Greetings curious person. How do we know you’re curious? Well, you clicked your way here wanting to find out what Thermaculture is about, didn’t you? And we’re so happy you did. Thermaculture is a term coined by 612 Sauna Society and Great Northern Sauna Village Founder John Pederson (aka JP) while exploring the many dimensions of Permaculture Design Principles in Central America.

Thermaculture Founder John Pederson (JP) weeding a Permaculture garden in Costa Rica between sauna rounds.

Coincidentally, out in the rainforest, JP chanced upon ancient rivers, waterfalls, and epic naturally occurring thermic bathing spots. And there among the regenerative and abundant agriculture - the many parallels were obvious. Here were two worlds, and two words, that captured a rich and meaningful paradigm - a robust, complementary set of systems built upon individual and environmental wellness, offering a sustainable and clear path to community health and joy.

Thermaculture is a term that embraces all the varieties of thermic bathing traditions found across the globe. From the ever popular traditional Finnish Sauna, to the classic ancient Russian Banyas and Turkish Hammans, or the natural mountain Onsen hot springs of Japan, to the Temazcal ritual spots peppered throughout Mexico and Central America. With some effort, you can still discover the temporary sweat lodges of the Great Plains Indigenous Peoples, and step inside a mystical realm surrounded by nature. Humans have for centuries embraced the art of quality heat as therapy, relaxation, and rejuvenation through the physical and spiritual transformation that each unique thermic bathing tradition offers.

Traditional Russian Banya print from the book Sweat by Mikkel Aaland.

Additionally, Thermaculture speaks to spaces and experiences where the full range of temperatures can be contrasted, one immediately against the other. You probably have seen the fun pictures of people running from their sauna to do a quick plunge in a frozen lake, or professional athletes bathing in a tub of ice water following a game? Science and data are only recently coming to understand the profound health benefits of cold therapy, and Thermaculture is always working to incorporate a cold experience whenever possible into their thermic programming. 

With some effort, you can still discover the temporary sweat lodges of the Great Plains Indigenous Peoples, and step inside a mystical realm surrounded by nature. Humans have for centuries embraced the art of quality heat as therapy, relaxation, and rejuvenation through the physical and spiritual transformation that each unique thermic bathing tradition offers.

Additionally, Thermaculture speaks to spaces and experiences where the full range of temperatures can be contrasted, one immediately against the other. You probably have seen the fun pictures of people running from their sauna to do a quick plunge in a frozen lake, or professional athletes bathing in a tub of ice water following a game? Science and data are only recently coming to understand the profound health benefits of cold therapy, and Thermaculture is always working to incorporate a cold experience whenever possible into their thermic programming. 

Sauna & Cryotherapy technology’s integration into professional athletic training and rehabilitation facilities has transformed several sports in the last two decades, and the celebrity of Wim ‘The Iceman’ Hof has brought the mysteries of his unique breathing techniques to a global audience - with thousands of enthusiasts discovering transformed health. In the more traditional sense, anyone who has ever done a cold plunge or soak between Sauna rounds knows precisely the immediate and undeniable infusion of joy and health, and works to make it a habitual part of their lifestyle.

Learning from experience over time, and from the shared wisdom of long time masters and passionate explorers alike, we hope to offer you some secrets to help you stoke your wellness journey and share in the full mental, physical and social benefits of fire & ice. 

LEARN MORE:

• Quality Heat
• Hosted & Guided Thermaculture Experiences

One of the aspects of a Thermaculture experience that is hard to describe, but you know it when you feel it, is the quality of the heat. How dry is the room? How wet? How well is the ventilation system designed? How clean are the surfaces? And what is the nature of the wood, or the feel of the ceramic tiles? Is the lighting easy on the eyes, but enough to see? What kind of music? Silence? All of these aspects, and more, contribute to the Quality of the heat - and each one is critical to execute in balance with the others. Again, you know it when you feel it.

The emerging trend of infrared heat therapy is not something we’ve been able to offer in our programming, so much of the information in this guidebook has a bias towards wood-fired and electric stoves. For mobile Sauna pods, wood-fire is almost a given, as you would be hard pressed to find power out in the wild capable of driving Quality heat.

