Sauna Mondays

As part of my wellness in 2021 I've decided to enjoy weekly sauna sessions every Monday! After having the pleasure and good fortune of visiting Finland a few years ago I became totally obsessed with sauna but didn't have the opportunity, at home, to enjoy it in the same way I did while visiting. Birthday suit in a wet sauna cranked up to 220 degrees and beer in hand was the way the Fins taught me and I needed it to be this way and this way only.

For years, I searched for such an experience and came up empty handed every time but about five weeks ago I hung out with a close friend of mine and noticed that he had a special glow about him. I asked him what was up and he told me that he had been going to sauna for the last few weeks. I asked him if it was Finish wet sauna and he said yes, at that point, I knew my search had finally ended! The expression of amazement and joy on my face prompted him to invite me which I gladly accepted.

The following Monday we packed up his hippy van which read, Fuck 45, on the side and made our way to SE Portland. He had explained to me that this sauna was unique because it was a mobile Sauna. I asked him what he meant by mobile Sauna and he explained that his friend had built a custom sauna inside of a trailer complete with wood fire oven and solar panels. I could not wait for this experience! Once we got there we walked through the driveway along the side of the house and there it was, a trailer, complete with sauna and solar panels. Once we passed the mobile sauna I noticed a dunk tank filled with water, some patio furniture, a bbq grill and a gazebo area beyond that.

The gazebo area/changing room had some benches for seating, cubies to put our clothes in and some party lights going. The table in the middle was arranged with water and snacks which included carrots, chips and cheese, and after meeting the owner, I was content with the setup and asked how this all worked. He said, in a crazy accent I had never heard before, that I get undressed, grab a towel and enter the sauna at my leisure. The only rule was that once the water was poured on to the hot rocks we could not leave the sauna for 90 seconds. I was fine with this, got undressed and made my way in.

The sauna was a small space with 2 benches stacked on top of each other as you would see in any other sauna and a wood fire oven that heated the place in one corner. It smelled amazing inside and it brought me right back to my time in Finland. I put my towel down on the top bench and gave a huge sigh of relief, the time had come!

There I was, an American, sweating my ass off, completely naked and felt that I was right at home. After sitting in the sauna for a few minutes our host joined us and put water on the rocks. I felt like a lobster being boiled alive but I got used to it fairly quickly and started to really sweat. After a while longer, I was really hot however and decided that I needed to get out for a bit. They reminded me before leaving that I needed to dunk in the tank outside and that it would be an amazing experience. I was terrified because cold water was not what I had imagined after a hot sauna but I mustered up the courage and went for it. I stepped in the tank and laid down quickly also dunking my head under water. Wow, ouch, what the hell?! I lasted for just a second and got out of the tank but to my surprise I wasn't cold. In fact, it seemed the heat was locked inside my body and found myself in the slight rain, naked, feeling like I was on top of the world.

My friend did the same right after me after which we went into the gazebo to relax for a moment and have some snacks. This was an absolute amazing experience and I enjoyed it a few more times over the course of an hour and half.

Today, I'm ready for my 5th week of sauna! Sauna is usually a social event so I've already met some other amazing people. It's also very therapeutic and is said to be excellent for your skin, heart and circulatory system. I will say that my skin has benefited from it and I have the same glow that my friend had when he had first introduced me to this experience. I highly recommend sauna to anyone interested!

Have you ever been in a sauna? Do you have an interesting story to tell? Let me know in the comments!

Your friend,
qwoyn

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