Nordic cultures, particularly Finnish, Swedish, and Icelandic, have been treating and cherishing their spa experiences for centuries. In the UK, though, the spa experience is more of a luxury and perhaps even an indulgence. We want to do it for ‘me time’, because it feels nice and because our lives are so busy and stressful. That said, we need to make it easier to access spa culture, to have a way to experience it without having to pay a fortune.
Many spas have high membership fees or steep costs for treatments, and the geographical location of most spas means that many of us cannot easily access them. We need to make it more accessible to everyone. In Finland, it’s common for there to be saunas in nearly every home, and there are more saunas than cars. It’s also common for the sauna to be a key part of socialising, with friends and family members visiting each other’s homes to use the sauna. There are also public saunas and saunas in every hotel. It’s as common as the kettle and often a lot of fun. For Spa Breaks Bristol, consider hatherleymanor.com/the-spa/spa-breaks-cotswolds/bristol/
In the UK, especially in public places, we like to talk to each other, to make friends, to be together, but without a purpose, it feels awkward and forced. We also don’t take quiet time for ourselves anymore, either. The silence is a difficult habit to develop, but it’s a needed one for most spa experiences.
It takes a lot of practice to learn how to be still, and the UK is not used to it. However, if we all made a bit of an effort, we could really get a lot out of this. The good news is that we’re slowly starting to get there.