SaunaScape

I’ve been a Lifehacker fan since its beginning. While some of their topics are obscure geekdom, the occasional tip about a new piece of software or website that ends up saving me hours makes it a daily stop on my morning review of the news. I was really interested this morning when I saw their new post “How to Hack Your Bathroom into a Home Sauna.”

I had to check the calendar to make sure today isn’t April 1. It isn’t.

Holy sh*t Lifehacker. What will you stoop to for linkbait?

The post is chock full of lots of crazy ideas and very few concrete details, like:

If you plan to install a wood-burning stove, you’ll need to fire-proof the walls and roof around the stove. Particle board isn’t cheap, but this is one area you don’t want to skimp on.

If you don’t have an air vent in the bathroom, don’t make one: the gap under the bathroom door will work just fine.

Um, NO NO NO NO NO!

If you’re putting a wood burning stove anywhere enclosed, you need to make sure you have proper ventilation. If you don’t you’ll end up at best poisoning yourself and at worst asphyxiating yourself and your whole family in your project. Especially if you follow their instructions to build a sauna stove:

A wood burning stove can easily be made from a junk yard gas canister. Use a cheap angle grinder to lop off the top, then just find a metal bucket, cut a hatch and fit the flue.

Those are the instructions. All of them. Now go forth and build one of these and put it in your house!

Please don’t follow these instructions. We value you as a reader too much to have you kill yourself in a home-made deathtrap.

If you’re really set on building your own sauna in your home, buy a good book like How to Build Your Own Sauna & Sweat by Mikkel Aaland, The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath by Rob Roy, or Hot Tubs, Saunas & Steam Baths: A Guide to Planning and Designing your Home Health Spa by Alan Sanderfoot.

If you don’t want to shell out the dollars for a book, then visit Sauna Times or Kalle Hoffman’s Sauna Pages. Both offer plenty of free advice and detailed plans for building your own saunas and sauna stoves.

And unless you really, really know what you’re doing, build your first DIY wood stove sauna in a shed, far away from your home and anything else flammable.

Meanwhile, watch for these exciting posts coming soon to Lifehacker: “Improve your mood: Hack your bathtub and a toaster into your own electro-convulsive therapy system” and “Hack your own Botox from cans you fish out of your grocer’s dumpster!”

I've been a Lifehacker fan since its beginning. While some of their topics are obscure geekdom, the occasional tip about a new piece of software or website that ends up saving me hours makes it a daily stop on my morning review of the news. I was really interested this morning when I saw their new post "How to Hack Your Bathroom into a Home Sauna." I had to check the calendar to make sure today isn't April 1. It isn't. Holy sh*t Lifehacker. What will you stoop to for linkbait? The post is chock full of lots of crazy ideas and very few concrete details, like: If you plan to install a wood-burning stove, you'll need to fire-proof the walls and roof around the stove. Particle board isn't cheap, but this is one area you don't want to skimp on. If you don't have an air vent in the bathroom, don't make one: the gap under the bathroom door will work just fine. Um, NO NO NO NO NO! If you're putting a wood burning stove anywhere enclosed, you need to make sure you have proper ventilation. If you don't you'll end up at best poisoning yourself and at worst asphyxiating yourself and your whole family in your project. Especially if you follow their instructions to build a sauna stove: A wood burning stove can easily be made from a junk yard gas canister. Use a cheap angle grinder to lop off the top, then just find a metal bucket, cut a hatch and fit the flue. Those are the instructions. All of them. Now go forth and build one of these and put it in your house! Please don't follow these instructions. We value you as a reader too much to have you kill yourself in a home-made deathtrap. If you're really set on building your own sauna in your home, buy a good book like How to Build Your Own Sauna & Sweat by Mikkel Aaland, The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath by Rob Roy, or Hot Tubs, Saunas & Steam Baths: A Guide to Planning and Designing your Home Health Spa by Alan Sanderfoot. If you don't want to shell out the dollars for a book, then visit Sauna Times or Kalle Hoffman's Sauna Pages. Both offer plenty of free advice and detailed plans for building your own saunas and sauna stoves. And unless you really, really know what you're doing, build your first DIY wood stove sauna in a shed, far away from your home and anything else flammable. Meanwhile, watch for these exciting posts coming soon to Lifehacker: "Improve your mood: Hack your bathtub and a toaster into your own electro-convulsive therapy system" and "Hack your own Botox from cans you fish out of your grocer's dumpster!"

