Community Bath Master: Part 1. The Art of Tradition.

Date: 2026-04-20, 11:00
Organizer : Lithuanian Bath Academy

Some of people in Norway already know what a good badstu feels like. The crackle of a wood-fired stove. The shock of cold water afterwards. That quiet, clear-headed feeling on the way home. But how many of us actually understand why it works? How the steam behaves inside the room, what the plants do to the body, or how to guide someone else through the experience with real skill and confidence?

This course is for people who want to go deeper.

The Lithuanian pirtis is one of the oldest living steam traditions in Europe — a complete system of working with heat, plants, and human attention that has been refined over centuries. It is not a wellness trend. It is a craft. And like any craft, it can be learned, practiced, and shared with the people closest to you.

Over two intensive days in Holmestrand, you will learn the foundations of this tradition hands-on: how to build the right microclimate in a steam room, how to work with traditional whisks (vantos), and how to create a session that is genuinely restorative — not just hot.

Traditional Lithuanian pirtis (sweat bath).

Before We Meet: Online Preparation

All registered participants receive access to foundational theoretical webinars that you can watch at your own pace before the course. This means we spend our time together in the steam room — not in a classroom.

Course Program

Day 1: The Foundations — Heat, Body, and Plants

The first day is about unlearning a few things and learning the real ones.

Interactive theory session. No slides, no monologues. Rimas opens with the core principles of the pirtis tradition — how heat affects the body, what "healthy steam" actually means, and why most sauna practices get the basics wrong. This is a conversation. Bring your questions.

The "Healthy Pirtis" procedure. You will experience what a properly managed heating curve feels like — when the body relaxes naturally, without stress or force. This is the single most important skill: creating conditions where the steam does the work for you.

Introduction to self-whisking (Thermo-Phyto-Therapy). You will get to know the traditional bath whisks — birch, oak, and other species — and learn how to apply them to your own body. Warming the feet, stimulating circulation, working with the natural oils released by the leaves. This is where the plant knowledge begins.

Day 2: Creating the Experience for Others

The second day shifts perspective — from receiving to guiding.

The six elements. The pirtis tradition works with Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Plants, and Wisdom. You will learn how these come together to create a coherent, multi-sensory experience — not a random sequence of hot and cold.

Mastering the microclimate. How to prepare the steam room before anyone enters. How to control condensation and ventilation so the air stays breathable and pleasant. How to use natural scents without overwhelming the space. This is the invisible craft that separates a good session from a forgettable one.

Guiding a group. Practical exercises in leading a classical pirtis procedure for a small group — your family, your friends, your community. The focus is on creating safety, comfort, and genuine relaxation. No performance. No theater. Just attentive, skilled hosting.

The Full Path: Become a Certified Family Pirtis Master

This first weekend in Holmestrand is Part 1 of a three-part, six-day training program. Participants who attend Part 1 receive priority access and favorable rates for Parts 2 and 3. The dates for the next modules will be decided together with the group.

Part 2: The Art of Whisking & Non-Verbal Communication (2 days)

This is where the physical craft deepens. Rimas will teach you whisking ergonomics — how to work efficiently, gently, and without exhausting yourself.

But whisking is not just a physical action. It is a form of non-verbal communication. You learn to read the person under the whisks, to adjust pressure and rhythm, to create a dialogue through touch.

What you will practice:

• Light whisking — bringing the steam down to warm specific areas, efficiently and without fatigue.
• The "touch twice with one swing" technique — delivering soft strokes even with coarser whisks.
• Classical full-body whisking — the most ergonomic strategy for warming the entire body evenly.
• Self-protection — how to manage your own heat exposure and energy while working in the steam room. This matters more than most courses acknowledge.
• Individual coaching — the "butterfly" motion, supported feet whisking, warm compresses, face-covering techniques. Hands-on, with personal feedback.

Part 3: Natural Body Scrubs & Guiding the Full Procedure (2 days)

The final stage. You will learn how to bring the full pirtis experience together — from the first wave of steam to the last rinse.

