We can look without seeing, listen without hearing, eat without tasting and move without feeling movement. We can even touch another person without being aware of the feelings we convey and receive. Where our body is does not necessarily have anything to do with where our thoughts are.
A conscious presence or concentration of mind means quite simply that thoughts and actions are directed at the same thing. We all have several experiences every day of the mind wandering somewhere else than what the body is doing. We speak on the phone and write a shopping list at the same time, sit at a meeting working on something else and think about what to have for dinner at home while we are training at the gym.
It is a marvellous thought that sauna can be a place of well-being and a quiet space for the modern individual where he or she can stop and hop off the everyday rat race. It is easier to free oneself of requirements and performing. It enables you to connect with yourself and realise the needs of the body and mind.
5 TIPS for building a relaxing sauna experience
1. Focus on a mental transition
Try to calm your mind before sauna. You can peacefully enjoy an alcohol-free drink for example, or to sit down just to enjoy the view from the window for a while.
2. Create a relaxing atmosphere to the sauna
Dim lighting supports relaxation of the mind. Soften the lights, light for example candles, cover the hot-room benches with towels making it more pleasant to sit or lie. Add some ethereal scent to the sauna water if desired.
3. Concentrate on things that relax the mind
Close your eyes, listen to the crackle of the stove and breathe calmly in and out for a little while.
4. Give the ears a chance to rest in the silence
Many people suffer unconsciously of constant background noise. Seek to improve relaxation by providing as silent a space as possible.
5. Enable continued relaxation even after the sauna
Try to sustain a peaceful mood even after the sauna. Enjoy the relaxed feeling you have as long as possible.