Hammam Al-Basha in Israel, where the only bathers are made of bronze. Image via Wikipedia

Mention sauna and everyone knows what you are talking about. A sauna is that hot, wooden room that nearly every spa, hotel and gym has for its guests. The sauna is a meme in commercials for mundane things like car insurance, eyeglasses and food safety. Sauna is so common that it describes anything hot or that makes you sweat.

The hammam meanwhile is a novelty found only at luxury spas and a few obscure locations in the Middle East. Yet two centuries ago the hammam was common throughout the entire Ottoman Empire which nearly encircled the Mediterranean and extended well into the modern Arab world, while the sauna was almost unheard of. What happened to change this?

Dallas DeForest, an American PhD student in archaeology looks at the rise of the sauna and the decline of the hammam on his blog, Mediterranean Palimpsest.

The area known as Finland had been a territory of the Kingdom of Sweden since the 13th century. In the early 1800′s, the Russians conquered Finland and annexed it as a Russian state. By the mid-1800s, a nationalist movement began within Finland to restore its identity. The Finnish language was revived, books of Finnish folklore were published, and the sauna was adopted as a symbol of all things Finnish. Mr. DeForest explains how the sauna was the ideal symbol for Finland:

The sauna works here in totality. In the sauna all are equal and without rank. Nudity is a means of breaking down social barriers by removing all evidence of one’s rank. Finnish identity also means individualism, self-reliance and sometimes isolation. This ideal is expressed through a forest/nature discourse, in which the ideal is a cottage in the woods, next to a lake, with a sauna, and the requisite supplies to live. Here the Finn lives alongside and is integrated with rugged nature, even defined by it, as free and equal.

He notes that although the Finns adopted the sauna, its origins are not exclusively Finnish. Several other cultures had long traditions of bathing in a hot wooden cabin, like the Russian Banya. This did not matter to the Finns. They had something to rally around.

In the years since then, the ideal of the Finnish sauna, “made of natural materials only, wood, stones and water, and it smells of nature when the birch is released into the air, or the logs become well-used,” has been used by many to denounce the hot baths of other cultures with a stronger pedigree, and even modern conveniences like the electric stove and infrared heating.

The hammam took the other route. At the time the sauna was gaining popularity in Finland, 1350 miles (2160km) to the south, the hammam was the center of the culture at the time. Again, from Mr. DeForest:

Hammams performed a variety of functions in Ottoman society from the 16^th until the 19^th century. They catered to the basic hygienic needs of neighborhood residents, their first and most important function; Muslims performed ritual ablutions in them on Thursday evenings and Friday mornings before mosque; certain rites of passage occurred in their halls (connected to marriage, birth, conversion to Islam, etc.); and they were important public spaces in the Ottoman city, especially for women. Typically, a hammam was a central feature of the mahalle, which centered on the local mosque (or church), a small plaza, school, and bath. Usually some 100-150 wooden houses clustered around these public buildings, which were made of stone. Some hammams gave their name to entire neighborhoods, and by 1768 so many had been built that [the Sultan] forbid the construction of anymore, since they were consuming too much of the city’s water supply.

In the 1800′s, the nationalism within the Ottoman Empire attacked the hammam. The Ataturk began a program of westernization: widening streets, building modern apartment buildings with bathrooms in the apartment, and a program of secularization. Each of these led to the demise of the hammam by removing the drivers that brought people there and demolishing many of the baths to make way for the construction projects. By 1939, fewer than 25 hammams remained in Istanbul. Today hammams are a novelty, mainly supported by foreign tourists.

