I’m Gemma, born and raised in Scotland, left in my 20s where I had a glorious decade or so in London and the beautiful coastal town of Brighton. In 2024 my family and I decided to go on another life adventure, to move to the Netherlands. This is when the I know I was ready to do something different in the world too.

I set out to find a place where I could simply be. A sauna in my new home here in The Netherlands.

Over the years, sauna has been that place for me. It has helped ground me through some difficult chapters of life, including miscarriage, bereavement, and through the huge transition of becoming a mother and finding my way back to myself.

But it has also given me some of my happiest moments. I’ve made new friendships there, shared profound and joyful times, sat quietly with people I barely knew, and discovered how good it can feel to simply switch off from the busyness of the outside world.

There’s something I love about sauna in particular: you leave so many of your labels at the door. For a little while, you’re not your job, your role, your to-do list or the things that you’re carrying. You’re simply a person sitting on a hot bench with other people.

That’s the feeling I want to share through Coorie.

I’m a trained sauna master, having trained under one of the UK’s most respected sauna masters, and I’m continuing to explore sauna traditions and rituals from around the world.

My professional background is in social housing, social impact and empowering people to have more choice and opportunity in their lives. For many years, I’ve worked at the point where people, communities and organisations come together, and I’ve seen how much difference a welcoming space, a sense of belonging and genuine human connection can make.

That’s part of what sits quietly underneath Coorie too. I believe that spaces that bring people together, encourage connection and give us permission to slow down can play a meaningful role in our wellbeing. Coorie isn't clinical or prescriptive. It is simply a place to come as you are, connect if you want to, be quiet if you need to, and leave feeling a little more grounded than when you arrived.

One of my favourite discoveries was the first time I experienced a sauna ritual with a leaf whisk. I remember seeing the whisk coming towards me, I didn’t know what to think! By the end of the ritual, I was completely hooked.

The gentle sounds, natural scents, rhythm and movement don't just conduct the heat. They create a connection with nature within the sauna itself. That is something I bring to Coorie through natural botanicals, scents, music, movement and rituals inspired by sauna traditions from different places.

Coorie is our little corner of that world here in the Netherlands.

A place to warm up, slow down, connect, laugh, breathe, or simply sit quietly for a while.

Come coorie with me.