Birch branches in the sauna

5:04

you'd

5:04

want to go into an 80° C

5:05

room and sweat it out. You'll just have

5:08

to try for yourself.

5:15

In the sauna, you may be handed a vihta

5:17

or vasta, a bunch of birch branches that

5:19

you dip in water and then use to whisk

5:21

yourself. This is not as weird as it

5:23

sounds. It can help cleanse your skin,

5:26

stimulate circulation, and it gives off

5:28

a nice aroma.

5:30

Beyond the cultural and social aspects,

5:32

the sauna can have important benefits

5:34

for physical and mental health,

5:35

including improved circulation and

5:37

immune function, muscle relaxation,

5:40

stress reduction, and better sleep.

5:42

We don't really have a strong sense of

5:44

hierarchy in Finland. It's a very flat

5:47

social structure in terms of equality,

5:50

but nowhere else than inside a sauna is

5:53

that more true. When you strip away from

5:55

your clothes, you leave your clothes and

5:57

your wallet, everybody's basically bare

5:59

and uh quite literally bare.

6:02

Stripped away from titles, from their

6:04

wealth.

6:05

The way Löyly was built was for both

6:08

people in Helsinki to have that

6:09

traditional sort of communal sauna

6:11

experience and a place to meet up and

6:13

gather and have spontaneous

6:15

conversations in the sauna with

6:17

strangers, but also for foreigners to

6:19

experience