Let’s get acquainted! Elamus SPA’s sauna masters talk about their life and work, PART I

Sauna masters take bathers on a journey, as it were – be it a hot ritual for the sauna gourmet where you can let yourself go, a meditative aroma or sound ritual, or a beauty-bringing ritual where you can enjoy the properties of shea butter, salt or honey. What does a sauna master’s life actually involve, and what is the sauna masters’ story?

Oliver Raus: I cannot imagine my life without the sauna

Oliver grew up in a forest house in the Kiisa area and moved to Tallinn at the start of school age. He admits that after moving to the city he was quite lonely, and only in his late teens did he find values in life that genuinely mattered to him. Since then he has developed himself both physically and mentally, in order to be the best version of himself and to make the world better too.

For Oliver the sauna has always been a necessity – if there is not one or two sauna days in a week, it feels as if something is actually missing. The effect of the heat, the steam, the aromas and a pleasant cold plunge is clearly felt, and he cannot imagine his life without the sauna.

Oliver felt that his body and mind demanded that his work bring positivity and joy into the world and that he make people’s days a little better. Doing sauna rituals had been on his mind before, but exactly how had not yet fallen into place. One day he happened into Elamus SPA and saw that new sauna masters were being sought – it was a moment of recognition! Now Oliver dedicates himself to making the sauna rituals even more amazing.

Oliver’s motto in life: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!”

What he likes most about his work is people’s feedback when a ritual is over. Not even necessarily direct, verbal feedback – sometimes you can see from people’s eyes and their general bearing that the ritual worked. Something closed has been released, something unforgettable has come to mind, long-lasting tension has finally been let go. That is Oliver’s ideal – to create an environment where a person gets the chance to change something in their state for the better. Seeing that is the most valuable part of his work and heals his own soul too.

Oliver tries to do the sauna rituals exactly as he would want to experience them himself. He puts his soul into them and always does them as well as he can.

Oliver’s favourite ritual is the sound ritual – he believes it is one of the most powerful things you can do in a sauna. Through the interplay of different sounds and meditation, many people reach a world entirely of their own. He is a music person at heart too and practises overtone singing and throat singing as a hobby. He uses these skills in the sound rituals as well, and they have proved a very powerful tool.

Riiljo Edur: how can you say no to pleasant steam at all?

Riiljo comes from the heart of Estonia, from Paide. His path in life has taken him through the three largest cities, until the lights of the big city stopped him in Tallinn, where he settled.

Riiljo has always had an interest in the sauna – the sauna held an important place already from childhood. As time has gone on, he has begun to enjoy being in the sauna more and more, and he feels: how can you say no to pleasant steam at all?

He was brought to being a sauna master by a conscious choice to change his life. For years he worked in the metal industry sector as a production specialist and felt that his mind was tired and needed a change. While looking for that change, the chance opened up to join the Elamus SPA work family as a sauna master. He did not let that chance slip and did not deliberate long – he felt that this was exactly what he really wanted to do from now on. In his free time he has a calling to help those in need, working as a volunteer rescuer. 

What Riiljo likes about a sauna master’s work is that he is a guide to the various charms of the sauna. Many first-time visitors to the rituals cannot even guess that a sauna visit can be made so special. As a sauna master he can also enjoy being in the sauna himself, and when he turns the sauna into an experience for others, it only adds to his enthusiasm for doing this work!

Riiljo’s motto in life: “Always give your maximum and enjoy everything you do!”

Three main things make Riiljo’s sauna rituals special – the details, tuning himself for the ritual in question, and reading the room.

He pays special attention to all the details, be it even the making and displaying of the aroma ball that is part of a sauna master’s everyday work. The visual appearance of everything has to be excellent. In the same way, Riiljo always refines every part of a ritual for the better, so that he feels confident in the sauna and every detail is polished to perfection.

He tunes himself for each ritual – for example into a calm mood when taking visitors on an aroma journey. Music is a very great help, and to create the right mood he listens to the relevant pieces of music himself too.

When choosing music for the Power of Steam ritual he has 4–5 different playlistsprepared, from which he often makes his choice only when the visitors arrive, reading the room. The latter matters during the ritual too, for example in the case of a too-hot ritual, guiding a visitor to sit lower in the sauna and offering cooling, so that the ritual’s harmony is preserved.

