The Founders of Löyly: A Love Story & A Healing Journey

From Breakdown to Breakthrough

Before Löyly ever existed, before the name was discovered, before the first plunge or breathwork circle—there were two people on parallel paths of pain and awakening.

Dion Ruzicka was working as a quality manager in a steel manufacturing plant, managing systems and auditing vendors. Life was rigid, stressful, and linear. But as his body began to unravel—red eyes, swollen lymph nodes, blackened gums, unexplained fatigue—so did the illusion of control. The diagnosis? Lymphatic leukemia.

Cindy Ruzicka, on the other hand, was successful in the design world, full of charisma and style—but carrying the invisible weight of emotional exhaustion and a quiet dependence on alcohol to manage life’s unrelenting demands. On the edge of a milestone birthday, she challenged herself to 100 celibate dates—“a quest,” she laughs, “to figure out how I like my eggs,” referencing Runaway Bride.

By cosmic accident—or divine appointment—Dion was date number three. After a rocky start and a misdirected text months later, the two reunited. Within 21 days, they were married. It wasn’t just love at first sight. It was soul recognition.

But shortly after, Dion’s health collapsed completely.

A Dream on Christmas Morning

The medical system had no answers. It offered pills, radiation, chemotherapy—and a prognosis wrapped in fear. But on Christmas morning, Dion awoke from a vivid dream: “If you do this ice plunging, it will heal you.”

He’d never done a cold plunge in his life. He didn’t even like the cold. But the voice in the dream was so clear, so persistent, he told Cindy immediately. “If you do, I do,” she said without hesitation. And so began their journey into cold water, sauna, and breath.

The Science of the Sacred

At first, it was trial and error. They filled bathtubs with ice, tried infrared saunas, tested protocols. But the healing was undeniable. The inflammation shrank. The lymph nodes reduced. The exhaustion began to lift. Dion was regaining vitality.

Scientifically, the cold plunge was activating his brown fat, pulling glucose from his bloodstream—the very fuel that cancer feeds on. Cindy recalls, “Otto Warburg published this in Nature almost 90 years ago. Cold water inhibits cancer growth. But no one talks about it. Why?”

Beyond the physical, the cold was awakening something deeper: spirit.

“We stopped looking for someone else to save us,” Dion shares. “I stopped waiting for the doctor to fix me. I realized—Ihad the power to heal.”

The Sauna as Sanctuary

In Finnish tradition, the word Löyly means the sacred steam that rises when water hits the sauna stones. It is said to be the life force—the soul of the sauna. The name found them, just as this path had.

They learned that in Finland, the sauna is where hierarchy disappears. Everyone is equal. Everyone sweats together. Every home has one—not as luxury, but as necessity. The culture is happier, healthier, less stressed. “This isn’t a trend,” Cindy says. “It’s a 2,000-year-old tradition.”

They wanted to bring that to Houston.

What They Built Together

They sold their old tubs. Bought two commercial cold plunges on credit. Built a sauna. Their protocols evolved: cold → hot tub → sauna → repeat. The results came fast—and not just for Dion.

Cindy lost 40 pounds. Her anxiety faded. Her inner voice quieted. She broke up with alcohol not through willpower, but through inner power.

Together, they began to transform. Not just in body. In intimacy. In clarity. In truth. “This,” they say, “is a love potion.” The oxytocin, the dopamine, the shared discipline—it rewired their nervous systems and their relationship.

And they knew: if it worked for us, it could work for others.

Löyly Today

Löyly Sauna Lounge is now a modern temple of transformation in the heart of Houston. It is not a spa. It is not a trend. It is a sacred space to reconnect to breath, body, and soul.

Their one-of-a-kind communal cold plunge features:

• River jets for circulation

• Nano-oxygen infusion

• Saltwater purification

• Sound vibration therapy

• Up to 10 people in one shared plunge

It is healing. It is elemental. It is hard—every time. But in that difficulty lies the breakthrough.

They’ve built a private sauna room for those who seek stillness, and a public space for those who crave community. They've welcomed musicians, CEOs, mothers, athletes, and skeptics—each finding something they didn’t know they were seeking.

A Message to the Skeptical

To the tired. To the burned out. To the anxious and inflamed. To the women who feel overlooked. To the men who feel disembodied. To those carrying grief, or resentment, or apathy.

You are not broken. You are misaligned.

The cold will remind you.
The heat will soften you.
The breath will bring you back.

Meet the Founders

Cindy and Dion Ruzicka are more than the founders of Löyly. They are living testimonies. Through personal illness, spiritual revelation, and daily discipline—they’ve walked the walk. And now they open their doors, hearts, and protocols to those who are ready to reclaim their wholeness.

Whether you come for a plunge, a guided breath session, or just to be still among good people—this is your invitation to come home to yourself.