You can read his full article “Nation Building and Baths: A Comparison between the Finnish Sauna and Ottoman Hammam” on his blog, which features several more articles on baths and bathing.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Hammam Al-Basha in Israel, where the only bathers are made of bronze. Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] Mention sauna and everyone knows what you are talking about. A sauna is that hot, wooden room that nearly every spa, hotel and gym has for its guests. The sauna is a meme in commercials for mundane things like car insurance, eyeglasses and food safety. Sauna is so common that it describes anything hot or that makes you sweat. The hammam meanwhile is a novelty found only at luxury spas and a few obscure locations in the Middle East. Yet two centuries ago the hammam was common throughout the entire Ottoman Empire which nearly encircled the Mediterranean and extended well into the modern Arab world, while the sauna was almost unheard of. What happened to change this? Dallas DeForest, an American PhD student in archaeology looks at the rise of the sauna and the decline of the hammam on his blog, Mediterranean Palimpsest. The area known as Finland had been a territory of the Kingdom of Sweden since the 13th century. In the early 1800's, the Russians conquered Finland and annexed it as a Russian state. By the mid-1800s, a nationalist movement began within Finland to restore its identity. The Finnish language was revived, books of Finnish folklore were published, and the sauna was adopted as a symbol of all things Finnish. Mr. DeForest explains how the sauna was the ideal symbol for Finland: The sauna works here in totality. In the sauna all are equal and without rank. Nudity is a means of breaking down social barriers by removing all evidence of one’s rank. Finnish identity also means individualism, self-reliance and sometimes isolation. This ideal is expressed through a forest/nature discourse, in which the ideal is a cottage in the woods, next to a lake, with a sauna, and the requisite supplies to live. Here the Finn lives alongside and is integrated with rugged nature, even defined by it, as free and equal. He notes that although the Finns adopted the sauna, its origins are not exclusively Finnish. Several other cultures had long traditions of bathing in a hot wooden cabin, like the Russian Banya. This did not matter to the Finns. They had something to rally around. In the years since then, the ideal of the Finnish sauna, "made of natural materials only, wood, stones and water, and it smells of nature when the birch is released into the air, or the logs become well-used," has been used by many to denounce the hot baths of other cultures with a stronger pedigree, and even modern conveniences like the electric stove and infrared heating. The hammam took the other route. At the time the sauna was gaining popularity in Finland, 1350 miles (2160km) to the south, the hammam was the center of the culture at the time. Again, from Mr. DeForest: Hammams performed a variety of functions in Ottoman society from the 16th until the 19th century. They catered to the basic hygienic needs of neighborhood residents, their first and most important function; Muslims performed ritual ablutions in them on Thursday evenings and Friday mornings before mosque; certain rites of passage occurred in their halls (connected to marriage, birth, conversion to Islam, etc.); and they were important public spaces in the Ottoman city, especially for women. Typically, a hammam was a central feature of the mahalle, which centered on the local mosque (or church), a small plaza, school, and bath. Usually some 100-150 wooden houses clustered around these public buildings, which were made of stone. Some hammams gave their name to entire neighborhoods, and by 1768 so many had been built that [the Sultan] forbid the construction of anymore, since they were consuming too much of the city’s water supply. In the 1800's, the nationalism within the Ottoman Empire attacked the hammam. The Ataturk began a program of westernization: widening streets, building modern apartment buildings with bathrooms in the apartment, and a program of secularization. Each of these led to the demise of the hammam by removing the drivers that brought people there and demolishing many of the baths to make way for the construction projects. By 1939, fewer than 25 hammams remained in Istanbul. Today hammams are a novelty, mainly supported by foreign tourists. You can read his full article "Nation Building and Baths: A Comparison between the Finnish Sauna and Ottoman Hammam" on his blog, which features several more articles on baths and bathing.  

"Worn Out" by Chris Fritz on Flickr

In our review of the news this morning, we happened across Sherie Bourg Carter’s January article on Psychology Today, “Energy Zappers: 10 Everyday Things That Drain Our Energy and Steal Our Time.” She talks about how to change these in your everyday life, but we see that you could change many of these with a regular sauna. She acknowledges this by closing her article with a quote made by Aulus Cornelius Celsus, the Roman physician and scientist in 25 BC:

Take massage, baths, exercise, and gymnastics. Fight insomnia with gentle rocking or the sound of running water.

Ms. Carter has several items on her list of energy zappers that can be cured by a sauna.

