The Joys of a Naked Sauna Experience

In West African culture, swimming is not a thing. People don’t learn how to swim because it is believed that “Mamie Wata”, a demon who lives in the sea, drowns anyone who ventures into her territory. Many people across the continent are terrified of this evil force and thereby never learn how to swim. Despite these age-old myths and legends, water has always been my element. So much so that when I was 16, I broke my piggy bank and secretly took swimming classes. I have never regretted that decision.

In 2006, I moved to Basel, Switzerland for work. Right next door in Germany in the Black Forest, I was amazed to find numerous spa towns including Bad Bellingen, Baden Weiler, and Bad Krozingen. I felt I had landed in heaven – each of these towns had top-notch spas filled with miraculously curative waters. From bubble-filled, relaxing hot water baths to aromatic saunas, to relaxing or invigorating massages, to Turkish baths, these facilities had everything to fill a water lover’s dream. As you can imagine, I overindulged.

One of the spas I took to going to had an open bathing area where one could relax in warm or hot mineral water for hours on end. There were also jacuzzi pods that could hold 8–10 people. In a more secluded area, there was a nude sauna land. At first, I found it shocking that people who had never met each other would congregate butt naked in a sauna. I felt it was almost too promiscuous — even sexually connotated. For months, I kept my visits to the spa to the clothes-on section only but eventually, my curiosity got the best of me. I decided to pay a visit to the nude area.

As I entered the clothes-free zone, I noticed that everyone was going about their business. There was no staring at me as I had imagined. There were elderly men and women as well as teenagers and young children strolling around — happy and content — as though liberated from the bondage of clothing. I wrapped my towel snuggly around my nude body looking for any suspicious signs of someone checking me out. Nothing happened. No one looked. No one noticed I was there.

Once inside the sauna, I realized that there were some strict rules to abide by. For example, for hygienic reasons you needed to have a towel under your butt and another under your feet. Sauna affectionados had one big towel that would keep their bums and feet from touching the surfaces of the sauna. And then there was the rule about where you sat in the sauna. If you were a connoisseur and could deal with high temperatures, you could sit on the top bunk — the hottest place in a sauna.

If you were a novice like me, the lower bunk was your friend — the heat there was a lot less. The time you spent in a sauna ranged from 15–20 minutes maximum. You had to make sure you were fully hydrated before you entered a sauna or else you would have a massive headache afterward. In one sauna session, you could lose 1–2 liters (34- 70 fluid ounces) of your body’s water. So you had the drink a lot of fluids before going in.

If you were lucky, sometimes in those 15-minute sessions, a “Bademeister” or “Master of Bath” would come into the sauna to carry out a sauna ceremony. This involved spraying the hot stones with either a herbal or fruity concoction, waiting for the steam to start rising and then dispersing the hot air vigorously with a towel. This produced an excessive amount of heat that caused the sauna to be hotter than ever which in turn caused the desired effect of profuse sweating among sauna guests. The last and most important cardinal rule in the sauna was silence — not a word was to be spoken in order to preserve the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. If you did speak, you would be rudely told off. I admit, for a talkative person like me, this “silence” rule was a hard one to follow.

My first experience in the nude sauna was deeply relaxing and I became quite an affectionado. So much so, that today, I can no longer enjoy a sauna with my swimming suit on. During my time in the Black Forest, I became an expert at the sauna routine which involved trying out 3–4 different types of saunas in a session – usually for 15 minutes each, followed by a cold shower, a dive into the freezing plunge pool and a 20-minute rest in the “rüheraum” (quiet room).

I was in a state of deep relaxation and euphoria after these sessions. I even learned that there were several health benefits to regular sauna taking. These included better blood circulation and reduced risks of cardiovascular diseases. Sitting in a sauna also releases endorphins — which play a role in one's overall wellbeing.

Now I live quite far away from the Black Forest. I’ve had to turn to other stress relievers like running (which I will expand on in another post). There are days when I get back from a 10k run and all I want to do is take my clothes off, shower, and enjoy the benefits of a naked sauna. It’s definitely something that one must try at least once in one's lifetime.

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