Tanjariitta Anttila

I was born and raised in Finland and moved to the USA in 1990. My professional work has always been focused on health and wellbeing. In addition to a licensure as a psychotherapist in both FL and MT, I hold numerous certifications including yoga teacher certification, hypnotherapy, somatic therapy, medicinal essential oils and Finnish sauna therapy. My bachelors degree is Interior Design and Space Planning. Growing up, I was under the tutelage of my father in learning the skills of understanding and building Finnish saunas correctly in order to ensure the intended health benefits and the health and hygiene of the sauna space itself.

I formalized my inherent knowledge and experience about saunas by enrolling and graduating from a 1.5 year certification program in Finland with Mervi Hongisto and Merja Pihlamäki, both of whom are the founding members of the Finnish professional sauna therapy organization, Finnish Cupping and Sauna Therapy Association. My teachers single-handedly worked on modernizing and standardizing the traditional Finnish sauna treatments and the education curriculum to meet the new and rigorous EU health standards, therefore ensuring the survival of these practices into the future.