One does not TAKE a sauna; one GOES to the sauna

Abstract

Bathing was once about an empathetic relationship with nature; exposing oneself to the environment and letting nature becoming a part of oneself to cleanse and purify the body and mind. As a society, we live in a world where the acceleration of technology has connected us with a digital world that is always at our fingertips; with speed and efficiency at the forefront. Even our bathing process has been accelerated. Bathing was once a process of a public session lasting an entire morning or afternoon, and now done by taking a ten minute shower in isolation, completely removed from nature. The journey within bathing is intended to be accompanied by friends, family, neighbours and welcomed guests as a community exercise of social discourse and collective purification. Public bathing was near extinction after World War II with the emergence of urban sprawl accompanied by the development of larger homes. In particular, the sauna shifted from an open communal experience, to a private and isolated action within the confinements of the dwelling. As a society, technology has us cognitively processing at rapid speeds and for long durations, influencing a pandemic of stress and mental health issues globally. People need more opportunities to step away where time stands still and technology is muted, to detox and cleanse their mind of the stresses of the day. Bathing is about a journey of spiritually and physically immersing the body’s sensuality in a relationship with nature, to cleanse both the body and the mind. The framework of public bathing is more necessary than ever and with the city of Sudbury already having a deeply rooted sauna culture from Finnish immigration in the late nineteenth century, now is an appropriate time to re-introduce a public sauna as an outlet to cleansing. An opportunity arises to connect to the lake culture that already exists in Sudbury, by experiencing the journey to a floating sauna located in the heart of Sudbury on Ramsey Lake. This can further support the summer canoe culture and the winter ice fishing culture already identified, as a community nexus built on linking the journey with nature, as a social hub, and most importantly cleansing the body and the mind.