How?

I use plants and herbs, oils and scrubbing, peat and different massage techniques, working with the vihtas (the brooms), their touch and scent. They come fast and slow, with full contact or none at all, moving the steam and the heat between mild and intense, to drum beats and tingling wind chimes. From the surrounding nature I bring in the wind, the water, the wood and the stones, employing the cold, the temperate and the heat. I knock on all the doors of your senses. Lappalainen Sauna is a wilderness spa.

A sauna without a vihta is a wedding without the bride

One is not beaten with the vihta as it sometimes might look from a distance. Movements are elastic, gentle, and only on your request may they be hard. “The gentle art of beating you up” includes variations from no touch, to gentle and soft, fast and slow caresses, cuddles, strokes, blows, lashes and still compresses. The wide torrent of thrashing, plowing, whipping, pounding, flogging, whisking, smacking and rubbing never hurts. Done in the right way this massage technique is very pleasing and can be deeply relaxing or very energizing depending on the method chosen.

Relax with an axe

The “Viking way of peeling” is a light massage based upon old Siberian traditions. It may look scary but is gentle and very pleasant. The “dance of the axe” is performed in the sauna. Massage oil or a scrub of bergamot/rose and coffee grind, is spread out over your body. Then the axe starts sliding over your back, legs, calves, feet, hands and fingers, in strokes and taps, then later in long swiping strokes. The scrub removes dead skin cells whilst helping to increase circulation. The peeling can of course also be done without the axe. The axe provides the steel and wood elements to the massage.

If you want to get clean, you first have to get dirty.

Peat is not what you’d call a quick fix. It takes 6000 years for 33 ingredients to become nature’s own beauty serum. The peat is applied like a cream, locally or all over the body. In a mild and humid sauna it becomes a powerful detox, boosting metabolism, rejuvenating skin and sore muscles. Full body or local treatments, scalp, foot and hand care, and as a face mask. Used for rheumatic pains, stress injuries, menopause symptoms, cellulite removal, skin problems (e.g. acne and psoriasis) and muscle stiffness. Treatment peat is a 100% natural product. Extraction of treatment peat is done by hand and does not destroy the bog.

A wilderness spa

Exposing the body to warm, temperate and cold, relaxes the muscles and helps strengthen the immune system, as it convinces the body into believing it has a fever and prompts the production of white blood cells. It helps to de-stress, relieve aches, pains and stiff joints and aid respiration and blood flow.

To acquire these benefits, one has to overcome the body’s instinctive resistance to the uncommon conditions in the sauna. It’s done by “manipulation”, in the hands of a skilled sauna attendant.

A “cold plunge” in the wooden barrel , followed by the Ukrainian “waterfall” (a shower with water directly from the mountain brook) completed with a reset in “Mr Newton’s armchair” (a hot tub overlooking the valley), feel like rewards between the sessions.

The Saunas

The walls of the Jurttasauna (made in Finland) are made of felted wool, which binds moisture. The round shape means the steam moves around unhindered. There are no sharp angles hence no nasty surprises with heat “ricochets” from the walls. The heat will embrace you, not scorch you. It’s easy to breathe. Suits 2-6 people, excellent for groups. As it is mobile it can be set up at a location of your choice in Norway, Sweden or Finland.

The Äitisauna (“the mother sauna”) is a timber log sauna made in Estonia. It suits 1-3 people. The heavy timber logs keep and reflect the humid heat in a way that feels like caresses. Both the Jurttasauna and the timber log sauna are “wet saunas”. Focus is on the steam. Temperature is 55-95 degrees C.