Latvian Pirts
Fire. Steam. Plants. Songs. Water.
An ancient ritual working with heat and steam, healing plants, sacred Baltic songs and cold water. A place to slow down, reconnect with nature and reflect.
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What Pirts Can Provide
For Latvians, pirts is a place for healing and prayer, where time slows down and you return to yourself and your life.
A living tradition, carried in the body of the land and the people who tend it.
It is a humble and deeply human ritual, accessible to all, yet sacred and deserving of respect. Similar in essence to the Temazcal of Mesoamerican tradition: a place of rebirth through heat, plants, water, and song.
A healing practice by people, for people
Latvian pirts has always been a place where ordinary people came to heal. Farmers after a hard week. Mothers after birth. Communities gathering before and after the important moments of life. No special knowledge required to receive it, only willingness to slow down and be present.
Not through books or institutions, but through doing, through watching, through being in the heat together.
I was born into this. My great-grandparents knew it. My grandparents carried it. My mother lives it still. I do not carry it as a credential. I carry it as a responsibility.
The ritual begins before we meet
Most of what goes into a session is invisible to the person who arrives. What you experience on the day is the result of at least a full day of quiet, practical preparation.
In the warm months I walk the forests and fields, gathering plants chosen by the season and by what the body needs. The bundles are made fresh that day. In cooler seasons I work with plants that have been dried and stored from earlier gatherings, tended over time. Either way, the selection is made with your session in mind.
The fire is lit early. Heating the stones takes around four hours and cannot be rushed. While the space warms, I prepare your salt and plant scrub by hand, marked with Baltic folk symbols. Honey is warmed. Plants are laid out. By the time you arrive, many hours of quiet work have already been done.
Four Rounds. One Unbroken Journey
A full ritual unfolds across four rounds, four entries into the heat, each separated by rest, cold water and time. A complete session runs three to four hours. The structure follows you, not the other way around.
Heating
The first round does not rush. The space is opened with herbal steam and song. Heat begins its work gently, warming the body, softening whatever has been held. The plants start their conversation with your skin. This is simply an arrival. Nothing is forced or expected.
Something has already shifted. The salt scrub, made with cleansing plants and marked with Baltic folk symbols, works on the body from the outside in. Songs and spoken words accompany the work. What has been sitting on the surface, and beneath it, begins to loosen. Emotions may come up. This is natural and welcome.
Water
The most intense heat, the most active work with the plant bundles across the body. The plants give everything they carry. Then, from that peak, you enter cold water. I hold you completely. The shift between fire and water opens something in the body and the mind. Whatever needs to surface, surfaces here.
Back in the heat, quieter now. I leave you in stillness, alone with yourself. What moved in the previous rounds settles into something more peaceful. When you emerge, honey is applied to the skin, a gentle closing. You leave carrying something different from what you arrived with.
Each plant is chosen with your session in mind
I have developed a relationship with several plants over the years and keep deepening that knowledge as I learn. Wherever I am I look for what is growing locally and in season, and weave it together with the Baltic plants I carry with me. These are some of the plants I work with.
You are welcome here
You do not need to know anything about pirts or have any prior experience. You only need to come with openness and willingness to be present.
- Going through a difficult or uncertain time and looking for space to breathe
- Carrying stress, emotional heaviness, or physical tension in the body
- Feeling disconnected from yourself and wanting to slow down
- Looking for rest that goes deeper than sleep
- Curious about plant medicine and folk healing traditions
- At a turning point and ready to mark it with intention
- Simply drawn here without knowing exactly why, that is enough
- Looking for a spa or purely relaxing wellness treatment
- Coming only out of curiosity without genuine openness to the experience
- Expecting a fixed or guaranteed result
- Not able to approach the space with basic respect, this is a place I care for deeply and I ask that it is treated as such
- Going through acute mental health crisis, recent surgery, or have a serious medical condition, please get in touch first so we can discuss what is appropriate
Pirts ritual is a traditional folk healing practice. It is not a medical treatment and does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. Nothing shared during or in preparation for a session constitutes medical or psychological advice. If you are experiencing physical or mental health difficulties, please seek support from a qualified professional. This work is offered as a complement to, not a replacement for, professional care.
What people carry home
I came here with no expectations and received something I never anticipated. Afterward I feel so much lighter, both physically and mentally. I feel calm. This was exactly what I needed right now. From the bottom of my heart, my deepest gratitude for this magical evening. Thank you for doing this.
A huge thank you! This was a WOW experience, incredibly powerful, both energetically and physically. Purification, the release of blockages, the clearing of energy channels. I feel like I've been reset to a blank page and at the same time lifted higher, opened wider, and smiling with my whole being.
Beautiful, magical, free! Thank you for this meeting, not only with you, but with myself. Moving through life, through the sauna, is a true blessing. Thank you for the safe space, the smiles, and the conversations. You are one of our earth's most precious gifts, someone who, together with others, builds something truly meaningful.
I am so grateful for your generosity, your authenticity, your openness. It is such a gift to be truly present, here and now, and that is exactly what you gave me. To stop. To be with myself. To look at my own soul. Beauty lives in clarity. I want to hold on to so much of this feeling. ALL IS LOVE.