Tight Clothes are energy zappers. According to Ms. Carter, the restrictive fashions of today with their slimming panels and form-fitting designs restrict your ability to breathe freely, limiting your oxygen supply. At SaunaScape, frequent readers will know we advocate using the sauna naked, yet we frequently read stories from locker rooms of the modest refusing to enter a locker room sauna without their swimsuit or workout clothes. Leave your modesty and binding clothes behind and do something for yourself. When you are free of your clothes take some deep breaths and replenish your body’s oxygen supply.

Working Without a Break. Ms. Carter talks abot how the career-minded routinely work 10 or more hours without a break. This leads to energy zapping burnouts. Taking a gym break in the middle of the day, and using your gym’s sauna as a few minute refuge can help you reinvigorate yourself and have a more productive afternoon.

Negativity. If through our own thoughts or brought on by other people, negativity is a huge energy drain. The sauna, through a variety of mechanisms, has been proven to improve the moods of those who use it regularly.

Irregular Sleep Cycles. If you don’t have a consistent sleep-wake cycle, you can throw your internal circadian rhythm off, making you feel tired even on days when you had a good night’s sleep. One of the benefits of a good sauna session with a few cycles of heating and cooling  is that you sleep incredibly well after the session is over.

So to keep yourself energized, try out that sauna in your health club, at a hotel when you are traveling, or at a sauna establishment near you. Your body will thank you.

For more information, you can read  Sherie Bourg Carter’s blog on Psychology Today, “High Octane Women“, or read her book, “High-Octane Women: How Superachievers Can Avoid Burnout.”

Energy Zappers via Lifehacker.com

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="263" caption=""Worn Out" by Chris Fritz on Flickr"][/caption] In our review of the news this morning, we happened across Sherie Bourg Carter's January article on Psychology Today, "Energy Zappers: 10 Everyday Things That Drain Our Energy and Steal Our Time." She talks about how to change these in your everyday life, but we see that you could change many of these with a regular sauna. She acknowledges this by closing her article with a quote made by Aulus Cornelius Celsus, the Roman physician and scientist in 25 BC:   Take massage, baths, exercise, and gymnastics. Fight insomnia with gentle rocking or the sound of running water. Ms. Carter has several items on her list of energy zappers that can be cured by a sauna. Tight Clothes are energy zappers. According to Ms. Carter, the restrictive fashions of today with their slimming panels and form-fitting designs restrict your ability to breathe freely, limiting your oxygen supply. At SaunaScape, frequent readers will know we advocate using the sauna naked, yet we frequently read stories from locker rooms of the modest refusing to enter a locker room sauna without their swimsuit or workout clothes. Leave your modesty and binding clothes behind and do something for yourself. When you are free of your clothes take some deep breaths and replenish your body's oxygen supply. Working Without a Break. Ms. Carter talks abot how the career-minded routinely work 10 or more hours without a break. This leads to energy zapping burnouts. Taking a gym break in the middle of the day, and using your gym's sauna as a few minute refuge can help you reinvigorate yourself and have a more productive afternoon. Negativity. If through our own thoughts or brought on by other people, negativity is a huge energy drain. The sauna, through a variety of mechanisms, has been proven to improve the moods of those who use it regularly. Irregular Sleep Cycles. If you don't have a consistent sleep-wake cycle, you can throw your internal circadian rhythm off, making you feel tired even on days when you had a good night's sleep. One of the benefits of a good sauna session with a few cycles of heating and cooling  is that you sleep incredibly well after the session is over. So to keep yourself energized, try out that sauna in your health club, at a hotel when you are traveling, or at a sauna establishment near you. Your body will thank you. For more information, you can read  Sherie Bourg Carter's blog on Psychology Today, "High Octane Women", or read her book, "High-Octane Women: How Superachievers Can Avoid Burnout." Energy Zappers via Lifehacker.com

Sauna Yoga - Photo by Hanne Manelius, Copyright Sauna from Finland association

There have been several varieties of hot yoga practiced for years, but the association Sauna From Finland is taking it to a new level with their Sauna Yoga program. Unlike the popular Bikram Yoga that is practiced at 105°F (41°C), the Sauna Yoga program is practiced at a blistering 122°F (50°C) in a real Finnish Sauna.

According to Sauna From Finland:

The Sauna Yoga method combines different yoga styles in a half an hour leisured exercise. The poses are done carefully in tune with one’s body and kept on for long periods, making it comparable to slow gymnastics. The session starts with a meditative breathing exercise, followed by muscle strengthening exercises in a standing position and floor-based poses sitting up. The session ends with a whole body relaxation on the warm yoga mat. The technique helps the body gain strength and aids metabolism.