What you will practice:

• Body scrubbing (kūno šveitimas) — the oldest purpose of the pirtis. Properly warming the skin, performing natural scrubs and honey applications. This is where the hygienic tradition meets genuine care for the body.
• Guiding the complete procedure — confidently hosting a session from start to finish. Reading the group. Maintaining the right atmosphere. Managing transitions, silence, mixed groups, and children.
• Live practical work — working with real people, in real time, under Rimas's supervision.
• Final evaluation — a supportive practical exam to complete your Family Pirtis Master certification.

The Norwegian badstu tradition is alive and growing. The Lithuanian pirtis has something to add to it — centuries of knowledge about how plants, steam, and human attention work together. This course is an invitation to learn that craft, and to bring it home.

Themes covered

• Bodywork of the back

  In this practical theme, we learn the basic techniques of gentle body touch and massage. Soft, relaxing touch is included in all basic sauna techniques and treatments - light bathing, body scrubbing, and massage. The skills on this topic will benefit further training that are included in the Professional Sauna Therapist training program.

  Skills developed in the workshop

  • Preparation for bodywork, laying a person down
  • skin stroking
  • warming rubbing
  • oiling the skin
  • working on the deeper subcutaneous tissue
  • ergonomics and safety of movements
  • effective transverse work
• Healthy steam bath procedure

  The first practical theme(topic) of the Bath Masters course  is the Healthy Sauna Procedure. It is dedicated to learning about a healthy, bioresonant sauna. During the sauna, we go through a complete sauna procedure consisting of 4 stages:

  • introductory warm-up
  • sweating stimulation
  • Soaking in the steam and self-bathing

  This workshop is essential for those wishing to continue their studies and further their knowledge, but it is also available simply to try a healthy sauna treatment in a good sauna (often with a good gourmet sauna stove).

• Holistic whisking

  A practical theme to learn and test the work of a sauna master. The first steps towards a new profession take place in a safe environment, in a good sauna, with the help of an experienced trainer. This topic is usually taught in the form of a sauna evening (a practical session in the sauna), during which the teacher introduces and demonstrates the main points of practical work in the steam room and the students try it out in practice. In this way, they have the opportunity to test themselves as future sauna practitioners and get a better idea of the level at which they would like to learn the sauna trade.

  
  A student washes clients body in a steam room for the first time.

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  This theme has additional information available only to logged in users.
• Self whisking

  Important theme and one of major aspects of sauna education that is very often neglected by even prominent bath mastership teachers. Yet it is even more complex then whisking other person.

  This theme covers

  • initial warming of the feet
  • enhancing blood circulation
  • self massage with whisks
  • self whisking of shoulders, sides, back
  • ergonomics of self whisking
  • different postures: sitting, laying
• Steam bath basics

  Theoretical theme. Contens:

  • Definition of steam bath
  • Purpose of bath procedure
  • Body reaction to heat
  • Quality factors of healthy bath
  • Correct heating and cooling
  • Safe behaviour in sauna
  • Eating and drinking in bath
  • Most comon mistakes

  This theme belongs to  Healthy steam bath ABC seminar and opens the whole course of bath mastership studies.

Rimas Kavaliauskas. He has spent over 22 years teaching, researching, and systematizing the Lithuanian pirtis tradition. He is the founder of the Lithuanian Bah Academy and has trained practitioners across Europe — from the Ireland to Scandinavia.

Rimas does not lecture at you. He works with you — adapting the material to your questions, your space, and your goals. Whether you have a cabin by the fjord, a mobile sauna, or simply want to transform the way your family experiences the badstu, the training meets you where you are.

During the weekend, you will also have the chance to meet local alumni of the International Bath Academy who are already practicing in the region.

330€. The payment of 130€ is required to secure your place and the rest is to be payed immediately uon arrival or before.

This payment covers: 2 practical sessions in the hot sauna, access to theory and knowledge quiz and post seminar video materials. Paymet DOES NOT cover travel, accomodation, catering. Modest accomodation is possible on agreement but places are few - first come, firs served,

Group size: Maximum 6 participants. There is no hiding in the back row. Registration is open.