[Dear reader, in the spirit of the following article, we'd like to know—what is your absolute favourite sauna ever? It could be anything from the suitsusaun at your grandma's cabin to a premium barrel sauna you purchased or a hidden gem at your local gym. Send a message to digitaleditor@eestielu.ca and tell us all about it!]
SaunaTimes catches up with Mihkel and Triin, Estonians now in Perth, Australia. This Estonian mobile sauna build involved careful design, planning, and construction during the pandemic. Mihkel created a mobile sauna with really great leil, (loosely translated as “steam”).
SaunaTimes: What compelled you to undertake your own Estonian mobile sauna build?
Mihkel Juursalu: This type of authentic wellness has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Although I grew up in Estonia, with saunas being an important part of our culture, I had no idea why our neighbours (Finns) are so mental about the löyly, which we call LEIL in Estonian.
Life brought me to Western Australia, and I found out that it actually can be a challenge to find a decent public sauna (by Nordic standards). For example, where you’d be able to at least toss some hot water onto the hot rocks to get the air moving. Later on, while Google searching about boosting one’s immune system, I came across an interview on the tremendous health benefits from regular use of a proper sauna. This led me to Dr. Laukkanen’s study and Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s research. It all made sense and I knew my own search for a real sauna here was done. Since a couple of other things lined up well, I decided to build the sauna myself.
ST: How did you find SaunaTimes? Can you give us a few examples where the DIY ebook helped you out with your Estonian mobile sauna build?
MJ: Once I discovered the world of podcasts, I thought that there had to be some serious podcasts on the sauna topic, too. Thank you, Glenn! The ebook is packed with good advice. One of the best pieces of advice was the idea of a candle window – what an ingenious, simple thing. Also, my sauna has a fairly large window at eye level, and after sunset, having the candle on it allows you to see outside, yet adds some privacy. The reflection of the glare on the glass blocks the view from outside into the hot room.
ST: What were the biggest challenges for your sauna build?
MJ: Thanks to the help of my friends, my support team and YouTube, the few challenges I faced turned into lessons and developed new skills and knowledge. I totally enjoyed at least 95% of it.
ST: Tell us something specific about your Estonian mobile sauna build that makes you especially proud.
MJ: My partner Triin, who is also from Estonia, told me it is the best leil she had ever experienced. That is the highest reward I personally could have hoped for.
ST: Any regrets or do-overs?
MJ: None. Do it once – do it right! Take your time and think it through. Do-overs can be quite expensive. Even the daunting amount of time spent on planning was totally worth it.
ST: If you could bring a mobile sauna anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?
MJ: I am going to take my sauna into nature, either to the ocean or other spots with water nearby for a possible plunge, to get most of the authentic wellness experience. It’s actually absolute bliss, even in the warm climate of Western Australia during summer.
Your podcast (which I binge listened to from the beginning) sparked the idea. Your ebook nudged me to the right direction and I’m happy to say that my “pandemic time project” became sort of ready (never ending, right!?) yesterday. I am really pleased with the results.
Hüva Leili!
With best regards,
Mihkel Juursalu
***
This article originally appeared on SaunaTimes.com . On this site, you can also get a copy of Glenn Auerbach's book Sauna Build, From Start to Finnish.
Glenn Auerbach has been a sauna evangelist for over 30 years. In 2008 he started www.saunatimes.com, as a source for sauna building and sauna culture. In 2016, he created Sauna Talk, the podcast about sauna and most often recorded on the sauna bench. Glenn wrote “Sauna Build, From Start to Finnish” which includes step by step instructions for building a sauna. He has built many saunas and has helped many hundreds build their own saunas. He is an advisor at Lamppa Manufacturing, Vice President at the 612 Sauna Society, and founding board member of the Sauna Research Institute.