The recently launched first series of Sauna Yoga method have a strong emphasis on muscles groups in the upper and lower back. Further series are being developed with the intention of launching them in a seasonal cycle.

The program is one of many that are being developed by the Sauna From Finland society to help operators of Finland’s saunas find new ways to engage this sauna-crazy public. Who knows, maybe even Nokia’s Stephen Elop will finally embrace the sauna rather than fight it.

If you want more information about Sauna Yoga or the other services that Sauna From Finland offers, contact them via their website.

[caption id="attachment_784" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Sauna Yoga - Photo by Hanne Manelius, Copyright Sauna from Finland association"][/caption] There have been several varieties of hot yoga practiced for years, but the association Sauna From Finland is taking it to a new level with their Sauna Yoga program. Unlike the popular Bikram Yoga that is practiced at 105°F (41°C), the Sauna Yoga program is practiced at a blistering 122°F (50°C) in a real Finnish Sauna. According to Sauna From Finland: The Sauna Yoga method combines different yoga styles in a half an hour leisured exercise. The poses are done carefully in tune with one’s body and kept on for long periods, making it comparable to slow gymnastics. The session starts with a meditative breathing exercise, followed by muscle strengthening exercises in a standing position and floor-based poses sitting up. The session ends with a whole body relaxation on the warm yoga mat. The technique helps the body gain strength and aids metabolism. The recently launched first series of Sauna Yoga method have a strong emphasis on muscles groups in the upper and lower back. Further series are being developed with the intention of launching them in a seasonal cycle. The program is one of many that are being developed by the Sauna From Finland society to help operators of Finland's saunas find new ways to engage this sauna-crazy public. Who knows, maybe even Nokia's Stephen Elop will finally embrace the sauna rather than fight it. If you want more information about Sauna Yoga or the other services that Sauna From Finland offers, contact them via their website.

2011 has brought us two new sauna books from two established experts in the sauna field.

Sweat Therapy: A Guide to Greater Well-Being, was just published by friend of SaunaScape, Dr. Stephen Colmant. Dr. Colmant has built a psychology practice around sweat therapy based on hard evidence he has gleaned from scholarly publications and through his experiences with the Navajo nation. This isn’t new-age charlatanism or a get-rich quick infrared sauna or “sauna suit” scheme, but the real deal.

You can preview some of Sweat Therapy’s content in our earlier posts here and here. You can also check in with the PsychSymposium website, or follow the Sweat Therapy Facebook page for more information.

Mikkel Aaland, author of the long out-of-print, but soon-to-be film Sweat, also has a new book of his own: How to Build Your Own Sauna & Sweat, a 100-page booklet detailing much of the information about building your own sauna that he had previously published in “Sweat”.  He promises much of the information will also be posted on his new website: The Perfect Sweat.

2011 has brought us two new sauna books from two established experts in the sauna field. Sweat Therapy: A Guide to Greater Well-Being, was just published by friend of SaunaScape, Dr. Stephen Colmant. Dr. Colmant has built a psychology practice around sweat therapy based on hard evidence he has gleaned from scholarly publications and through his experiences with the Navajo nation. This isn't new-age charlatanism or a get-rich quick infrared sauna or "sauna suit" scheme, but the real deal. You can preview some of Sweat Therapy's content in our earlier posts here and here. You can also check in with the PsychSymposium website, or follow the Sweat Therapy Facebook page for more information. Mikkel Aaland, author of the long out-of-print, but soon-to-be film Sweat, also has a new book of his own: How to Build Your Own Sauna & Sweat, a 100-page booklet detailing much of the information about building your own sauna that he had previously published in "Sweat".  He promises much of the information will also be posted on his new website: The Perfect Sweat.

Rusas Spa in Budapest. Image from Budapest Winter Invitation

If our 12 Days of Sauna Christmas list wasn’t enough for you, the city of Budapest and Malev airlines just announced their “Budapest Winter Invitation.”

The deal is this: If you book a 2 or 3 night stay at one of the participating hotels, you’ll get one night’s stay free. Hotels at all price points are available. Malev airlines is also offering special fares as part of this promotion.

