2: Happiness for Tourists? (Olivia Cotton)

    Sauna and spa treatments, much like any other therapeutic techniques, require commitment and openness to the full experience to see their benefits. In order to feel better and let oneself go, you must first give in to the process and allow yourself to be uncomfortable then transformed. Sauna and spa culture is not popular in the U.S. (besides the spa days bought by those that can afford it), which leads to the uneasy feeling when first experiencing this. However, this uneasiness can lead to mental health benefits once one gets accustomed.

    Going to the Badehaus in Norderney was not my first experience with saunas and bathhouses, which is probably why it felt so natural for myself to be in this environment again. Living in Japan I’ve had the opportunity to go to onsens and experience a similar culture. My first time however, was not as relaxing and beneficial as the subsequent times, as I was worried about how well I was “doing” the onsen. Instead of focusing on my own relaxation, I was focusing on if I had cleaned my body the right way, and if I was holding the towel how those in Japan did. While it’s true that most of these worries vanished once I got in the soothing mineral waters, there was still a level of anxiety due to the unknown of this experience. Since that first trip to the onsen though, I have gone again and gave in to the whole process, allowing myself the relaxation promised by many.

    Coming to Norderney, I was excited to experience this culture again, even though there are definitely many differences between the two. Being in the Badehaus made not just my body feel relaxed, but my mind as well. I let go of personal problems I was pondering and stayed present in the way the salt water eased my muscles and spirits. I left feeling lighter than before, an experience that would be shared by many.

    After reading Britta Lokting’s article, my simple stance is this: she did not do it right. Most things in life come with practice, and the first time is always uncomfortable. This is a principle and motto I tend to live by, as it reaps pretty positive results. To Lokting, the sauna was of little help and all happiness hacks she found in Norway failed in her daily New York City lifestyle. Perhaps this was due to the fact that she was trying too hard, as she acknowledged, or it was the poor infrastructure for long term happiness in the U.S. and her own personal issues getting in the way. Instead of seeking the sauna and nature for relaxation and enjoyment, she clouded this with her own need to check a box on her contentment to-do list. If you can not find these techniques readily in the U.S., then pivot to find your own personal brand of happiness, however that may be. Happiness is not a commodity someone simply buys by booking a ticket to Helsinki, but a skill one practices through time and effort, along with the knowledge of what your body needs.

While yes, a spa and sauna experience can not fully gift you unlimited happiness in life, it can improve your wellbeing if you let it. While the physical benefits may not be there, calling for more thorough research, the mental health ones are up to you. Leave your feelings at the door and think about the way your body feels in its environment. Listen to the sounds of nature and the textures you feel to ground yourself and build a connection between your body and the earth. Concrete and glass will only push this connection further apart, so relish the little things and understand where people are coming from in history with the innately human experience it is to find relaxation in the earth. Sauna and a dip in the North Sea can clear your head and bring you a sense of peace you’ve never felt before, if only you let it.