(WIP)Saunas and their spiritual essence-Do they only purify the exterior body?

When we discuss about the overlapping between saunas and spirituality,we need to understand that saunas act as a purification portal that lead to altered states of consciousness. When heat and steam are combined,the spiritual body and emotional body starts to loosen the muscles and the energy in the muscles loosens up the emotions that are trapped in the body that acts as a release. This release is excreted in the form of sweating first and then cooling down.

I happened to stumble upon a parallel similarity between Finnish Saunas and Turkish Hamman Baths,which piques my interest on how these two traditional body wellness rituals purify the phyical and spiritual body. Finnish Saunas are origianted from Finland that have a sacred connection to nature and ancestral spirit world. To my amazement,there is a symbolic represetation of breath of life called the Loyly,which is termed for "steam",which in traditional folklore dictates that a guardian spirit resides in the sauna therapy. Saunas in Finland,are architectured in a peculiar way,where the room is first warmed by a stove called Kiuas that is topped with heay dense stones. These stones emit a energy frequency to shift the focus inwards and shed the old self of the past verisons of the visitor. (cite)

Contrarily, Turkish Hamman baths are undertaken when an indicidual looks for a purification of the mind and soul. This purification is known as Taharah which tranisitions from outer chaos to inner calmn. The Kese is a exfoliation process,where vigourous scrubbing is done with a Kese glove,which is viewed as shedding one's old identity,flushing out past life sins and burdens. There are specific windows,in the Hamman bath areas,that allow the natural sunlight to penetrate to the skin which is viewed as ethereal beams during the steam bath sessions. The spiriutal purification is seen as washing away of the past and rebirthing of the new. In a Hamman,the room is vaulted and a chmaber is filled with warm and humid air. The heated marble plinth,where one lays down for the bathing,strips away the ego and social status that humbles the spiritual body.(cite)

Many saunas are performed as seasonal ritualistic practices;when there are seasonal changes,the natural rhythms of the body change with them and so do the sauna practices. I took a deep dive into how our spiritual body oscillates between seasons and how our physical body adapts to the seasons through specific sauna therapies. My next segments consists just that!

#1 Winter Season- Saunas,during winter are known as "The First Sweat" as they warm the body and release toxins,followed by cleansing wash and plunging into the icy water. A wood-fired winter sauna pushes the etheric body to turn inward and further,quietens the mind,body and soul. The sweating our process becomes a somatic release that detoxifies the emotional body and spiritual body. There is slow blood flow in the body during winters,certain saunas in the Baltic region beat the soles of the feet upwards,that brings the Prana(life force) back into the limbs.

The hot and cold micro cycles of the saunas create an awakening of death and rebirth,pushing the parasympathetic nervous system to absorb light and make the body adapt to the seasonal changes. Thus,the reformed energy becomes a doorway for the etheric body to adapt to one's ancestral lineage and soul clarity.(cite)

#2 Spring Season-

#3 Summer Season-

#4 Autumn Season-