German spa culture requires nudity within the saunas. No underwear, no swimsuits. Just your skin and whatever hair and tattoos you may have on it. A towel is required to put on the sauna benches, but wearing the rest is strictly verboten. In the case of this particular brand of self-care, a part of the journey is letting go… of all the pieces. But for an expat like me, who has certain hang-ups about their body, this will prove highly difficult.
Today there are over 2,100 communal or privately run facilities in Germany. In keeping with the German Sauna Association, saunas are equally popular amongst men and girls, with a median age of 40. In total, 31 million Germans hit the sauna regularly, reaping the various advantages that saunas provide, from stimulating the metabolism and detoxifying the body, to purifying skin, boosting the immune system and relaxing each muscles and the mind.
Nudity in saunas is nothing latest. It happens in places like Japan, Turkey, and Hungary. But why do Germans specifically go bare? Rainer Brenke, a former consultant doctor of the German Sauna Federation, puts it all the way down to health and safety. “It is best in the event you can sweat unhindered,” he says. “One cannot rule out that dyes and chemicals in the showering clothes cause allergies.” “There isn’t a factual reason to wear swimwear within the sauna,” adds Hans Jürgen-Gensow of the German Sauna Association. “This has at all times been the case in Germany.”
Indeed, culturally speaking, nudity isn’t as big of a deal in Germany because it is in other countries. Today there are only just a few legal restrictions on public nudity, while a sizeable nudist contingent called Freikörperkultur (FKK or free body culture) has existed there dating right back to the nineteenth century, and currently boasts a membership of 60,000 people. Locales just like the Schönfeldwiese in Munich’s English Garden, a piece of Berlin’s Tiergarten, and a few islands within the North Sea like Sylt promote social nudity. It’s also routinely present on TV and media with no obscuring of personal parts. In keeping with Deutsche Welle, “While explicitly erotic scenes à la Hugh Hefner’s magazines are forbidden on prime-time television as a result of youth protection laws, easy nudity shouldn’t be.”
I’ve lived in Germany for nearly 10 years but I used to be born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where the cultural stance on nudity is less laid-back. Initially, I discovered the concept of getting naked in a public space absolutely terrifying. But I also desired to live the complete German experience. So just a few years ago I went to Mediterana in Bergisch Gladbach: a sprawling wellness wonderland that houses a hotel, sports gym, restaurant, and multiple saunas with pools. My German boyfriend was there to assist navigate me through the method.
“Perhaps the voices were louder because I used to be being confronted with my naked body in a way I wasn’t used to”
I used to be sweating even before I touched a sauna door. I remember attempting to hold my boyfriend’s hand your entire time as he led me from the mixed-gender changing area to the saunas and pools where individuals are free to roam without clothing. As I disrobed in front of our first sauna, I immediately grabbed my towel and held onto it like a baby clutching a security blanket.
I’ve at all times been self-conscious about my pot belly and the additional fat on my inner thighs. Plus I’m half-Asian and tall with dark hair– which isn’t the norm here in Germany. I don’t groom my armpits, legs, or bikini line, which I’m comfortable with once I’m clothed and even in swimwear. Exposing myself in public, nonetheless, was a distinct story. I had these fears of individuals laughing and pointing at me. But as I soon realised, eye contact is saunas is minimal, it’s where people come to zone out. There was no pointing or laughing, and I took comfort within the indisputable fact that once I looked around I saw nearly every one type represented. There have been greater shapes and smaller ones. Older and younger. Some groomed and a few not a lot. Essentially, the environment was telling me to come back as I’m and it didn’t matter what I appear to be. After all, I still had those nagging voices in my head, criticising my thighs and belly. Perhaps the voices were louder because I used to be being confronted with my naked body in a way I wasn’t used to. But I progressively eased into the pervasively serene mood. After 40 minutes, the novelty of being naked in public wore off and I welcomed the results of the sauna working on me: the strain eased in my shoulders, my neck, and my back. I started to feel comfortable in my very own skin. It felt good to be naked.
Zoë S., a 30-something transplant from Brighton had an identical experience on her first sauna visit. “The primary time I went to a sauna, it felt totally surreal and I used to be very uncomfortable being around so many naked people,” she says. “Over the time I used to be there, I began to understand that nobody is taking a look at anyone else. Nobody cares what you appear to be…There’s something so liberating about being comfortable being naked in front of others.”
Today I am going to the sauna every three months or so. Don’t get me improper: I still must prep myself mentally each time before I am going. But I keep going nonetheless. Not simply to reap its advantages (although my skin is a testament to that), but because German sauna culture pushes me to let go of my body anxieties and embrace what I even have: my imperfections, my junk within the trunk and all. I am going to those saunas to do something useful for my well-being so there may be some proof of affection for my body. I make mindful efforts to concentrate on the positive atmosphere there reasonably than feeding my inner conflict between self-criticism and self-love. Naked saunas won’t be for everybody, but I’ve dared to reveal and have enjoyed its healing, transformative power and would highly recommend you are attempting it too.
