My Third Space: SaunaHood, Nottingham

The "third space" is a deceptively simple concept: it is a place that is neither your home (the first space) nor your workplace (the second space). Think of it as the realm in which you can unpretentiously exist, not as a worker, a tenant, or a student, but just as yourself. It is a space to practice the art of being, where you feel no urge to justify your place in the world. For me, that place is SaunaHood in Nottingham. While we usually associate sauna culture with the Nordics, it is also a practice deeply rooted in prehistoric Britain. Archaeologists have discovered "burnt mounds" on the Orkney Islands dating back to the Bronze Age, featuring stone structures designed for fire heating and controlled ventilation. This lineage continued with the Romans, who built sacred public bathhouses (thermae) that fused both Roman and Celtic religious devotion. In Victorian Britain, the tradition evolved again, inspired by Ottoman customs, and popularised by David Urquhart, who introduced Turkish baths to British culture. By the 20th century, the practice was kept alive by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who established Russian vapour baths on Brick Lane as a way to maintain health and cultural identity in a new land. Even the first recorded Finnish sauna inthe UK, built in 1939 at Nonington College, was an intentional act of cultural diplomacy. Today, this heritage is championed by the British Sauna Society, formed in 2014 on the philosophy that in the sauna, everyone is equal. This isn't just a modern trend; it is a return to our roots. I was first encouraged to try a sauna by a close friend. She lives in Brighton now, so we do not see each other as often as I would like, but she stays my ultimate "poster girl" for wellness. She began going religiously, telling me how much it helped her mental clarity. Around the same time, I noticed a client of mine posting about his own sessions. Since my circle is big on promoting a healthy lifestyle, I realised it was time to s...