Estonia’s naked wellness tradition to cleanse both body and soul
By Hillary Millán
Used for centuries by rural Estonians to heal their aches and pains, smoke saunas are a soulful experience that clears the mind and cleanses the spirit.
It’s an uncommonly sunny March afternoon in Estonia but I’m in the dark cocoon of a smoke sauna, lying on a bench, completely naked. My feet are propped up on a sooty wooden beam and my head rests on a viht. This small bundle of thin oak branches is meant for lashing my bare body to slough off dead skin cells and boost circulation, but for the moment, it’s a pillow. The dried leaves are pliant, though, after being soaked in water. Their earthy smell and the tang of smoke fill my nostrils. The air is damp, and beads of sweat cover my body.
Eda Veeroja, the owner of Mooska Smoke Sauna, is also naked. She drizzles water onto hot rocks piled on top of the brick stove. “Olen tuul üle väljade… Sind hoian, hoian endas [I am the wind across the fields… I hold you, I hold you]” she sings, the tune like a lullaby, the words hanging in the air like leil, the steam rising off the rocks.