We also stress the importance of other traditions of manufacturing heat. A favorite is the Temazcal method of heating sacred rocks in an open fire pit, transferring them inside a small circular domed hut of mud and bricks - where practitioners are seated in a circle, facing inward to the hot rocks, and towards each other. Water is applied to generate steam, and guides will lead songs, chants, and drumming.

Turkish and Russian baths deliver their heat through steam, often combining a cooling pool right in the hot room itself. Again, not practical in a mobile situation - but an excellent alternative in a private home, as it is not difficult nor expensive to transform a shower of any size into a full steam bath. 

Japanese bathhouses are famous for their variety of experiences. From mineral and mud baths, and deep cold pools with artificial waterfalls, guests travel from one session to the next - with options to suit every taste, all driven by a pristine quality of hot or cold. Perhaps the most unique, and moving, experience we shared in Japan was a spacious room of steam, approximately three hundred square feet, with a tiny “creek” of ice cold water that traversed the floor of the room in an organic way, perhaps being a total length of 20 yards. On the bed of the creek, where you are prompted to enter, is a delicate sand bottom. As you slowly walk forward, ankle deep in the chilly water, the sand begins to transition into pebbles, the pebbles into rocks, still larger rocks, and then gradually shifts in the other direction so that when you arrive on the far side of the creek, your feet have been mysteriously massaged in every possible way - releasing all kinds of tension from the body’s organs, tissue, and muscles over the course of a 20 minute walking meditation. 

One of the great discoveries in hosting a Thermaculture session is the idea of a guided, or intentional experience - as opposed to solitude or random strangers.For the past few years, we’ve been collaborating with specialists in myriad industries to invent new combinations, and add layers of joy and wellness to our regular  programming at Hewing Hotel in the North Loop District of Minneapolis—-and now at the Sonora Sauna Haus at Tubac Ranch. 

Like yoga classes at your favorite studio, Guided Thermaculture Sessions connect the unique specialties and talents of instructors to the ancient and multidimensional practice of nervous system regulation. 

You will learn the difference between sympathetic and parasympathetic response to stress and how you can work with heat and cold exposure to improve your heart rate variability and parasympathetic tolerances (ie the amount of stress you can handle before triggering fight-or-flight).

In a typical 90-minute Thermaculture session, guests enjoy 3-5 guided 12-minute sauna steam aromatherapy warm-up and cool-down rounds. Our guides teach you the thermic bathing best practices while incorporating various techniques from individual modalities and traditions, including:

inspired by German expatriate Alex, these intense enhanced steam sessions proved immensely popular. Alex’s dynamic personality and charisma, and his unique skill of whipping aromatic steams into a frenzy like a pizza chef dancing with a forming crust, brought an intense, but childlike, joy to guests and inspiration to trainees.

Hot Yoga - Itself a popular mode of Yoga, hot yoga happens spontaneously in any Sauna when you find yourself stretching and focused on your breathing. Space is the biggest challenge if you’re wanting to create programming for more than a couple of individuals. Stokeyard Outfitters and the Hewing Hotel took advantage of their two-stove, 20 person sauna - offering weekly sold out classes. And again, if the space is available - yoga outside of the hot room, and in between rounds enhances the experience, opens and calms the breathing channels, and focuses the mind.  

Meditation - Guided meditation is universally popular, in and out of the hot room, and increasingly popular for cold soaking - so as to increase endurance and allow for a subsequent release.  This is a difficult program to execute, as meditation can be deeply personal, and measured by a sense of solitude. But for those guests who are looking for a soft voice to help guide the process, a hot room is a sublime context to vanish into nothingness. 

Silent Sauna - A common question from guests new to ThermaCulture experiences is “is it OK to talk?” And there is no easy answer. Interpersonal connection and openness is a natural byproduct of a good session, and guests are often inspired to tell a story, or inquire with strangers in the room, leading to fascinating conversations. But also, there is an organic emergence of silence. The slow breathing, closed eyes, and intense heat pulls you into yourself. We’ve discovered that it’s best to define specific Silent Sauna sessions clearly, and offer them in alternation - sometimes even having two separate Saunas, one dedicated to silence - the other a more social vibe.  

Weaving these techniques together with the latest contrast therapy science and old fashioned hospitality and charm, our guides endeavor to conjure portals to the deepest states of energized relaxation that have stoked the fires of the world’s many thermic bathing traditions since the domestication of fire half a million years ago. 

See you on the bench!