Several years ago I was in Finland investigating a story about saunas. The Finns take the sauna ritual very seriously, so much so that they invented the word. The sauna is a place to relax, to reconnect, to cleanse, and to meditate. The heat itself is a spirit, called the löyly, which is to be admired and respected, discussed and adjusted. I entered a traditional smoke sauna outside of Rovaniemi, just shy of the Arctic Circle, and I melted inside a public sauna in Helsinki, where old naked men sat high on benches, enduring heat intense enough to burn the tongue of Beelzebub. (Finns use another word, sisu, to describe the inner strength and courage one possesses, presumably in order to survive a public sauna.)
I expected that was to be my most intense sauna experience, but that was before I visited Thermëa, a spa complex in Winnipeg. The spa is owned by the same company that owns Nordik Spa-Nature, the largest Nordic-inspired spa in North America, located in Chelsea, Quebec. These are people dedicated to the art of relaxing, and their latest complex is just gorgeous.
Bring forth the eucalyptus and orange steam rooms, pools of varying temperatures, relaxation rooms with headphones and ergonomic heated benches, an on-site restaurant, and a host of massage treatments. Nordic spas want you to heat up and cool off in succession, recharging your senses and delivering a range of benefits. Let us remove our robes and take the top bench in the Finlandia sauna, authentic enough to bring a tear of sweat to any Finn’s eye. Although it is winter and pushing –30°C outside, my spells in the steam rooms and pools make the cold inconsequential. Sure, if I had long hair, I might have been able to pull off a frozen-hair pic, but this is a place to relax, not win the internet. A towelled sauna master invites everyone to take a seat on the wooden benches. He advises us to simply walk out of the room if it gets too intense. Hey, pal, I got flogged with birch branches in a Siberian sauna and stared down the scrotum of a Finnish grandpa in Helsinki. I can take it!
Float On
Located a 15-minute drive from downtown Ottawa, Nordik-Spa Nature bills itself as the largest spa in North America. With seven outdoor baths, eight beautiful saunas, silence zones, and a fine-dining restaurant and lounge, it is a temple to pampering oneself. A particular highlight is Källa, an underground salt-water pool dug into the rock and outfitted with low lights and otherworldly cement pillars. Due to the addition of Epsom salts, the still water has a 12 percent salinity, allowing you to float effortlessly, a soft trace of new age music wafting beneath the water. Resting on a neck pillow, I was lulled into a blissful and entirely unique aquatic sleep. According to Nordik-Spa, Källa’s salt water improves circulation, heals wounds, reduces stress, and stimulates creativity. Your robe is waiting.
“Today, we are going to use crystal menthol,” he explains. I’m not sure what that is exactly, but it’s got a damn fine name, nonetheless.
Placing perfectly round balls of snow on the rocks, the sauna master adds a spoonful of tincture to the balls and flattens them with a wooden spoon. Next, he ceremonially waves a towel, distributing the heat around the room. When it hits me, combined with the intense menthol rush of the essence, it grips my lungs in a chokehold. Eyes burning, I have to go deep within myself and find my sisu, and when I do, the löyly kicks the crap out of it. It is intense, it is a rush, and it is incredible. The bucket list is all about chasing unique moments of magic, moments that stay with you for the rest of your life. How amazing would a sauna have to be to make it one of those moments? Thermëa amazing.
Once the sauna is over, I get to relax in the hot pools outside, overcome with a sense of relaxation, of cleanliness, of sound mind and body. Hot damn! That Thermëa experience took me places, a hot rush of cool crystal menthol to the head.
START HERE: canadianbucketlist.com/thermea