Plants and senses. Lithuanian Bathing Culture Summer Camp

Date: 2024-06-03, 12:00
Organizer : Lithuanian Bath Academy

Lithuanian summer

We invite you to join us again at nature's most beautiful time, when the trees have turned green and the healing herbs of Summer are beginning to emerge. The forest surrounds Lithuanians as a matter of course, as a mother tongue that you speak without thinking about grammar. That is why the essence and secret of a Lithuanian pirtis is to cooperate with trees and plants and let them talk to us.

Exploring native plants. We will venture out into the wild to discover and learn about a wide range of native plants, from fragrant grasses to mighty trees.

Sensory learning. We will incorporate harvest meditations to get to know plants better by touch, smell, sight and even taste, and thus connect more deeply with the natural world.

Embodiment in the forest. We will immerse ourselves in the forest. We will move away from civilisation and feel the charm of a rustic life in the forest, where every breath we take liberates us and brings you closer to the essence of plants.

Craft workshop. You will make a variety of herbal products such as herbal teas, hydrolats, etc. In addition, you will learn about complementary ideas such as botanical salts, natural dyes or aromatic sachets.

Tree mandala. During the camp we will delve into the properties and senses of plants or collaborate to create a "tree mandala" which will be used to plan individual bathing rituals with plants.

Bathing with different whisks. We will learn how to use different tree whisks creatively in the steam bath.

Smoke pirtis. We will make a historical journey to well known smoke sauna where you experience the elements just as our ancestors did.

Exploaring the plants

Schedule

June 3 (Monday)

From 15:00 – Arrival, settlement
17:00 – Dinner
18:00 – 19:00 – Getting to know each other, introductions, presentation of the program
19:00 – 21:30 Hat felting

June 4 (Tuesday)

8:00 – 9:00 – Breakfast
9:00 – 13:00 – Excursion to the nature, picking herbs and twigs
13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch
14:00 – 16:00 – Trees and herbs in the sauna (theory)
16:00 – 18:00 – Making whisks
18:00 – 19:00 – Dinner
19:00 – 20:00 – Creating a plant mandala
20:00 – 23:00 – Sauna. Testing the qualities of the whisks
The small sauna – testing the characteristics of birch, maple, oak, juniper (Rimas);
The big sauna – exploring the variety of whisks, creative use of plants (Birutė)

June 5 (Wednesday)

9:00 – Breakfast
10:00 – 13:00 – Production of herbal sauna products (theory and practice)
13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch
14:00 – 16:00 – Mythology of plants (theory). Creating plant rituals, meditations with plants
16:00 – 17:00 – Driving to the sauna of the Husky Village (http://www.nuotykiuakademija.lt/index.php?item_id=4)
17:00 - 17:30 – Getting to know the Husky Village, preparing for the sauna
17:30 - 21:00 – Testing herbal sauna products in the sauna. Rituals with plants.
21:00 – 22:00 – Transfer back to the place of stay
22:00 – 00:00 – Late dinner. Informal talks by the fireplace and tea. Conversations about astrology, energy, mysticism.

June 6 (Thursday)

9:00 – 10:00 – Breakfast, preparation for the day trip
10:00 – 12:00 – Excursion to the Kernavė open-air museum
12:00 – 13:00 – Getting to know the museum's medieval smoke sauna
13:00 – 13:40 – Transfer to the Sauna Garden
13:40 – 15:00 – Acquaintance with the Sauna Garden. Starting fire in the saunas. Snacks.
15:00 – 16:00 – New Moon Ritual with Plants. (Moment of the New Moon - 15:37).
16:00 – 18:00 - Heating of saunas. Theory about smoky saunas and Lithuanian sauna.
18:00 – 21:00 – Bathing in saunas. Archaic bathing with testing of ancient bathing methods; independent meditative stay in a sauna with plants.
21:00 – 22:00 – Cleaning of saunas, transfer to the place of stay
22:00 – Late dinner

June 7 (Friday)

9:00 – 10:00 – Breakfast
10:00 – 12:00 – Discussion of the results of the camp, packing, farewell
Departure before 13:00

Contact persons:

Rimas Kavaliauskas, email - rimas@pirtis.lt, Phone/WhatsApp +370 687 11601
Birutė Masiliauskienė, email - registracija@pirtis.lt, PhoneWhatsapp +370 689 56969 

Themes covered

• Advanced sauna ethnobotany

  This is an advanced module for sauna practitioners, wellness instructors, and plant enthusiasts wishing to develop a more in-depth knowledge of plants used in Lithuanian pirtis. We explore the details of how various trees and herbs are selected, harvested, processed, and applied in sauna ceremonies and treatments—drawing from folk medicine, plant science, and field practice.

