Saunafolk

Check out this adorable hairy friend that I made at the Brighton Sauna Festival last weekend, what a beauty! Does anyone know what it is?

One of the many interesting conversations I’ve had last weekend in the sauna with a lovely lady was about how people feel about their body hair and how it can change over a lifetime. Full hair removal in Roman times was a status symbol. In the 20’s female performers removed public hair to facilitate the use of public wigs to get around the no nudity rule that was in place. It’s fascinating how cultural norms change over time and how the beauty industry influences us. There’s clearly no right or wrong, it’s personal choice and body positivity is at the heart of this discussion. I hadn’t appreciated that in older age p***c hair can thin which can change how people feel about keeping their body hair. I know there are more important topics to discuss, but in my limited experience of hosting sauna sessions women will sometimes apologise to each other for not having had time to shave their legs or that they have hairy bikini lines.

My message to you is this: COME AS YOU ARE, but if you wanted to be less hairy than you happen to be try to reframe the narrative in your mind and channel the vibes of this beautiful hairy caterpillar and how adorable he/she/they are. Show yourself some love and compassion

I’ve had a truly wonderful three days at the International sauna camp this week in Sussex. Sadly I only took a few photos before my phone battery died. I met so many inspiring people and friends for life over the three days. Huge gratitude to and the team for all their hard work and dedication in bringing the most interesting people from around the world to talk about different aspects of sweat bathing and sauna culture. I got to experience a smoke sauna which was amazing sitting on bales of hay and no they are not smoky! I shared a beautiful bell tent with the beautiful souls and Irish journalist who wrote the book Sweathouse which reveals Ireland has a 3,000 year old native history of sweat bathing! I was also honoured to bring my sauna tent straight from the Sauna Festival on Brighton Beech to this Sauna camp and had the honour of delivering a Wild Rose sauna ritual to some beautiful souls where we set intentions to embrace our wilder and braver selves. I also had the pleasure of collaborating with the truly wonderful from Michigan USA to bring singing into the sauna, what a moving experience. I am truly grateful to have met some of the loveliest and inspiring sauna folk. I’ve come away feeling healthy, happy and fired up to share the magic of sauna with you all and start creating a sauna loving community that is diverse, interesting and supportive.

I had a great time at the UK sauna summit on Monday in Brighton. Lots of knowledge gained and connections made. It got me reflecting how far I have come in a year when Saunafolk was just a concept in my note book when I came to last year’s sauna summit. I want to give myself credit for managing to get where I have with just sheer determination and passion and very little time. I really have ploughed lots of my free time into getting this far around a day job and being a mum to two children.
Last year I got to experience the UK Aufguss championships where my eyes were opened to the wonderful world of performance Aufguss. We are excited to see what the next year holds for Saunafolk and I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me to get to this point.