Everything begins and everything ends with remembering. Everything that was, everything that is, all of it made of love, faith, and unity. You who are ancient, you who are new. You who are here and also far away.
Dear, Divine, thank you for remembering. In feeling, in a glance, in a touch, in a sound. For the sense of unity. For feeling rooted. In your deep, infinite eyes, eternity.
Meeting Agate could fill an entire fairy tale. From the very first moment it was clear that something special would emerge. Her lightness and magic gently carried me into the depths of the sauna world. I don't even like saunas. And I'm quite cautious with unfamiliar feelings. But Agate masterfully unlocked my inner "control freak." To meet the light you must first pass through the darkness. And miraculously it's not as terrifying as it might seem, because in Agate's presence everything unknown and scary transforms into clarity. I'm now ready to open up even more.
This was a deeply intense and equally necessary experience, liberating and guiding, bringing you closer to yourself and your own potential. Agate was just as much a part of this process as I was. Without her, it would not have been nearly as effective. If you feel like you need to move forward but don't know where, this process will absolutely help lead you to your own path. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself.
Nothing happens by accident. In my experience, when certain changes arrive in life, people appear out of nowhere who help you keep the right focus. This is one of those stories. It turned out far, far better than expected. After this experience, my whole understanding of what a sauna is completely changed. What I used to call a sauna before was definitely not this. It's something more, try it, words aren't enough.
Today I feel such harmony within myself, and I know that all of this was meant to happen. My soul has received love and nature's healing. It's no coincidence that sauna masters make incredible therapists, because in the sauna our souls meet, and conversations heal in a different way. All day I keep hearing the words: "Why does your ego need them to change?" and it has been a guiding thought for my own growth.
Today was something magical. It was my first sauna experience and I felt like I had been in another world the entire time. I cannot stop expressing my gratitude for your strength, your energy, and the magic you guided me through.
I had been longing for a real Latvian sauna with all the rituals and incantations, honey massage, salt massage, and everything else. It was fantastic. I enjoyed it and enjoyed it and enjoyed it. You delivered exactly what I saw in your ad, walking through the forest reciting ancient words. You delivered that and so much more.
What is included and what it costs
A full session involves at least a day of preparation before you arrive: gathering plants, making the bundles, lighting the fire hours ahead of time, preparing the scrubs and honey by hand. Four hours with you, then cleaning the space and closing it properly. The price reflects that work honestly, not a wellness industry markup.
The full ritual across four rounds. Herbal steam, salt scrub, plant bundle work, breathwork, integration. Everything prepared with your session in mind.
The full ritual held for two people together. Both receive individual attention throughout. A meaningful shared experience.
Where to find this work
I am based in Valencia and working towards building a dedicated Pirts space in the Spanish countryside, a place where people can come to receive the ritual, learn, and gather. Until that space is ready, bodywork sessions outside of Pirts are held at Saged Club in Valencia.
Pirts ritual itself currently takes place in Latvia, at a private Pirts in Ropaži, and in London through group events at Banya No.1 in Hoxton. Both are announced in advance on Instagram and through the newsletter.
If you are somewhere else and feel drawn to this work, reach out. Travel is possible for the right circumstances.
Common Questions
If something is not answered here, you are always welcome to reach out before booking.
The fire is lit hours before you arrive so the stones are properly heated by the time you get there. We begin with a short conversation, what you are carrying, what you want to move through, or simply what feels alive in you that day. From there the ritual unfolds through four rounds of heat, each separated by rest and cold water. Throughout, I work with plant bundles on the body, herbal steam, song, and a salt scrub made by hand. It is not a fixed sequence. The work follows what comes up.
A regular sauna is a place to get hot and relax. Pirts is something older and different. The heat is intentional, the plants are chosen specifically for you, the bundles are made by hand. I am actively working with you throughout, not just holding the space while you sit. Many people find that what happens goes well beyond what the heat alone would explain.
Four hours. This is not something to squeeze into a busy day. The ritual has its own rhythm and the integration happens in the pauses between rounds. If you can, leave the evening free afterwards. Most people want to rest.
No. First-timers are welcome. You do not need to hold any particular belief or understand the tradition behind this. The only thing I ask is genuine openness and willingness to be present with what comes up.
A swimsuit, a towel, slippers or sandals, and something warm to wear afterwards. Come with a light stomach, ideally nothing heavy for at least two hours before. Drink plenty of water in the days leading up to the session.
I sing in Latvian and guide the session intuitively. I speak English fluently, and I understand Spanish and Russian at a conversational level. In practice the ritual itself does not require much translation. The body understands what is happening without needing words.
Yes, please read this before booking. The following conditions are not compatible with intense heat: pregnancy, acute cardiovascular conditions or uncontrolled high blood pressure, fever or active infection, recent surgery or open wounds, epilepsy, acute mental health crisis, severe kidney or liver disease, active thrombosis, or medications that affect heat regulation. If you are under the influence of alcohol or substances, I will not work with you. If you are unsure about anything, please contact me or speak to your doctor first.
Currently in Valencia, London, and occasionally in Latvia at a private Pirts in Ropaži. If you are somewhere else and feel called to this work, reach out. Travel is possible for the right circumstances.
Use the enquiry link on this page. All sessions begin with a short conversation before anything is confirmed. This is not a formality, it is part of the process of holding your intention before we meet.