A part of the package, you get complimentary admission to one of Budapest’s historic spas: Gellért Baths, Széchenyi Baths, or the male-only Rudas Baths. Of course, with a three-day stay, there’s nothing stopping you from visiting all three of them, and even making a dent in the more than 40 other baths in the Spa Capital of Europe.

When you’re packing for your trip, make sure to bring your swimsuit, a towel, slippers and your own soap/shampoo. Any mixed gender baths are swimsuit required.

Single-gender areas are nude, but the custom at some baths is to tie a cloth around you to cover your private areas. Men’s cloths are worn around the waist, while women’s cloths are more like an apron. These are provided by the bath.

Budapest Tourist Guide advises that you should be sure to have some small change with you to tip the attendants in the bath. Many of the baths have the option to have your locker double-locked: once with your key, and a second time with an attendant’s. Take this option if you have valuables with you. They also caution that men-only days at some baths tend to attract a gay clientèle.

This promotion is available through March 2011, so book now if you’re interested.

Budapest Winter Invitation via Spa Finder Club Spa Blog

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Rusas Spa in Budapest. Image from Budapest Winter Invitation"][/caption] If our 12 Days of Sauna Christmas list wasn't enough for you, the city of Budapest and Malev airlines just announced their "Budapest Winter Invitation." The deal is this: If you book a 2 or 3 night stay at one of the participating hotels, you'll get one night's stay free. Hotels at all price points are available. Malev airlines is also offering special fares as part of this promotion. A part of the package, you get complimentary admission to one of Budapest's historic spas: Gellért Baths, Széchenyi Baths, or the male-only Rudas Baths. Of course, with a three-day stay, there's nothing stopping you from visiting all three of them, and even making a dent in the more than 40 other baths in the Spa Capital of Europe. When you're packing for your trip, make sure to bring your swimsuit, a towel, slippers and your own soap/shampoo. Any mixed gender baths are swimsuit required. Single-gender areas are nude, but the custom at some baths is to tie a cloth around you to cover your private areas. Men's cloths are worn around the waist, while women's cloths are more like an apron. These are provided by the bath. Budapest Tourist Guide advises that you should be sure to have some small change with you to tip the attendants in the bath. Many of the baths have the option to have your locker double-locked: once with your key, and a second time with an attendant's. Take this option if you have valuables with you. They also caution that men-only days at some baths tend to attract a gay clientèle. This promotion is available through March 2011, so book now if you're interested. Budapest Winter Invitation via Spa Finder Club Spa Blog

A Sauna In a Pear Tree by seattlebound 2007 on Photobucket

It’s that time of year, where every good blogger across the internet channels their inner Stan Freberg and posts a list of their gift ideas. We’re not afraid of a little commercialism here, so without further ado, here is the SaunaScape 12 days of Christmas:

12 Sauna Hats
A sauna hat is an essential accessory if you’re going to enjoy a Banya. There aren’t many domestic sources for them, here’s an authentic Latvian one via Hotsprung.

11 Bath Robes
If you’re not going to a Korean sauna, you’re going to need a robe. There are three schools of robes, big and fluffy, light and packable, and The Dude abides.

10 Sauna Books
There’s no shortage of books on the sauna out there. A few new ones were published in 2010 including The Opposite of Cold, The Bathers, The Dirt on Clean and Villas and Saunas in Finland. If you’re looking for some classics, there is Cathedrals of the Flesh, Mikkel Aaland’s Sweat, and The Sauna Cookbook.

9 Sauna Towels
Again, if you’re not regularly going to a sauna that includes towels, you’ll need to bring your own. Again, these come in three varieties: Soft and fluffy, light and packable, and Ford Prefect.

8 Ex-foliation Tools
In Korean baths they use italy towels, in the Hammam it’s a synthetic mitt, some prefer a loofah, a brush, or even a venik. Whatever tool you choose, after a couple of rounds in the sauna, you’re ready to exfoliate like you’ve never done before.

7 Pairs of Sandals
There are too many choices to pick from here, so I’ll just let you decide.

6 Sauna Aromas
Lots of different sauna aromas are available. As we mentioned in our earlier post Dr. Stephen Colmant likes Sage. I’m a fan of Eucalyptus and Citrus.