Riiljo’s favourite ritual is the Power of Steam. It is the spa’s hottest ritual, and what he especially likes about it is that the immense energy the master puts into the sauna ritual comes back tenfold. It is a joy to see how the visitors get carried along and how every action by the sauna master is followed by an immediate reaction. Since he likes this ritual the most, sauna lovers get mightily hot steam from Riiljo!

Kaupo Sõrmus: the sauna is a lifestyle

Kaupo comes from the bosom of the forests and lakes of Aegviidu. For 10 years he gathered life experience in Finland, and in 2020 he returned to Estonia with that load of experience and began healing people through the sauna and winter swimming. The sauna and its deep secrets have always been with him.
Already long ago “the women in the sauna were saying” that somewhere there is a certain Sauna-Kaupo. Before he worked alone, now together with the large Elamus SPA work family. Kaupo sums it up briefly – the sauna is a lifestyle!

Kaupo’s motto in life: “Live healthily! When thinking–eating–moving–sleep are in place, you enjoy a healthy life too!”

Kaupo likes to take people as deep as possible into contact with themselves in the sauna rituals and to restore inner balance.

He most enjoys the Primeval Mud House sauna, and in his free time he travels around this wonderful world – always to where it is permanently warm.

Sander Lõhmus: it is very nice to make bathers’ moods happier!

Sander comes from Rapla and before his life as a sauna master he worked in finance. An interest in the sauna has always accompanied him, though – he went to the sauna practically every week.

Because he went to the sauna rituals at Elamus SPA so often, one of the sauna masters asked him whether he wouldn’t like to become a sauna master himself? Sander thought, why not – he could give it a try!

What he enjoys most about a sauna master’s work is when the bathers like the ritual and thank him afterwards. He describes it as very nice to make bathers’ moods happier – that way he gets the feeling that he is doing good for people. It especially warms the heart when someone writes words of thanks in the guest book – then your own day becomes happier right away.

Sander’s motto in life: “Speech is silver, silence is gold, letting yourself go in the sauna is a diamond!”

What makes Sander’s sauna rituals special is that he always tries to come to the sauna in a good mood, which makes the others’ energy happy too.

He considers the steam ritual his favourite. There you can throw proper steam and let yourself go.

Elamus Spa sauna rituals

• Friday to Sunday at 14.00 The Magic of Whisks – Primeval Juniper Grove sauna
• Friday to Sunday at 14.00 Honeyed exfoliation – Salt Temple sauna
• 15.00 Aroma journey in the forest – Mystical Riverbed sauna
• 16.00 The Power of Steam – Sauna Spirit’s Sanctuary sauna
• 17.00 The Magic of Whisks – Primeval Juniper Grove sauna
• 17.00 Honeyed exfoliation – Salt Temple sauna
• 18.00 The Power of Steam – Sauna Spirit’s Sanctuary sauna
• 19.00 Aroma journey into freshness – Mystical Riverbed sauna
• 19.00 Honeyed exfoliation – Salt Temple sauna
• 20.00 Aroma journey in the meadow – Mystical Riverbed sauna
• 20.00 The Magic of Whisks – Primeval Juniper Grove sauna
• 21.00 The Power of Steam – Sauna Spirit’s Sanctuary sauna
• 22.00 Honeyed exfoliation – Salt Temple sauna

Spa21+ sauna rituals

• Friday to Sunday at 14.00 Aroma journey in the forest – Rose Sauna
• 15.00 Honeyed exfoliation – Pillar of Salt sauna
• 16.00 Sound journey – Rose Sauna
• 16.00 Shea butter treatment – Love Cave sauna
• 17.00 The Power of Steam – Whisk Sauna
• 18.00 Aroma journey into freshness – Rose Sauna
• 18.00 Honeyed exfoliation – Pillar of Salt sauna
• 19.00 The Power of Steam – Whisk Sauna
• 20.00 Sound journey – Rose Sauna
• 21.00 Aroma journey in the meadow – Rose Sauna
• 21.00 Shea butter treatment – Love Cave sauna
• 22.00 The Power of Steam – Whisk Sauna