Integrating Sri Lankan Ayurvedic Elements with Finnish Sauna - Practical Guide
Amarasinghe, Rivon (2025)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025051511884
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025051511884
Tiivistelmä
This product-based thesis aimed to present a comprehensive guide for integrating Sri Lankan Ayurvedic elements to Finnish sauna by creating an innovative experience by blending two traditions. The main objective of the guide was to design a practical guide combined with experience design concepts that can be implemented in Finland by the target audience such as sauna owners, wellness entrepreneurs, and experience design professionals.
Ayurveda is an ancient healing system originated in India and practiced by many South Asian countries like Sri Lanka, and it focus on achieving balance in the body, mind, and spirit by using natural treatments, diet, and lifestyle practices while the Finnish sauna is an ancient traditional practice that is valued for its well-being benefits such as cleansing, relaxation, and mental well-being. Wellness tourism is about travellers promoting personal health and well-being with activities such as spa treatments, meditation, and nature-based rituals. Experience design is the process of setting experiences that are engaging and meaningful by considering emotional, physical, sensory elements, and intellectual aspects.
The product Ayurvedic sauna experience guidebook is made by creating a balanced a flow of Ayurvedic rituals that could engage with the guests with emotions, sensory elements and on an intellectual level. Therefore, this thesis is grounded by experience design and developed guide as a product which is aimed at delivering an actionable outcome rather than purely an academic analysis. The guide does not deep dive into Ayurvedic medicinal practices, and the outcome is formed by reviewing previous Ayurvedic literature knowledge and therapeutic benefits. The sustainability initiatives are considered while the author create the experience by only using natural ingredients and focusing on environmental and cultural sustainability. The actual guidebook is created during March and April 2025 by using Canva, ChatGPT AI for idea generation of creating and shaping the structure of the physical guidebook and DeepAI for visualizing the experience.
The guidebook includes a set of Ayurvedic practices that are integrated with the sauna experience such as Abhayanga, Shirodhara, Ayurvedic herbs-infused Swedana, Ayurvedic flower bath and Metta meditation which is an ancient form of meditation coming from Buddhist doctrine. Each of Ayurvedic element is supported with practical instructions, therapeutic benefits, and safety to practically implement in Finland.
The guide can be developed further as follows: 1) adding variations of seasonal treatments, 2) accessibility, 3) pilot testing and 4) turning the thesis to a business model. The thesis concludes by achieving the targeted outcomes. It was aimed to contribute to the wellness tourism industry and innovation of cultural integrated sauna related experiences. It may enhance the guests experience by encouraging sauna operators to diversify their services through meaningful cultural integration, sensory enhancement, and personalization of the experience.
Ayurveda is an ancient healing system originated in India and practiced by many South Asian countries like Sri Lanka, and it focus on achieving balance in the body, mind, and spirit by using natural treatments, diet, and lifestyle practices while the Finnish sauna is an ancient traditional practice that is valued for its well-being benefits such as cleansing, relaxation, and mental well-being. Wellness tourism is about travellers promoting personal health and well-being with activities such as spa treatments, meditation, and nature-based rituals. Experience design is the process of setting experiences that are engaging and meaningful by considering emotional, physical, sensory elements, and intellectual aspects.
The product Ayurvedic sauna experience guidebook is made by creating a balanced a flow of Ayurvedic rituals that could engage with the guests with emotions, sensory elements and on an intellectual level. Therefore, this thesis is grounded by experience design and developed guide as a product which is aimed at delivering an actionable outcome rather than purely an academic analysis. The guide does not deep dive into Ayurvedic medicinal practices, and the outcome is formed by reviewing previous Ayurvedic literature knowledge and therapeutic benefits. The sustainability initiatives are considered while the author create the experience by only using natural ingredients and focusing on environmental and cultural sustainability. The actual guidebook is created during March and April 2025 by using Canva, ChatGPT AI for idea generation of creating and shaping the structure of the physical guidebook and DeepAI for visualizing the experience.
The guidebook includes a set of Ayurvedic practices that are integrated with the sauna experience such as Abhayanga, Shirodhara, Ayurvedic herbs-infused Swedana, Ayurvedic flower bath and Metta meditation which is an ancient form of meditation coming from Buddhist doctrine. Each of Ayurvedic element is supported with practical instructions, therapeutic benefits, and safety to practically implement in Finland.
The guide can be developed further as follows: 1) adding variations of seasonal treatments, 2) accessibility, 3) pilot testing and 4) turning the thesis to a business model. The thesis concludes by achieving the targeted outcomes. It was aimed to contribute to the wellness tourism industry and innovation of cultural integrated sauna related experiences. It may enhance the guests experience by encouraging sauna operators to diversify their services through meaningful cultural integration, sensory enhancement, and personalization of the experience.