26-27/07/2013 Sigulda, Latvia

Latvian Sauna Day

       There is a lot of motion happening here… It seems that everything has already been tried and yet… it is another country with its own way of doing things, other people and the old and forgotten becomes new. Who would think that a yurt that, eons ago, became a living house could serve as a perfect sauna made of felt. A special microclimate saturated with lanoline, the aromatic smell of whisks and the sound of the Jew’s harp along with the rhythmic whisk strokes offers a tranquil space to the souls, who are tired of the day-to-day activities, where there is only a whisk, steam and YOURSELF… all you have to do is put on a nice sauna hat on your forehead, let out a deep breath and dive into the magic of the yurt sauna…

       I step out into the sauna yard, my soul still being in the out-of-body state and the steam covering my eyes … my hands dive into a bowl full of amber stones and I feel their powerful energy filling me up. Somebody sprinkles my body with an amber essence and offers a cup of herbal tea, it feels very refreshing… Here the voice of Sergey Belyaev reaches my ears. Then the eye catches a glimpse of a sauna whisk with birch twigs perfectly tied together. The interest draws the relaxed body towards somebody giving a lecture nearby… my head is bursting with impressions and I plop down on a bench near a soap making table… There are no dry mathematical explanations or chemical formulas – step by step, the saponification process turns the mixture of coconut, palm and olive oils into fine handcrafted soap imbued with natural aromatic essences.…

 This Sauna Day in Sigulda was somewhat different…