Turn Up the Heat: Why I’m Spending Tonight in a Naturist Sauna

There are some wellbeing practices that arrive with expensive equipment, complicated routines and a list of instructions longer than the practice itself.

Then there’s sitting quietly in a warm wooden room.

Tonight, I’d like you to come and do exactly that with us.

Naturism Wales is promoting a Naturist Sauna Evening with Sauna Cwtch tonight, Tuesday 22 September, at Park in the Past, Fagl Lane, Hope, LL12 9HB. We meet at the car park between 6:00pm and 6:10pm, with the sauna session running from 6:30pm until 7:25pm. It costs £20 per person, with booking directly through Sauna Cwtch.

There’s even an optional cold lake dip for those who fancy it.

But why sauna?

Heat, stillness and switching off

Sauna bathing has a long history, particularly in Finland, but modern researchers have become increasingly interested in what happens physiologically when we expose ourselves to heat.

In a sauna, heart rate increases and blood vessels dilate as the body works to regulate temperature. Research has investigated regular sauna use in relation to cardiovascular health, blood pressure and vascular function. There are encouraging findings, although the evidence isn’t strong enough to treat sauna as a medical therapy or substitute for exercise, medication or professional healthcare.

For me, however, there’s another benefit that is much harder to put on a chart.

You stop.

No emails. No television. No washing up staring accusingly from the kitchen.

You sit.

You breathe.

You talk.

And you allow yourself to be warm.

That touches several parts of my Wellness Wheel at once: physical relaxation, emotional breathing space, social connection and, particularly in a beautiful natural setting, environmental wellbeing.

And naturism makes perfect sense here

There’s something wonderfully natural about a sauna being naturist.

No complicated relationship with the body. No comparison. No fashion. No need to present ourselves as anything other than the people we actually are.

Just warmth, conversation and community.

As autumn closes in and the opportunities for comfortable outdoor nudity become fewer, evenings like this also demonstrate something I keep returning to:

Naturism doesn’t hibernate.

We adapt.

Summer might give us beaches, camps, gardens and long evenings outside. Autumn and winter bring saunas, swimming, indoor gatherings, yoga, meditation, shared meals and evenings spent talking with friends.

Naturism is how we live throughout the year.

A word about that lake

The cold dip tonight is optional, and I want to emphasise that word.

Cold-water immersion is not suitable for everybody. Sudden entry into cold water can cause an involuntary cold-shock response, rapidly increasing breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. People with heart conditions in particular should seek medical advice before trying it.

There is no prize for getting into the lake.

Sitting beside it with a smile on your face is perfectly respectable.

Likewise, sauna heat means sweating and fluid loss, so arrive hydrated, listen to your body and leave the heat if you feel dizzy, faint or unwell. Dehydration can cause thirst, headache, dizziness and tiredness.

Wellbeing should involve listening to our bodies, not trying to defeat them.

Come and join us tonight

What appeals to me most about tonight isn’t actually something medical research can measure easily.

It’s the combination.

Warmth. Nature. Being naked without self-consciousness. Sitting beside other people. Conversation. Laughter. That wonderful feeling after leaving a sauna and stepping into cool evening air.

And doing it together.

At £20 for the evening, I think it’s a lovely way to mark the beginning of autumn and remind ourselves that colder weather doesn’t mean putting naturism away until spring.

So if you’ve never tried a naturist sauna before, perhaps tonight is the night.

Will I see you by the sauna this evening?