkish bath.  This is not accurate.  A genuine Finnish sauna incorporates both dry and steamy heat, produced by a variety of liquids, which are dumped on lake rocks piled atop a glowing woodstove. Water is the recommended liquid.  Liquid is also dumped into the participant as a coolant.  For this part of the procedure, beer is the recommended liquid.

A wood-fired sauna is the best and the driest.  Not only can you make it as hot as you can stand, some might also use it as a portable incinerator around tax time.

When its temperature approaches that of the sun-side of the planet mercury, the sauna is ready.  You must proceed inside very slowly or air movement will singe your skin.  If you fail to wet everything down before use, you may come across a nail head that didn’t get countersunk, and has become a small but excruciating branding iron for your most sensitive body parts.

For best results, bake in the dry heat for awhile, stretching and relaxing.  This will enable you to stay in the sauna longer.  After several minutes, throw a half-dipper of water on the stove’s rocks.  Now you will know what a poached egg feels like. Sweat follows immediately, like a burp after a chugged beer. Repeat until your skin turns lobster red or your eyes disappear behind your nose.

Sauna accessories: bucket, ladle, and birch branches for stimulating circulation. (dollarphotoclub.com)

Long ago, around the time Caesar conquered Gaul, I used to use the sauna in the men’s locker room at the local university.  One day, in the early fall, the basketball team was sitting in there, the temperature a pleasant 140 degrees.  I walked in with a paper cup full of water and asked if anyone minded if I poured it on the rocks.  I could tell by their expressions that they considered me a person best humored.  I think one or two of them actually thought I intended to cool down the stove.  A few seconds after the steam hit, I had the sauna to myself.

I once knew a big half-Swede who claimed he could out-sauna me. He was pretty good and managed to stay with me until he looked like a melting candle.  By the time he finally crawled out, it was hot enough to melt lead in there.

If you are using a sauna that provides access to a lake or snowbank, go ahead and take a plunge.  Only check the snowdrift before you dive, unlike my cousin, Carl, who once dove into a snow-covered woodpile.  If you intend to jump into a lake, it helps to break the ice first.

After you’ve showered, shaved and performed whatever hygienic rituals you must, a cold beer is the crowning touch.  Bring along plenty, because the first two or three will go down mighty fast.

Ah, the good life!

You can find the Second Street Sauna in Marquette, MI on the corner of Second Street and College Ave. Look for the beautiful eagle carving in front of the building and the red neon sign signaling that the saunas are fired up and ready for use!

Click here for more info about our local community sauna business since 1930! 

Click here to read about the health benefits of sauna use!

by David Aho

I am a retired corrections officer who has written extensively over the years for local papers and magazines. A father of three and grandfather of two, I devote my energies and inabilities to family, writing, golf, exercise and playing percussion. (This causes me to stay up late at night and drink beer, darn it.) My wife, Diane, and I live in Marquette with our German Shepherd, Gunther, who diligently pursues any manner of play that causes me to leave my La-Z-Boy. I am an alumnus of MTU and NMU and a Navy veteran of the Viet Nam era. I’ve been a small business owner, salesman, carpenter, auto body repairman, steeplejack, export company manager, cartoonist, corrections officer and I’ve written a crime-fiction novel called “Good Looking Out” which is based in Michigan and available through www.lulu.com under the pseudonym David Michaels.

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