The ritual
Contrast therapy means moving between hot and cold with a pause in between. This is how a visit works at Stillburn, and why we keep to this order.
Heat · cedar sauna
Cold · plunge pool
Rest · quiet room
How it works
Why hot, then cold, then nothing at all
Heat first. Twelve to fifteen minutes in the cedar room at around ninety degrees gets you warm all the way through.
Then cold. One to three minutes in water at three degrees. It is a shock for the first breath and calm by the third.
Then rest. Ten minutes wrapped in a robe, doing nothing. Most members say this is the part they come back for.
Please note
We are a bathhouse, not a clinic, and nothing on this site is medical advice. If you have a health condition, speak to your doctor before you book.
Step by step
One visit, start to finish
A full loop takes about half an hour. Most people do three.
01
Shower first
Rinse off and leave everything but your swimsuit in the locker. You start the loop clean, with nothing in your hands.
2 min
02
Sit in the heat
Low bench if you are new, high bench for the full ninety degrees. Water goes on the stones every ten minutes.
12 to 15 min
03
Step into the cold
Walk in slowly and breathe out long. A guide stays by the pool and counts you through the first minute.
1 to 3 min
04
Rest and do nothing
Robe on, feet up, eyes on the water. No talking in the rest room, and no phones anywhere past the lockers.
10 min
05
Go again
Back to the heat for round two. Three rounds is the classic visit, two is fine and four is for the stubborn.
3 rounds
What people notice
What members tell us afterwards
These are things people say after a visit. They are not promises, and everyone is different.
01
A quieter head
An hour with no screen and nothing to decide. People often say the walk home feels slower.
02
An easy evening
Many members book the late session and say they are ready for bed soon after.
03
Time with friends
It is hard to look at a phone in a sauna. Conversations tend to go somewhere.
04
A clear finish
A fixed loop with a clear end. You know what the next ninety minutes hold.
House rules
Etiquette and safety
A short list that keeps the rooms calm and everyone comfortable.
In the rooms
Shower before you enter the sauna.
Sit or lie on your towel.
Keep voices low, and silent in the rest room.
Wear a swimsuit in every shared session.
No phones or cameras past the lockers.
Look after yourself
Drink water before and after your visit.
Leave the heat as soon as you feel light-headed.
Do not come in after drinking alcohol.
Do not plunge alone or put your head under.
Do not push through pain or dizziness.
Ready when you are
Book a Cold Plunge Intro if this is your first time. A guide stays with you the whole way.
Stillburn
°
Sauna, cold plunge and contrast therapy in the Harbour Quarter. Open every day of the year.
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