Imagine stepping out of the concrete labyrinth of a bustling city, not into another busy indoor space, but into a peaceful oasis of wood beneath an open sky. The gentle crackle of a wood-fired stove and the crispness of the evening air embrace you. This is no polar plunge for the body but rather a new sensation. The modern outdoor sauna. More than a trend, this beautiful phenomenon hints at a revolution for wellness culture.
The fitness industry has been utilizing the indoor sauna at gyms and spas as a space to unwind for some eternity, but a new desire brews for a deeper healing connection. No more stifled functional traditional saunas, outdoor saunas are becoming the new darling for healing. A hot haven that combines all the good of outdoor sauna cabin experiences, and all the wonderful healing that simply existing in nature can bring. An intrinsic longing in our holistic selves for a response to a chaotic urban existence of people, where our healing should come from not solely our bodies, but from our minds and spirits by reconnecting with Mother Nature.
The Sauna: A Cleansing Detox in Nature
The main difference and allure of an outdoor sauna is simply its location and integration with nature. Rather than indoors in a closed intimate opus, an outdoor sauna offers a scintillating sensory experience. The healing ramps up even as we step out of the home to stroll to the backyard cabin or barrel by the lake.This simple transition from the house to nature at work is the prelude to a mental transition, a gearing down of the mind out of its digital stressors.
Once inside, it's a different world. A house with large windows and/or a strategically open door to a garden, forest or body of water means that this instance of heat therapy will be accompanied by falling snow, rustling leaves, a star specked sky. Feeling the dry heat while watching the cool living world beyond creates cognitive dissonance that many people report as grounding, even meditative. The natural world is a full participant in the healing ritual rather than merely an accessory to the physical detox.
Everything about the cool-down after the hot therapy is transformed. No longer do the freshly detoxed greet the cooling waters in the tiled room of the indoor shower; they plunge into the tub, roll in the snow, or stand in the pure air, enacting on the skin the feelings of being hot and cold with an intensity that the indoor facility can't begin to match. This practice of thermoregulation performed in the raw elements is said to boost circulation, strengthen, the immune system and wake the senses like nothing else.
The outdoor sauna is already an instrument of mental wellness, a site of digital detox. Life in a city is the quasi-permanent state of being overstimulated, suffering the ills of noise pollution, knowing the barrage of electronic notifications. The outdoor sauna is a Sanctuary for Mental Wellness. The very siting of these structures far from the house is a decision to practice meaningful digital disconnection.To leave your phone in the house and step outside into a sweating room is then a small but powerful act of mindfulness. Now wrapped in warm quiet in a space lined with cedar or hemlock, your mind will have received the message to slow down; the sound of the heater, the smell of the hot oils you breathe in the hot air encouraging a meditative state of present moment awareness. For urbanites struggling with anxiety and burnout, this is a gift. Put it outdoors and look toward the river or the pines; science has found that simply gazing on a natural landscape lowers levels of cortisol, quickens respond a decrease in rumination and fosters a general sense of calm. It is the kind of space for a different sorrow or social connection or for some favorite isolation. One can have quiet solo sessions of internal processing of one's day, or intimately device-free chats with family or friends. A multi-sensory mode of "in-the-now" exploration has been said to lead to meaningful interaction without distraction; perhaps here the remedy to our shared ailment of hyper-connectivity is found. The outdoor sauna is a health regimen for rebuilding resilience.
Architectural Grace and Customization
"This is the story of the rise of the outdoor sauna is also a story of aesthetic appeal and personality. Traditional indoor saunas can be almost utilitarian, tagged on as a kind of shed, accessory space to some other principal house.Outdoor saunas, on the other hand, have become destinations in their own right, attracting the user as a centerpoint for the garden, patio or waterfront. They have fast become part of our personal style, a statement of personal lifestyle values, available in stunning designs from minimalist Finnish classic cabins to sleek modern cubes, from charming barrel sauna to beautiful pods, they can beautify your property and provide a special "wellness zone" as an addition or accent to your property.
Of course there is also the satisfaction of ownership if space allows. For city dwellers with limited yard space, compact and beautiful outdoor portable saunas transform an underutilized nook corner of the yard into a private retreat and are a tangible investment in one's health and life quality. There is enjoyment in itself in the planning and choosing of location, design and heating method (wood fired, electric, and infrared), itself a home project that brings the user into closer relationship to the practice of sauna.
Versatility allows the user to build upon each personal sauna kit in an unlimited number of ways, and they are often used in conjunction with the cold plunge pool, outdoor showering and meditation deck or relaxing in the glow of a fire. The capability of creating a personalized healing environment in your own back yard, scaled to your taste and space is what makes the outdoor sauna practical and super-attractive to the modern urban individual wanting autumn to winter and spring to summer control of their self-care routine.
A Return to Ritual, and Season
Finally, we have the experience of thousands of years of human experience in touch with the seasons. In the climate controlled spaces, we lose touch with the seasonal passage until we spend "time at the door" so to speak. Before you know it, it's winter again, or fall, again, or summer is gone again as it gives itself one last fling in glorious enjoyment. When we do sauna outdoors, we re-engage powerfully and pleasurably. Sauna is simply a different experience in summer, fall, winter and spring. Each time of year makes sauna a unique event tied to the time of year. Here, ritual is of the essence. Gathering the wood, activating the fire, waiting for stones to heat, and moving through the cycles of heat and cool is mindful ceremony, an activity of immense gratification compared to flipping a switch for an indoor electric sauna. The ritual slows us down, makes us patient, engenders anticipation and grammar of reward. Wellness becomes enshrined as a practice, with a beginning, middle and end.
This seasonal engagement is especially miraculous. The tingling righteous shock of jumping first into the delight of plunge cold water in the dead of winter after a fusion of intense heat in the sauna. Or, luxuriating in the soft, slightly woody warm glow of the sauna on a cool autumn rainy night. It brings us to the moment and the cycle again, affording us stark contrast to the artificial monotony of a climate controlled indoor existence.
So, outdoor, sauna "delivers the goods". In place of heat, plot and place, authours' of re-enchantment and bitter sweet elemental healing are at your door.
