Saunafulness

Finnish sauna culture has been inscribed by UNESCO on the official list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The sauna is part of an eternally developing and alive form of everyday routine, which is splendidly exemplified by the new wellbeing concept of Saunafulness.

Saunafulness is all about holistic wellness, the aim of which is to help you relax. The heart of Saunafulness is the sauna and its heat therapy. Fulness, in turn, refers to a holistic approach that combines exercises and wellness to positively impact both mind and body.

It’s only natural that the beneficial effects of sauna – confirmed by many researchers – have mid-wifed a new model for sauna wellness. In her new book, Carita Harju sheds light on the diverse and multifold health benefits of the sauna and how the sauna has increasingly become a source of wellbeing by reducing stress, strengthening the heart, and improving sleep quality.

Saunafulness is divided into two parts. The first part offers the reader ample information on the health benefits of sauna, based on numerous studies, and presented in easily accessible writing. The second part provides the reader with a variety of natural wellbeing exercises that anyone can adapt to fit their own specific wishes. The exercises unite the mind, the body, one’s health, and all the different senses. Saunafulness can be practiced in any sauna with easy-access materials accompanied by clear instructions.

The saunafulness method developed by Harju fits like a glove in the sense that, by going to a sauna, you could find within yourself the resources to process the traumas and stresses of your life, and learn how to throw the bruises of working life and increased hate speech on the sauna stove like water.

Kaarina Kailo, docent, sauna researcher, author


Hot and Cold. From Sauna to Sea: The Finnish Way to a Happy, Healthy Life

Hot and cold contrast therapy is fast becoming the must-do wellness experience. This new book inspires readers with insights into the powerful Finnish method of alternating between a hot and cold environment in order to boost health and happiness and delves into how experiencing these contrasting extremes of temperature can change your outlook, your wellbeing and your life.

The sauna was recently ranked as the No. 1 global wellness trend by the Global Wellness Summit. Cold-water swimming is also a growing trend and is being proposed as a cure for all manner of things – from improving mental health to boosting immunity. But why is being hot good for you, and why is submerging into icy water good for you? And what about alternating between the two? What exactly is hot and cold therapy and why is it so vital for physical and mental health?

Dive into the unique world of hot and cold via Finland, where a good steam and an icy dip in a lake or the sea are the foundations of wellbeing for mind, body and soul.

This definitive guide by two experts takes readers on a journey into the transformative powers of hot and cold by pairing the sauna, that quintessential hot Finnish steam bath, with a cold-water dip. Along the way, it serves up the inspiration and practical tools for creating a wellness retreat at home using the Nordic contrast bathing philosophy, wherever you are in the world.

The Finnish hot and cold method boosts happiness by increasing wellbeing and encouraging connection with nature. It’s the secret to how the world’s happiest nation keeps calm and carries on – no matter what life throws at them. Now you too can learn their secrets.


GENTLE POWER: A Revolution In How We Think, Lead and Succeed Using The Finnish Art Of Sisu

A manual for the evolution of everyday leadership based on the Finnish science of sisu—from a leading researcher and teacher on the topic.

The Finnish philosophy of sisu shows us a new way to look at power—not as force and domination but as the harmonious expression of human character in everyday actions. Finnish-born Emilia Elisabet Lahti explores sisu, world traditions, and modern research to provide a new way to approach leadership, resilience, and our power to create change.

Power is fundamental in our lives—we express it in every conversation, relationship, and choice we make. All too often, we equate force and domination with power, while gentleness and compassion are considered “soft” or “weak.” The destructive nature of this skewed perspective has never been more obvious, yet there is reason to hope. With GENTLE POWER, Dr. Emilia Elisabet Lahti shares an illuminating guide to an emerging shift in the way we define true strength—an approach that balances resolve with reason, grit with compassion, and personal success with service to the collective good.

To understand power is to realize that leadership is not just for some selected minority—we are all leaders whose choices impact those around us. “Each of us can play a vital role in the collective transformation that the world is calling for,” Lahti writes. “It all starts in our own heart, in our own gentle power.” Here you’ll discover a path of wisdom, resilience, and compassionate strength that will elevate your life—and uplift others to take part in a new revolution of human empowerment.


Future Identities

Are you an expander, inspirer, crystallizer, or an enlightener? Find out how to forge your own, unique identity!

The years and decades to come will force each of us to rethink our place in this world. Traditionally, identity has been based on a profession, for example, but in the future it is worth building on skills.

Future Identities is an immersive book on identifying one’s own strengths and verbalizing them. If you were an extender, linker or cross-pollinator, what could you do in the future? In his latest book, Pölönen delves into the notion of identity and ponders their formation from different perspectives, then provides the reader with the necessary knowledge and tools to find their strengths and, by extension, their potential identities. Pölönen’s goal is not to arrange people into specific molds, but to break the molds.


Everyday Sisu

Sisu is a powerful mindset that makes Finland one of the happiest countries in the world, despite long winters, social isolation, and a history of challenging times.

Words that express happiness can help you improve your own. Katja Pantzar, author of The Finnish Way, says that a good sense of “sisu,” a Finnish concept that means not giving up in the face of challenges, can improve physical and mental well-being, which has the spillover effect of happiness. Practicing sisu “means using resilience-building skills such as looking for solutions when faced with setbacks and trying to break out of negative lifestyle habits and thought patterns,” Pantzar adds.

In Everyday Sisu, journalist Katja Pantzar explores the simple practices that make Finnish life so stable, sustainable, and healthy for body and mind, even when life doesn’t go as planned. You’ll discover ways to boost your mental and physical resilience to face life’s challenges head-on, including:

  connecting with nature

  strengthening community

  using what you have

  reframing what you can’t control

  adopting a solutions mindset

  finding strength in the struggle

Featuring insights from Finnish experts in mental health, wellness, sustainability, social justice, and more, this practical and empowering guide presents a roadmap for overcoming what you thought you couldn’t — and finding hope and tools to create a brighter way forward.


Back to Nature Finland: Explore Nature, Myths, and Ancient Wisdom

Back to Nature Finland is a calming, relaxing experience that takes you on a journey throughout Finnish nature, with a touch of ancient wisdom, mythology and local history. Based on the internationally acclaimed TV show!

The book presents 24 beautiful travel locations in Finnish nature. It reveals stories about Finnish mythology related to those locations, and provides delicious local food tips to enjoy when visiting. Learn the secrets of the Archipelago Sea, discover Lohja’s groves and caves, and meet the most beautiful tree in Finland. Travel with us from the Åland Islands, across the Nordic archipelago’s seashores and dunes, to the mysteries of lake Saimaa. Join us as we follow the origins of the Finnish national epic, Kalevala; climb to the top of Pyhä-Nattanen, the Mountain of the Gods; and explore some of the many sacred sites of Finnish Lapland.

The original Finnish book titled Metsien kätkemä (‘Hidden in the Forests’) was based on the TV series by the same name. The series first format localization, Back to Nature Australia Season 1 (8 x 30-mins) is live now in ABC TV and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the Australian viewers. The format has also been optioned by producers in New Zealand, UK and South Africa. The completed series (Finnish or Australian versions) have been sold to or broadcasted in Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, China, Japan, Thailand, India, and Finnair in-flight entertainment. Negotiations are ongoing with several other territories.