The Vihta


The sauna has been part of Finland's history for over 1500 years. They sweat, they whip themselves with twigs then they roll in the snow or jump into the lake through a hole cut in the ice. The sweating and the cold shower are common sauna practices worldwide but the vihta is perhaps the most bizarre element of the Finnish ritual. It is a bunch of fresh twigs used to 'whip' participants in the sauna. Far from being a weird punitive ritual practice, the purpose of beating is to make the skin tingle and improve circulation.

Birch vihtas are best prepared during the late spring and early summer when leaves are soft, supple and firmly attached to the stem.

The season ends when trees start to prepare themselves for winter. This happens a few weeks before the leaves actually turn yellow. After this point the leaves fall off too quickly once the whisk is taken into the sauna.

The bunches can be placed in plastic bags, frozen or hung upside down and dried and saved for winter.

Before using stored or dried vihta they are soaked for a few minutes in hot water until the leaves are soft again.

The vihta is used on the body once it has started to sweat in the sauna. The bunch is dipped into a bucket of water and then whipped across the skin. It is not supposed to be painful or sexual, and it is considered perfectly normal for a Finn to ask somebody to beat him with a vihta. When the vihta dries it is dipped once more into the bucket of water and the whipping is continued. The vihta helps to remove the dead layer of skin as well as being invigorating.





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