He loves saunas so much, this Waterloo man has the title of Sauna Ambassador for Finnish group

In a sauna, you can let off steam in more ways than one. 

The tradition is thousands of years old — brought to North America by the Finnish, it's a practice that is essential for wellness, and its popularity is on the rise. 

So much so that Waterloo's Alan Jalasjaa has found himself to be an expert in saunas: he experienced his first sauna as a baby, at his Finnish grandparent's cottage in the Kawarthas. 

It implemented a life-long love of saunas ever since. 

"That's traditional in Finland, that you get the children in as quickly as you can at a young age. Get them introduced to the sauna as quickly as possible. Because a lot of good family time is spent in the sauna," he said. 

Jalasjaa had his first sauna, and "never looked back," he says. Now, he's been named Sauna Ambassador for Sauna from Finland, a title that defines his dedication to saunas. 

Specifically, it "promotes the unique and authentic Finnish sauna experience with the world," said Carita Harju, Executive Director for Sauna from Finland, a sauna expertise association. 

The role also ensures a connection with "spreading the word about the numerous health benefits and cultural significance of the Finnish sauna, and encouraging its adoption worldwide."

For Jalasjaa, it's easy to spread awareness of those multiple wellness benefits with the world: 

A large part of that is allowing the body to wind down. 

"The most obvious one is just your body's ability to relax," he said. "The stress goes away and the biggest sign you'll see is good sleep. You're going to wake up in the next morning and have the best sleep of your life." 

Saunas are a large part of the wellness scene in Kitchener-Waterloo. If you ask Krista Wafielewski, owner of Three Tides Wellness, those benefits are a driving force to why people come to her wellness centre every day. 

"It does improve your circulation," she said. "You get the blood circulating, you get red. Any improvement of circulation helps your immunity, it's good for your skin." 

All the while, your body sweats out toxins — or "heavy metals," says Wafielewski. 

"You're kind of detoxifying in there, while almost getting replenished with new blood," she said. 

A social event

On top of all its benefits, what really makes a good sauna is the way it improves social wellness: 

Socializing, and having good conversations, makes for the best sauna experience. 

Wafielewski has been in the wellness business for 14 years, and while she recalls saunas being popular, she said Scandinavian healing modalities have seen a larger rise in the past decades. 

It helps that they're accessible for most people, she says, and agrees that wellness methods like going to a sauna are also turning into social endeavours — making it a more appealing activity for some. 

Jalasjaa can agree on that point, and says the experience is all about who you share it with. 

"As much as it might look like a good sauna and feel like a good sauna, when you have good people to share the sauna with, that makes it even better," he said. 

The best saunas

Physically, saunas are best when they have the kind of heat down-pat: not scolding hot, but "hot enough." 

"It just needs to have some good solid heat. It has to have good ventilation, it has to have good bench heights where you can set up high above the heater, and the heater needs to be big enough to supply the heat that's needed for the room," he said. 

But perhaps Jalasjaa's number one tip is to stay hydrated: 

"You don't need to bring water into the sauna, but when you take your break, when you leave… or you're resting, drink lots of water," he said. "And then after you're done, continue to drink water because you'd be surprised how much you will sweat and how much water your body will lose." 

While some leave the sauna immediately after, Jalasjaa says the ultimate way to experience the sauna is to end it with an icy escapade: a cold plunge. 

"We have a pool, I always keep it cold. I don't heat it so that it's nice and cool and refreshing," he said. 

"I'll go in there for a few minutes, then I'll come back out and rest, relax for about 15, 20 minutes — then go back in the sauna and do it all over again."