Why We Crave the Heat—The Ancient Psychology of Saunas

There's something deeply instinctual about stepping into a hot, enclosed space and letting the sweat pour. But why? Across cultures—from Finnish saunas to Native American sweat lodges—heat rituals have always had spiritual and social roots.

Modern science now backs up what our ancestors already knew: heat stress releases endorphins, mimics a mild workout for the heart, and helps purge the body of toxins. But more than that, it taps into something older—a need for stillness, for quiet endurance, for transformation.

So when you sit in the heat, you're not just detoxing. You're connecting to an ancient, almost mythic version of yourself. One who knows that rest isn’t idle. It’s ritual.