Sauna Talk #105: West Coast Sauna Summit Fireside Chat

It was impromptu, and it was fun. It was completely unrehearsed, and it rambled in places (when I was unable to hold the microphone). This episode holds some wonderful gems of free thinking. This is Sauna Talk, and this is what I love about Sauna Talk. Like good sauna, Sauna Talk has few rules. This was the spirit at this fireside chat at the West Coast Sauna Summit.

While some sauna’ed and others slept, most of the attendees, 25-30 of us came together for fireside chat Sauna Talk. It was later in the evening on night #2. Imagine seven or so mobile saunas deployed lakeside, just outside the high ceiling gathering room at the Loon Lake retreat centre, nested in the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest. And Co-producer Valterri calling the session together in his Finnish accent: “ok, everybody, let’s gather our chairs around in a circle. Let’s Sauna Talk.”

Oh, man, this is my kind of conference. These are my kind of people, and we get into my kind of thinking and conversing. By this time in the gathering, we had become quite comfortable with each other. A lot of the formal presentations were behind us. Many of the formalities of reading name tags and polite introductions well in the rear view mirrors.

The Fireside chat

Some sat with their sauna sandals on, some sat barefoot. Others in bathrobes or a towel wrapped around them. We gather for Sauna Talk, after all. New connections and new friendships were alchemized at the West Coast Sauna Summit, and I hope, as you listen along, that this episode brings some of that goodness and spirit, wherever you may be tuning in.

One final note before I turn this over. A huge thank you to Valterri and Linda for not only putting together a great event, and bringing together a wonderful group of thermal enthusiasts, but for helping to create a vibe of “oneness.” Like a resonating, penetrating, satisfying wave of löyly, their relaxed demeanor, positive energy, and spirit of inclusion for all of us in attendance enveloped all of us, equally, together.

I really enjoy the West Coast Sauna Culture. No gatekeeping. Beautiful nature. Cold lakes, open, collaborative thinking. The rising sauna tide lifts all boats. This is how sauna culture can exist, and I’ll do all I can to help share the spirit created by Linda and Valterri, wherever good sauna may take me.

So, without further ado, let’s welcome many of the attendees from the West Coast Sauna Summit to .. Sauna Talk.