  The course focuses on the cultural significance of and physiologic influence of plants within the sauna environment.

  This theme has additional information available only to logged in users.
• Introduction to sauna plants

  Step into the fragrant world of the Lithuanian steam bath, where plants are not just decoration—they are inherent to the sensory, therapeutic, and ritualistic character of the pirtis. In this introductory course, students become acquainted with the overall types of herbal preparations utilized in sauna culture: whisks, infusions, decoctions, fragrant extracts, and more.

  You'll learn how sauna plants have been used traditionally to promote health and mood—from calming herbal teas to fragrant brooms hung over the hot bench.

  This theme has additional information available only to logged in users.
• Making whisks

  Practical theme, which includes:

  • collecting and preparing twigs;
  • types of whisks;
  • ways of making whisks;
  • quality requirments;
  • conservation of whisks.
• Mythology of trees and herbs

  Theoretical theme, which reveals hidden properties of mostly used trees and herbs.

  Traditional Lithuanian culture and mythology has very strong connections to the nature. Lithuanians were the lasts pagans in Europe, old knowledges, bealieves and worldview are still a part of everyday life. Understanding plants mythologyand hidden properties of plants are very heplful in rithual saunas or individual work. 

  Some topics of this theme:

  • Male and female plants. Reincarnation to the plants.
  • Heaven and underworld plants. Divine play of the opposites.
  • World three.
  • Mythology of the most common plants of Lithuanian pirtis (oak, birtch, linden, juniper, rowan, willow, bird-cherry, pine, spruce, ash etc.).
• Preparing of plant remedies

  Practical theme, which includes:

  • collecting and preparing herbal material;
  • decoctions, cold and hot infusions;
  • hydrosoils and distilation;
  • other herbal remedies.

  This theme has additional information available only to logged in users.
• Recognising plants

  Excursion to the nature, looking for the plants to be used in sauna. Collecting herbs and branches for whisks. Rules of collecting plants.

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• Rituals with plants in sauna

  Having different whisks and knowing their physical and hidden qualities, we can create special body rithuals or whisking scenarios.

Birutė Masiliauskienė and Rimas Kavaliauskas

The place

The event will take place in a center of roural tourism Kernavės Bajorynė, ~1 km from Kernavė town.

Kernavė is a small town located on the right bank of the Neris River, 35 km from Vilnius, and in the past it was one of the first centers of the Lithuanian state (13th century). The legendary Pajauta Valley and its five mounds guard the remains of the last European pagan capital. Since 2004 Kernavė Archaeological Site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read more here.

How to reach the venue?

Kervavė is located ~70 km from Kaunas Airport and ~50 km from Vilnius Airport. You can reach it by a rented car or by bus (check the schedule here). If you need our help, we can arrange transfer from Vilnius and Kaunas - let us know in advance.

Accomodation and food

Accomodation (4 nights) and vegetarian food are included into the price of the camp. We offfer you stay in small wooden houses, Each house is two-storeyed, consisting of two parts. Each part has a separate entrance. There is a possibility to accomodate up to 5 persons in each of the parts, with an additional availability to accomodate up to 3 persons in single beds in each of the parts.

• Fireplace
• Refrigerator
• Microwave oven
• Electric cord kettle
• TV
• 2 WCs
• Shower cabin
• Hair dryer
• Comfortable single or double beds 

The homestead can offer other accomodation options (e.g. if you want to come earlier or leave later, come with your family, want a separated room etc.). In such case, please, contact them directly. Contacts are here. Choosing other accomodation options won't change the price of the training.