Nordic Spa

The popularity of Nordic style spas has boomed all over the world in recent years – with good reason. But what exactly does a Nordic spa entail, and what benefits does it provide?

A Nordic spa involves a wide range of therapies based around thermal healing through steam and water, including everything from the traditional Finnish sauna to outdoor winter bathing. This type of spa therapy has been a popular Scandinavian spa style for generations. It is based upon the belief that taking your body from extremely hot, to extremely cold temperatures will strengthen one’s immune system, purify the body, and help soothe various aches and pains.

There’s a wide variety of Nordic style spas and different treatments, but they all build on the same basic principle and circuit of Hot – Cold – Rest – Repeat. 

BENEFITS OF A NORDIC SPA

The process for a Nordic spa treatment can be said to be: “massage via temperature”.

First, you experience high temperatures via a sauna or a hot bath, where your muscles will relax and activate blood circulation. This is followed up by drastically cooling down your body by immersing yourself in for example cold water, or rolling around in the snow, which flushes out toxins and releases muscle tension. Rinse, and repeat. 

While this might seem a bit counterproductive, going back and forth between hot and cold, it actually helps soothe and heal your muscles. Your muscles relax in the heat, then tense up in the cold, and then relax in the heat once again – resulting in an effect similar to a massage.

By visiting a Scandinavian style spa and experiencing the different treatments for thermal healing, you can expect the following health benefits:

• Boosted immune system:
  By continuously shocking your body, going from hot to cold, it causes an increase in blood pressure – a contraction of your blood vessels – which essentially means you’re jumpstarting the immune system. The “Hot – Cold” circuit encourages your immune system to produce more white blood cells, making your body stronger, healthier, more energized, and therefore more capable of fighting bacteria and viruses.
• Soothes sore joints and tense muscles:
  The heat from warm baths or saunas helps relax your muscles and relieve joint and muscle pain. It increases blood flow which triggers your body’s healing process, speeding up healing and reduces pain. It’s a great way to relieve pain from someone suffering from degenerative joint diseases such as arthritis, rheumatism, and osteoarthritis.
• Detoxing:
  Sweating is an important body function that helps us maintain our overall health. Especially deep sweating which occurs when your body temperature rises above the normal, for example when we exercise or visit a sauna or hot bath. When we sweat, the sweat flushes out toxins such as heavy metals like lead, zinc, copper, and mercury we’ve picked up in our environments.
• Cleans and tightens your skin:
  Sweating also helps improve the overall health of your skin, cleaning it and tightening it in the process. The heat will open the pores, flushing out toxins and bacterias from sweat ducts and epidermis, as well as replacing dead skin cells. This will restore your skin’s youthful glow, tone, and elasticity.
• Improve circulation and metabolism:
  A Nordic spas “Hot – Cold” circuit treatment will increase your heart rate and blood pressure, which leads to both better blood circulation and metabolism. It could be said to yield the same result as aerobic and cardio workouts by letting you work up a sweat and getting your heart pumping, improving cardiovascular health.
• Stress relief, better sleep, improved digestion:
  Let’s not forget that a Nordic spa treatment also has the exact same stress relief benefit as a normal spa, helping you relax and shed the stress of daily life, resulting in both better sleep and improved digestion.

LIVNORDIC HOTELS & SPA – BY RAISON D’ETRE

Raison d’Etre has always been fascinated and impressed by the concept of a Nordic spa and the Scandinavian lifestyle. To the extent where we eventually founded our own Scandinavian styled spa – LivNordic.

Here’s what Anna Bjurstam, Managing Partner of Raison d’Etre, has to say about the Scandinavian lifestyle and the creation of our own Nordic spa:

“After joining Raison d’Etre in 1999, I travelled the world, designing and opening spas and studying the health and healing traditions of many different countries in the process. In 2003 I returned home to my native Sweden and found myself once again inspired by the extraordinary quality of living that defines the Nordic cultures and people.

I took over management and eventually ownership of Raison d’Etre in 2011 by which time I had gathered a team of like-minded peers, who were passionate about life, wellness, and service, to continue designing spas and spa brands worldwide. Together we explored the spiritual, social, and economic elements that make Scandinavia some of the happiest, wealthiest, most beautiful, and environmentally sustainable countries on earth today.

By reflecting on our traditions and cultures, we found that the balanced and healthy lifestyle enjoyed by the Nordic people, was based on four simple principles:

• A deep abiding love for nature;
• Cultivating authentic relationships with others, our environment and ourselves;
• Connecting to the inner stillness at the heart of Nordic wellness;
• Enjoying the natural simplicity found in all things Scandinavian;

We adopted these principles as the founding values for creating LivNordic, a unique luxury lifestyle Hotel and well-being brand offering our guests spaces to connect, recharge, and enjoy life – The Nordic Way.”

Anna Bjurstam
Partner, Raison d’Etre