5 Gift Certificates
That’s right, if you can’t take them to the spa, you can send them a gift certificate. Spa Finder and Spa Week are both offering discounted certificates this holiday season.

4 Sauna Apps
Well, we’ve at least got two for you: The virtual sauna, and the Seoul sauna guide.

3 Sauna Films
Steam of Life, the Finnish documentary is contending for an Oscar this year. It’s not available to watch / purchase through any of the usual sources, but I’m sure if it wins it will go into wide distribution. To round out the list we can add the horror film Sauna, and because we’re really reaching right now, Hot Tub Time Machine

2 Nights in a hotel with a sauna
Enough said?

and

A Sauna in a Pear Tree.
Seriously, if you don’t have your own sauna yet, Glenn’s is for sale.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="327" caption="A Sauna In a Pear Tree by seattlebound 2007 on Photobucket"][/caption] It's that time of year, where every good blogger across the internet channels their inner Stan Freberg and posts a list of their gift ideas. We're not afraid of a little commercialism here, so without further ado, here is the SaunaScape 12 days of Christmas: 12 Sauna Hats A sauna hat is an essential accessory if you're going to enjoy a Banya. There aren't many domestic sources for them, here's an authentic Latvian one via Hotsprung. 11 Bath Robes If you're not going to a Korean sauna, you're going to need a robe. There are three schools of robes, big and fluffy, light and packable, and The Dude abides. 10 Sauna Books There's no shortage of books on the sauna out there. A few new ones were published in 2010 including The Opposite of Cold, The Bathers, The Dirt on Clean and Villas and Saunas in Finland. If you're looking for some classics, there is Cathedrals of the Flesh, Mikkel Aaland's Sweat, and The Sauna Cookbook. 9 Sauna Towels Again, if you're not regularly going to a sauna that includes towels, you'll need to bring your own. Again, these come in three varieties: Soft and fluffy, light and packable, and Ford Prefect. 8 Ex-foliation Tools In Korean baths they use italy towels, in the Hammam it's a synthetic mitt, some prefer a loofah, a brush, or even a venik. Whatever tool you choose, after a couple of rounds in the sauna, you're ready to exfoliate like you've never done before. 7 Pairs of Sandals There are too many choices to pick from here, so I'll just let you decide. 6 Sauna Aromas Lots of different sauna aromas are available. As we mentioned in our earlier post Dr. Stephen Colmant likes Sage. I'm a fan of Eucalyptus and Citrus. 5 Gift Certificates That's right, if you can't take them to the spa, you can send them a gift certificate. Spa Finder and Spa Week are both offering discounted certificates this holiday season. 4 Sauna Apps Well, we've at least got two for you: The virtual sauna, and the Seoul sauna guide. 3 Sauna Films Steam of Life, the Finnish documentary is contending for an Oscar this year. It's not available to watch / purchase through any of the usual sources, but I'm sure if it wins it will go into wide distribution. To round out the list we can add the horror film Sauna, and because we're really reaching right now, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Nights in a hotel with a sauna Enough said? and A Sauna in a Pear Tree. Seriously, if you don't have your own sauna yet, Glenn's is for sale.

The Atlantic this week in their “Old Weird Tech” segment, they show one of these toaster tents as a “portable Finnish Sauna”. I don’t think that a Finn would be caught dead in one of these.

But say you’re in need of a sauna, and don’t have the time or the resources to build a proper one?

Photo Blog NoWorkDay.com has a post on what building a real temporary sauna looks like. What are the steps? Collect about 700kg (1550 lb) of rocks. Using these and a metal grating, build a fireplace out of these, then build a fire in there. Let it burn for about 2 hours to get the rocks nice and hot, then shovel out the coals (very important so you don’t asphyxiate yourself and fellow guests). Place a few large logs around the stove as seats, then put a tent over the whole thing, and you’ve got a makeshift sauna that will give you 90°C heat for 3-4 hours.

If that sounds like too much work, Australian company Ukko Saunas manufactures a tent sauna. For about AU$ 2,200 (also about US$ 2,200) you can get a complete kit with a tent, sauna stove and 5kg of genuine sauna rocks that fits into two bags and weighs in at just 23 kg (51 lb).

