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

Carita Harju, Katja Pantzar

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

Authors: Carita Harju, Katja Pantzar

Published: 2024

Publisher: Yellow Kite / Hodder & Stoughton

Genre: Personal Growth & Lifestyle

Reading material:

Full English manuscript

Find out how hot and cold contrast therapy can change your outlook, your wellbeing and your life!

  • The secret to how the world’s happiest nation keeps calm and carries on – no matter what life throws at them!
  • World English rights sold to Yellow Kite / Hodder & Stoughton for UK publication in 2024!
  • The world’s first international title on Finnish contrast therapy written from an inclusive perspective!
  • Inspiration and practical tools for creating a wellness retreat using the Nordic contrast bathing philosophy, wherever you are in the world.
  • Unique collaboration by Carita Harju, Finnish sauna experience expert, and Katja Pantzar, author of The Finnish Way, sold to 24 languages!

Step into the world of hot and cold, where contrast therapy – pairing a good steam in a sauna with an icy dip in a lake or the sea – is an essential part of life in Finland. More than a trending pastime, the traditional Finnish practice of alternating hot and cold has a range of health benefits that boost mental and physical wellbeing, which greatly contribute to happiness. It’s also a large part of the reason Finland has been named the World’s Happiest Country for the six years in a row.

The sauna, the first Finnish element on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, was recently ranked as the No. 1 global wellness trend by the Global Wellness Summit. Cold-water swimming is also gaining popularity around the world and 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?

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 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.

“Alternating between hot and cold environments is a way of life in Finland and in THE POWER OF HOT AND COLD Katja Pantzar and Carita Harju will explain the science, give insights into their own experiences, and offer readers practical guidance so that they too can reap the benefits and improve their health. I am really excited about this acquisition and about helping Yellow Kite readers build some Finnish fortitude into their own lives to help them thrive.”

- Yellow Kite Executive Publisher Liz Gough, Hodder & Stoughton

Download reading materials

Rights sold:
WORLD ENGLISH: Yellow Kite / Hodder & Stoughton (orig.)

About author

Carita Harju

Carita Harju is a Finnish sauna experience expert and marketing professional whose mission is to share the Finnish sauna’s positive health and wellness benefits with the world. She is the founder and executive director of Sauna from Finland, which represents an international network of more than 200 sauna industry companies. The organization’s mission is to create the world’s best sauna experiences, and Harju loves her work, because it allows her to advance an idea that she is personally so passionate about. Carita Harju has always enjoyed saunas, goes to sauna with her family nearly every day and gives talks all over the world.

Her first illustrated guide, Sauna - The Way of Finnish Life (2016), has been published in four languages, including German and Chinese. Her second book, Soul of the Sauna, was released in Japanese and Hungarian, while her newest title Saunafulness (Hyvää oloa saunomalla, 2021) has been sold to 4 territories.

Bibliography


2021, General Nonfiction, Personal Growth & Lifestyle

Carita Harju

Saunafulness


About author

Katja Pantzar

Helsinki-based writer, editor and journalist Katja Pantzar was raised in Canada with stints in New Zealand and the UK. Pantzar’s The Finnish Way has been translated into 24 languages. She is the author of three guides to the Finnish capital: The Hip Guide to Helsinki, Helsinki by Light and 100 Things to Do in Helsinki. Pantzar’s writing has appeared in a wide range of media, from The Globe and Mail to Elle. Her work has been widely covered around the world, including in Le Figaro, Le Monde, El País, Vogue, Real Simple, and more.

Bibliography


2018, Personal Growth & Lifestyle

Katja Pantzar

Finnish Way