The Sauna

I have been craving a sauna since I don't even know when. Maybe it was around the time I first experienced a sauna, and I don't even know when that was.

Two years ago, the sauna crave came on strong and I asked around hoping to find one. No one new where there was one. Certainly not in the gym on campus. It doesn't even have a steam room. I gave up and let the crave simmer down. 

This past winter I came across a book that my grandma has about Finnish saunas. I flipped through it.

And the crave came on real strong.

I tried to keep the drool from hitting the page. Stopped myself from jumping up and searching for a sauna right then and there. Thought about the soonest I might be able to get in a sauna. Thought about the soonest I might be able to build my own sauna. Wondered why I have such an intense desire to sit in a sauna. 

I am only 25% Finnish. Though I contest that this 25% comes out very strong. I think my family would agree. 

So, suddenly, in a passionate loathing of my skin I asked my friend Sam if there was a sauna in the Humana gym, just a few blocks off campus near his apartment. It's a very old gym. 

He said yes. 

I nearly jumped out of my skin. 

I went there today. I drank a lot of water before I left because I planned on running first. I ran two miles, drank a lot of water, turned the sauna on, put my swimsuit on, and got in.

I was pleased with the sauna itself. It was very small, and all wood, though it had a standard electric heater and a gap between the door and the floor. I've been in one that had a glass and metal door, the door got really hot. I've also been in one with all tile floors and seats, slippery, ick. 

I sat in the sauna for about 20 minutes, got a good sweat going. I wouldn't have stayed in so long but I sat in there while it heated up. I'll have to give it more time to heat up so I can do a couple 10-minute cycles.

I meditated. I prayed. I sweated.

It felt good. I felt good.

I'm going to do it again. And again. And again. Until I have to leave this sauna. Then I'll find a new one. 

The Finnish sauna is many things. Least of all, hot. It is healthful, refreshing, sobering. It requires patience and determination, sisu. It is not for everyone.

...

I was going to add more pictures of saunas so I Googled them and they were all like slightly sexual, too modern, or staged. It was weird. I'll take a pic next time I go. Maybe Wednesday.

Here's what a sauna should look like:

You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find  picture of a traditional (looking) sauna online. Goodness.