If you’re interested in learning more about getting a tent sauna for yourself in North America, email us. We’re interested in getting one too.

If you’re in Europe, Finnish manufacturer Savotta makes the official tent saunas of the Finnish Defense Forces. We contacted them, and they won’t ship to customers outside of Europe. The small “lumberjack size” unit sells for about € 600 + VAT including the stove.

The Atlantic this week in their "Old Weird Tech" segment, they show one of these toaster tents as a "portable Finnish Sauna". I don't think that a Finn would be caught dead in one of these. But say you're in need of a sauna, and don't have the time or the resources to build a proper one? Photo Blog NoWorkDay.com has a post on what building a real temporary sauna looks like. What are the steps? Collect about 700kg (1550 lb) of rocks. Using these and a metal grating, build a fireplace out of these, then build a fire in there. Let it burn for about 2 hours to get the rocks nice and hot, then shovel out the coals (very important so you don't asphyxiate yourself and fellow guests). Place a few large logs around the stove as seats, then put a tent over the whole thing, and you've got a makeshift sauna that will give you 90°C heat for 3-4 hours. If that sounds like too much work, Australian company Ukko Saunas manufactures a tent sauna. For about AU$ 2,200 (also about US$ 2,200) you can get a complete kit with a tent, sauna stove and 5kg of genuine sauna rocks that fits into two bags and weighs in at just 23 kg (51 lb). If you're interested in learning more about getting a tent sauna for yourself in North America, email us. We're interested in getting one too. If you're in Europe, Finnish manufacturer Savotta makes the official tent saunas of the Finnish Defense Forces. We contacted them, and they won't ship to customers outside of Europe. The small "lumberjack size" unit sells for about € 600 + VAT including the stove.

Photo by PaintMonkey on Flickr

We’re pleased to announce a new feature to the site we’ve been working on over the last few weeks: From within Saunascape, you can now search for and book a hotel with a sauna! No more guesswork. Just access it from the “Hotels” link in the menu above.

Of course, we’ve noticed that the database is not complete. Unfortunately, we’re relying on what the hotels have reported to the central reservations system in both their description and amenities. If you know that your favorite hotel has a sauna and it’s not showing up here, tell them to update their central reservations record. Hopefully we’ll catch them the next time our data provider updates.

The database currently has over 5,000 hotels in more than 120 countries.

Try it out. Let us know what you think in the comments, and if there are any more features you’d like us to add. We’re already working on adding a hotel brand filter for those of you chasing loyalty points.

[caption id="attachment_183" align="alignright" width="296" caption="Photo by PaintMonkey on Flickr"][/caption] We're pleased to announce a new feature to the site we've been working on over the last few weeks: From within Saunascape, you can now search for and book a hotel with a sauna! No more guesswork. Just access it from the "Hotels" link in the menu above. Of course, we've noticed that the database is not complete. Unfortunately, we're relying on what the hotels have reported to the central reservations system in both their description and amenities. If you know that your favorite hotel has a sauna and it's not showing up here, tell them to update their central reservations record. Hopefully we'll catch them the next time our data provider updates. The database currently has over 5,000 hotels in more than 120 countries. Try it out. Let us know what you think in the comments, and if there are any more features you'd like us to add. We're already working on adding a hotel brand filter for those of you chasing loyalty points.

We learned this morning about the Seoul Metro Tour app by NemusTech that’s available in Apple’s app store for the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad.

The app features a map of the Seoul subway system. A button at the bottom allows you to toggle between regular points of interest and the JimJilBangs along the rail line. Clicking on one brings up detailed information about the  spa, including hours, price, phone number and website links, as well as instructions about how to exist the subway to get there.

The app is US$0.99. A lite version is also available.

[via Chris in South Korea]

We learned this morning about the Seoul Metro Tour app by NemusTech that's available in Apple's app store for the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad. The app features a map of the Seoul subway system. A button at the bottom allows you to toggle between regular points of interest and the JimJilBangs along the rail line. Clicking on one brings up detailed information about the  spa, including hours, price, phone number and website links, as well as instructions about how to exist the subway to get there. The app is US$0.99. A lite version is also available. [via Chris in South Korea]