Beat to the Balance

'Beat to the Balance' involves having a sauna (usually build on spot with found materials) and tree healing; a tradition of using whisks – branch bundle of different tree species. It is a treatment that combines the psychosomatic experience of sauna, tree healing, plant mythology and aromatherapeutic effects of different plants used in whisking.

If the cause of the problems of human-kind are the loss of heritage and empathy – sauna is the place to reconnect as it's for purification, silence and has a ritualistic nature. The whisking creates a overall conscious, even fierce touch. It enables the holistic power of different tree species, re-connection to the communicating systems of the forests and opens the locks of trauma we carry due to the humans' exploitation of the Earth.

'Beat to the Balance' is a project by Mari Keski-Korsu. She has invited Maaria Alén and Bradley Blalock to whisk in Pixelache Festival 2016. Maaria is a traditional sauna healer, cupper and whisker. Bradley is a somatic arts massage therapist with education in several advanced integrative bodywork modalities.

The appointments of 'Beat to the Balance' happen in Lapinlahti sauna.
They are available:
Fri 23.9. at 16 - 20  and Sat 24.9. at 16 - 20.

Please book your 30 minutes appointment by the sauna door during the festival. Bring your own towel. The sauna is mixed sauna, preferably no bathing suits but one can wrap into the towel if shy. Please inform in advance if you have health conditions or allergies that the whisker should take into consideration. The whisks used are birch, oak, rowan, juniper and maple. Also, don't eat heavily before your session.

During Beat to the Balance, the sauna is open to everyone to take part in the whisking ritual and to learn some basics of tree healing.

Background information

Since 2015, artists Mari Keski­-Korsu have been studying to be a professional whisker under the guidance of lithuanian whisking educator Rimas Kavaliauskas who has been teaching whisking over ten years in the Bath Academy of Lithuania. Together, they organised the first ever whisking course in Finland in spring 2015 to educate participants to do whisk treatments. The experience of tree healing & therapy has in many ways disappeared and to support the revitalisation and reconnection of it, has been important aspect. The project has created a small group of whiskers in Finland that are keen on carrying on and expanding the work.'Beat to the Balance' have happened so far in Scottish Sculpture Workshop (2015 – 2016) where a sauna was build and Astrid Noack's Atelier in Denmark (2015) in a mobile sauna as well as in many other existing saunas. http://www.artsufartsu.net/beat-to-the-balance/