“Koti” means “home” in Finnish, which makes it a perfect name for the Finnish sauna that is literally in Kristina Erickson’s ...

“How does that feel?” asks Siiri, as the spikes of the juniper branches relieve the itch on my back and the spicy scent surrounds my body. “Peaceful,” I respond, so relaxed that one-word answers are ...

THE SAUNA AT THE FINNISH PERM REP, BRUSSELS — It’s very hot in here. But not hot enough, according to my Finnish hosts. The time has come for a ladle’s worth of water to be poured onto the pile of ...

There’s a word in Finnish which evades translation: löyly. It’s commonly used to describe the steam that rises when water is poured onto hot stones in a sauna. But it also signifies spirit or life ...

Finland is a country of extreme contrasts—summers of dizzying, full-time light, followed by depressingly long, dark winters. The sauna regulates it all, offering the benefits of winter in summer and ...

Christopher and Julie Rice sat naked in the sauna, sweating in its 180-degree heat. In the crisp air outside, they then played a few hands of cribbage and noshed on pickles and smoked fish. Steam rose ...