The spa path as a metaphor for change

Vitruvius, in his treatise De Architectura, relates it this way (forgive me for the Latin, but for this too, as for swimming pools, I am crazy): 'Thermae publicae non solum salubritatem corporis praebent, sed etiam urbanitatis usum' which means 'public baths offer not only health to the body, but also the exercise of civilisation.'

It is not an impression, then: the atmosphere of swimming pools allows ideas, urbanitas, relationships, to flow more easily. But what if it could also do this with business? With the changes we would like to implement in our lives, personal and professional?

In the northern Europe of rainy days, forest kindergartens, short working weeks and the continent's youngest mothers on average, pleasure encounters as well as work encounters begin at the spa, more precisely in the sauna, as if it were the starting point of a more complex flow, in terms of development and knowledge.

I invite you with me on this imaginary journey to the thermal pools: what if it were - today and for us too - a stratagem to make ideas and thoughts flow better, to facilitate change?

1. Apodyterium: shedding prejudices.

It is the very first stage of the ancient spa path, what is also for us the changing room. An intimate space, where personally and practically we are asked to strip away our prejudices and all that is extra. Structures, BIAS, negative thoughts, ingrained fears, loops we don't know how to get out of. We cannot enter heavy into a new circle of thoughts: we let go of everything that prevents us from flowing, we break down the dams.

2. Tepidarium: listening to points of view without taking a definite position.

I dare say it is the wise element that - more than anything else - brings age and experience: I am talking about patience. We learn in our lives to acclimatise in a tepidarium, to prepare body and mind for the upheavals (which happen anyway, whether we want them to or not) and jealously guard the time of waiting. In the tepidarium of existence, let us learn to listen, to go deep into things without swallowing them or throwing them back to the surface, let us breathe and open our minds: it seems a useless time, but it is the one that allows us to make change sustainable, whether in rising or falling temperatures.

3. Calidarium: liquefying in thought.

I try to list the benefits of the sauna in my mind every time I go in, when I start to sweat. And as I list them, I ask myself: but is sweating really good for you? I am speaking from a metaphorical point of view (because scientifically I could not): to throw out everything we have inside, in a context of tranquillity and relaxation, is perhaps the best thing one could wish for the development of a project or the evolution of a relationship. Sometimes there is a real need for the temperature to rise, for the flight to be more oriented towards the sun, in order to be able to express the thoughts that have matured in the heart with awareness and courage. And this is an incalculable benefit.

4. Frigidarium: testing one's thinking with a contrary one.

It's like the litmus test: when you expose yourself, you have to be aware that someone might put a different, or even just the opposite, view on your plate. And that this confrontation, between heat and frost, is essential to temper not only metal but also a good project or a sound idea. The body suffers for a few moments, the time for a dutiful change of perspective: but then it begins to sizzle and feel alive, in the fullness of its potential, vibrant with the future.

5. Gymnastics: grounding the thought, supporting it.

Even in antiquity, the path to physical and mental well-being ended in the gym. No no, I am not saying that after the sauna you have to do gymnastics, but I think it is eloquent as the end of a path of development: after thinking, after planning, you have to ground the thought and give it form. Structure it. Support it. And this is done with effort and concreteness, stepping out of comfort zones, involving partners, prioritising.

I like to imagine this very ancient flow not only as a projection of a process of development of ideas and projects, but also as a powerful purification ritual: the stages we went through are the same as those that Arab culture reproposes in traditional hammams. It is precisely in the hammam - which I bravely tried out in the medina of Fez in the hands of the strong-willed Mrs Marisa (but that is another story that I will tell you, if you like) - that two further aspects come into play that I would like to consider with you: the gommage and the massage.

We might take them for granted, but they are not, especially after we have immersed ourselves in the density of life. Sometimes evolving hurts. It requires a real moult, a mutation that peels off old skins and thoughts even at the cost of scratching us and leaving us more naked, more exposed, more alone. Exfoliating ourselves from old versions of ourselves is not a choice, it is a necessity: if you paint over a peeling wall, even the new colour will fall apart after a while.

Exactly in this groove, we are also called upon to enjoy the changes. To let them - like oil that deeply nourishes the skin - bring us tangible benefit and relief, in the immediate and long term. Change is tiring but the journey is beautiful, engaging and above all, it makes one feel good, makes one feel better.

In larger spas, one can experience the ritual of augfuss. The first time I did it, I thought I was going to pass out in the sauna, but the second time things started to change. I closed my eyes and felt myself sitting in the middle of the desert, lashed by the winds from the dunes and the sun sizzling on the sand like oil in a frying pan. This ritual, performed by the sauna master and usually experienced collectively, has a lot of positive aspects, including strengthening the immune system and blood circulation, but to me (and I hope to you) it also reminded one essential thing about the process of evolution: sometimes change is a dance, individual or group, and it can happen anywhere, in any temperature, in any environment. What is essential is that the daring of change and evolution is sustained and sustainable, individually and collectively, and that it takes us along new horizons of satisfaction and sharing, in the wilderness or in the world, in every aspect of our lives.

* Author, Newton Events