Your First Time at Navia
- Lucia Wilkinson
- Oct 6
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 7
We know that walking into a bathhouse for the first time can feel like stepping into the unknown. The anticipation, the curiosity, perhaps a flutter of nervousness, all of it is perfectly natural and completely welcome here.
At Navia, we've walked hundreds of first-timers through their initial experience, and we can tell you this with certainty: every single person who felt uncertain in the beginning left feeling like they'd discovered something precious. A sanctuary. A ritual. A way home to themselves.
This guide is your warm hand to hold as you prepare for your first visit. Consider it a friend whispering gentle encouragement in your ear, letting you know exactly what to expect so you can simply arrive, breathe, and be.
Your Journey Begins: Arrival & Welcome
The Moment You Walk In
As you enter our reception, you'll be greeted by one of our team members, people who genuinely love what they do and are here to make your experience feel effortless. They'll check you in (no rush, no stress) and hand you a complimentary towel, soft and perfectly sized for your session.
This is the moment to ask any lingering questions, share any concerns, or simply take a breath and let it sink in: you're here. You've given yourself this gift.
The All-Gender Change Room
We'll guide you into our thoughtfully designed change room, a space that welcomes all bodies, all genders, all
comfort levels. Here's what you'll find:
Secure lockers for your belongings
Private changerooms where you can transition at your own pace
Showers & Toilets
Descending into Sanctuary
Now comes one of our favourite moments, when first-timers descend the stairs to our underground bathhouse and realise: oh, this is something special.
The temperature shifts. The light softens. The world above fades away, and you enter a space designed for one singular purpose: your restoration.
The Signature Start: Our Magnesium Salt Scrub
Before you explore the rest of our sanctuary, we always recommend beginning with our signature Navia salt scrub.
Why Start Here?
Our 100% magnesium salt scrub does something beautiful: it gently exfoliates away the old (dead skin cells, the day's stress, the week's accumulation) while the magnesium absorbs directly into your skin, preparing your muscles for the deep relaxation ahead.
How to use it: After your shower (before entering the baths), take a handful of our salt scrub, combine it with our body wash and gently massage it over your body in circular motions. Rinse thoroughly. Feel how soft your skin becomes, how awake your body feels.
Exploring Your Options: The Dance of Hot and Cold
Now that your body is prepared, it's time to discover the heart of the Navia experience, the beautiful dance between heat and cold that Scandinavian cultures have practiced for centuries.
There's no right way to move through the space. Some prefer to ease in gently. Others dive straight into extremes. Your body knows what it needs.
The Hot Mineral Pool (38°C)
Our mineral-rich pool at a gentle 38 degrees is like a warm liquid embrace, the perfect temperature for easing into warmth without shock. This is where many first-timers begin, and for good reason.
Sink in slowly. Let the minerals work their ancient magic on your muscles. Feel the weight of the world dissolve as the water holds you. This is hygge in liquid form, that Danish concept of cosy contentment that makes everything feel right.
Stay for: 10-15 minutes, or until you feel thoroughly warmed and softened.
The Traditional Finnish Sauna (80°C)
Step into our black cedar wood sauna and experience what the Finns have known for thousands of years, that there's profound healing in surrendering to heat.
At 80 degrees, this is authentic Finnish sauna heat. It might feel intense at first, but as you settle in and your breath finds its rhythm, something shifts. The heat stops feeling like something you're enduring and starts feeling like something you're melting into.
Choose a lower bench for gentler heat, a higher one for a more intense experience. Both are perfect.
First-timer wisdom: Start with 5-10 minutes. You can always return for another round. The magic isn't in how long you stay, it's in being present with whatever time you give yourself.
The Steam Room
Step inside. Let the gentle warmth embrace you. Feel the frankincense-scented steam open your airways and soften whatever tension you've been carrying. This is your gentle introduction to heat therapy, warm enough to relax you, but not so intense that it overwhelms.
The Cold Adventures
Here's where courage meets clarity, where your comfort zone gently expands, where you discover you're braver than you thought.
The Cold Pool (8-10°C)
Our cold pool at 8-10 degrees offers a gentler introduction to cold therapy. It's invigorating without being shocking, awakening without being overwhelming.
For your first time, we recommend starting here rather than the ice bath. Step in slowly, breathe through the initial sensation, and stay for 30 seconds to a minute. Notice how your body wakes up, how your mind becomes crystal clear, how alive you suddenly feel.
The Ice Bath (0-3°C)
Our true ice bath at 0-3 degrees is for when you're ready to meet the edge of your comfort zone and gently push past it. This is authentic Nordic cold therapy, intense, transformative, and remarkably empowering. You don't need to try this on your first visit. But if curiosity calls you, know this: even 10-15 seconds is a complete victory. Your body doesn't measure success in minutes.
Between Experiences: Rest & Nourishment
One of the most important parts of your Navia experience happens in the gentle spaces between hot and cold, the moments of integration where your body processes what it's just experienced.
Lounge Space
We've created a comfortable lounge area where you can rest between sessions, wrapped in your towel or robe, letting the benefits settle into your bones.
Here you'll find:
Complimentary teas to warm you from the inside
Light snacks for gentle nourishment
Fresh water (stay hydrated, always)
Comfortable seating where time moves differently
Space to simply be to journal, to chat quietly with companions, or to sit in peaceful silence
Creating Your Flow
While there's no prescribed order you must follow, here's a gentle rhythm that many first-timers find works beautifully:
A Suggested First Visit Flow
Shower and salt scrub to prepare your body
Hot mineral pool (10-15 min) to deeply relax and soften
Steam room (5-10 min) to ease into warmth and awaken your senses
Rest (5-10 min) with tea in the lounge
Finnish sauna (10-15 min) for deeper heat therapy
Cold pool (30-60 sec) for gentle awakening
Rest (10 min) to integrate
Repeat the hot-cold cycle 1-2 more times as your body desires
Final Hot pool (15-20 min) before slowly transitioning back to the world
But remember: This is just a suggestion, not a prescription. Your body might crave something different, and that's perfect. The only rule is to listen to what feels right for you.
What to Expect Afterwards
As you emerge from your first Navia experience, you might notice:
A profound sense of calm that feels almost dreamlike
Muscles that feel softer and more relaxed than they have in months
Mental clarity that makes everything feel a little more manageable
Skin that glows (this is real—the heat and cold work wonders)
A gentle fatigue that's deeply satisfying rather than draining
After-care wisdom: Continue drinking water, move slowly for the next hour, honour any tiredness by resting, and give yourself permission to protect this peaceful state rather than rushing back into busy-ness.
Your first time at Navia is the beginning of something beautiful, a practice, a ritual, a way of caring for yourself that you'll likely want to return to again and again.
We'll be here to guide you, to answer every question, to make sure you feel held and supported every step of the way. Because wellness is better when it's shared, and you deserve to feel completely welcome in your own sanctuary.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON
Wellness is better when its shared
THE NAVIA TEAM
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