Behind America’s First Dual-Certified Sauna
Auditors from Finland have issued a Certificate of Authenticity formally accrediting SaunaGlo on the international stage. This comes fresh off a special designation from the North American Sauna Society leadership in February.
This blog post is a peak behind the curtain revealing how a modest sauna in Portland, Oregon, USA, has become a high-fidelity example for Americans to experience the ancient Finnish tradition of harnessing fire, water, earth and air to cleanse the body, mind and spirit.
By Katie Calcagno
There’s no doubt the sauna culture across the United States is booming.
This growth brings an incredible opportunity for millions of Americans to benefit from the practice of sweat bathing, which dates back 10,000 years. The boom also presents the pitfalls common to any modern trend where investors see nothing but dollar signs and want to capitalize.
The Certificate reads: “The Authentic Finnish Sauna Experience Certificate . . . recognition of the fact that their sauna faithfully abides by all the core values of the Finnish sauna: Authenticity, multisensoriality, presence & relaxation, wellbeing & health, contrast, cleanliness, safety, and responsibility before, during and after sauna bathing.”
Achieving this first-ever dual certification in the U.S. is a validator, but more importantly, it is an honor shared among all the incredible contributors to the project.
Bonafide sauna experts from around the world leant their wisdom and guidance to a plucky mom-and-pop team, despite real budget limitations. Professor Lassi Liikkanen, authors Glenn Auerbach and Walker Angell, Jessica Kelso (founder of Loyly Portland), Finlandia leader Heli Hatanpää-Wetzel, sauna ambassadors Alan Jalasjaa and Eero Kilpi, builder Aaron Vainikka, and mechanical tradesman Nicholas Svaren all deserve credit for this milestone dual-certification celebration — providing inspiration, expertise, wisdom, guidance and support.
These kindred spirits and conscientious professionals shared important, overlooked commercial sauna design and operations details that require sincere intentional focus:
Fresh air ventilation — how the mechanical systems and placement of intake + exhaust vents create convection airflow, remove carbon dioxide, and supply oxygen-rich fresh airflow.
Dimensions for soft steam — how the height of the door, ceiling, stove and benches are interdependent links shaping the characteristics of the löyly (soul of the steam) when water meets the hot stones of the stove.
Culture — how does the physical space, the social atmosphere and ettiequte, and guest experience details combine to create an authentic, high-quality sauna time, which delights sauna veterans, and inspires newcomers to fall in love.
In a culture like the U.S. that can often allow fakes and phonies to thrive with slick ads and a corner-cutting quick-fix mentality — those who help others nail the three legs of the sauna stool should receive the highest of respect.
Our intentionality behind SaunaGlo was to create a bastion of sauna tradition, to be a caretaker community of the culture, that seeks nothing more than to serve as an authentic representation of what a public sauna can and should look like, especially for Americans who tragically have negative associations with the word ‘sauna’.
We are glad to carry the light of this special and ancient tradition, and we stand in awe and gratitude, as we pay tribute to the countless elders who came before, toiling in the shadows and never seeking credit or claiming authority — only working to caretake, contribute, and communicate why they love this thing called sauna.
with ♡, katie
💛🔆☺️
About SaunaGlo:
SaunaGlo is a family-run community sauna venue for all ages offering an 18-person Nordic sauna in Portland, Oregon. Built to high quality standards of Finland, the cedar wood sauna provides a social atmosphere, gentle löyly steam and temperatures around 195º F (90º C) from twin Harvia stoves. Enjoy other amenities such as a full locker room with showers and keyless lockers, a cedar barrel cold plunge at 45º F (7º C) and comfortable botanical day lounge. With a $19 day pass and no time limits on reservations, SaunaGlo is an affordable and authentic Nordic attraction for locals and tourists alike to bask in the warmth of traditional sauna culture.
