Sauna for everyone
The rise of Community Sauna Baths, Chilean hot springs, and the best of bathing podcasts.
Into the Saunaverse
It's mid-afternoon on a gray November Saturday in London, and I’m wedged onto the top shelf of a packed 30-seater sauna wondering where the ‘Tribal Sound Journey’ is heading. Our guides Mantis and Anna invite us to take a few deep breaths, a drum begins an off-beat and the sound of the digeridoo reverberates around the room. Anna’s vocals begin with soft whispers and hisses, growing with the ferocity of the heat into intense Shamanic-inspired chanting. The man next to me who had been quietly practising yogic breathing emits a low moan. He has turned the colour of boiled lobster.
Welcome to The Saunaverse, a festival of sauna bathing that takes place twice a year at Community Sauna Baths in London’s Hackney Wick, bringing a party vibe to the ad hoc sauna village that occupies the backyard of a former public baths from the 1930s. In contrast to more upmarket bathhouses and spas, the not-for-profit Community Sauna Baths is part of a fast-growing grassroots movement which aims to make bathing affordable and inclusive for as many people as possible. Since opening in 2021, its success – they have attracted over 250,000 bathers – has spawned three more sites in London, two in the works, and a Community Sauna Network that helps others set up Community Sauna Baths. According to Emma O’Kelly, author of Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat, ‘It’s hard to overestimate the impact Community Sauna Baths has had on the UK sauna scene. Since opening more than three years ago, it has become a world-famous sauna destination and thanks to its efforts other cities are starting their own fires, offering similar affordable, inclusive, authentic sauna experiences.’
Community Sauna Baths is on a mission to bring local, affordable and authentic sauna bathing to neighbourhoods around the UK. We spoke to founder and operator Charlie Duckworth to find out more about the mechanics of bringing sauna to the people.
CULTURE OF BATHING: Community Sauna Baths was set up as a Community Interest Company (CIC), how does this help your mission?
CHARLIE DUCKWORTH: We are legally a not-for-profit organization with a stated community purpose: to make sauna bathing affordable and inclusive for as many people as possible. All of our profits and assets are reinvested back into the organization. An added benefit is the ability to assist other CICs with similar goals. This has been crucial in establishing the Community Sauna Network – an initiative aimed at growing community saunas across the country. Through the network, we share financial resources, knowledge, and support.
‘It’s hard to overestimate the impact Community Sauna Baths has had on the UK sauna scene. Since opening more than three years ago, it has become a world-famous sauna destination and thanks to its efforts other cities are starting their own fires…’
Emma O’Kelly, author of Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat
Destination: Termas Geométricas, Chile
Sited on a volcanic fault line where thermal waters bubble out of the ground, Termas Geométricas is a finely tuned dialogue between humans and nature, water and the weather.
Termas Geométricas, in Villarrica National Park an hour south of Santiago, is sited on the Mocha/Villarrica fault, which runs from the Pacific to the Andes. The nature reserve is home to three volcanoes including Villarrica, one of Chile’s most active. It last erupted in 2015 when the fireworks lasted for several months. This seismic activity generates the thermal waters that rise out of the ground between 65ºC and 85ºC. It was these hot springs and the Mapuche myths swirling around them that attracted architect Germán del Sol to the region almost 25 years ago and inspired his dream of creating an extraordinary balneary experience in this secret valley.
Best of bathing listening from the Kivia podcast
Alan Jalasjaa and co-host Elissa Lansdell produce the podcast Kivia: The Spirit of Sauna. Kivia explores the history, culture and lifestyle of sauna bringing together experts and enthusiasts from across the sauna world. For Culture of Bathing, Alan and Elissa selected some of their favorite episodes to date.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 4
Sauna & Nudity: The Naked Truth with Dr Ruth Barcan
Such a polarizing subject, nudity around the sauna and bathing. Some cultures embrace it, others frown upon it, simple but complex in so many ways. Dr Ruth Barcan was one of our most fascinating guests.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 2
Can Sauna Save Your Marriage
The story of Chris & Julie Rice, their journey as a couple new to the sauna experience and how embracing the sauna lifestyle enriched their lives and marriage. A very touching conversation.
SEASON 2 EPISODE 10
Sauna with Mikkel Aaland, Global Sweat Bathing Authority
When you get the chance to interview an authority like Mikkel you seize the moment, and Mikkel delivered. Such a thrill to chat with Mikkel and feel his genuine enthusiasm for sweat bathing.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 12
The Happiness Episode
Here we gathered together all the topics that Elissa & I talked about over 3 seasons and 36 episodes in order to focus on one of the most important themes: we believe that a sauna lifestyle brings happiness. And it was extra special to include the entire Kivia podcast team for the recording.
In the news
“People go either before or after their lunch break or straight after work. It’s a part of their lives, and they just pop in and pop out, that’s what we wanted to bring here.” Jake Pesaruk details Toronto’s newest sauna, Alter, and its mission to put people’s wellness into their own hands.
Your City Within, December 10, 2024
“Our prototype dock prevents roughly 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and the larger and more numerous the docks we build, the greater the impact.” Core77 highlights a community sauna installed on a dock that floats on pontoons made from recycled wind turbine blades.
Core77, December 11, 2024
“Bathhouses are so much more than the sum of their parts," says Sense Of Self Founder Freya Berwick. "They serve different functions for different people; from recovery bathing through to social connection and body acceptance.” Sense of Self, a bathing complex in a beautiful converted warehouse, is set to open in 2025 and will be the largest bathhouse in Sydney.
Timeout, December 12, 2024
“Pryes Brewing has opened sauna cabanas on their patio, with four Nordic saunas from Superior Sauna & Steam available to rent for private parties as well as community steam experiences.” Superior Sauna and Steam opens new cabana experience in Minneapolis, Minnasota for the winter season.
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, December 11, 2024
One last thing
Synchronized swimming in heels? Yes please!
We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathing.com