Mothers launch ‘cooler’ sauna with more benefits

THREE mums have teamed up to launch a self-use sauna room at a gym in Henley.

Sixteen years ago, Mel Jameson, Laura Porter and India Quinn all attended the same mum and baby group in Sonning Common.

The trio, now mums to teenagers, opened the Recovery Room, an infrared sauna, in July.

Access is granted via a QR code sent to users after they book online.

Once inside, they can programme the lights to any colour they like, sit back and relax, play music or even watch Netflix on a screen mounted inside the sauna.

The business is based at TG Gym & Wellness, off Reading Road, a fitness space run by former Olympic rower Toby Garbett that is also home to a café as well as a number of other heath and wellness-related businesses.

Ms Quinn, 43, who runs an eyelash extension and lift business in the gym’s space, suggested the idea to the group after the space had been made available.

She first befriended Ms Porter, 44, a former teacher who now works in administration, while working at the former Monsoon shop in Bell Street, which is now home to Côte.

The pair said they had always been into fitness and originally attended the old LA Fitness gym together.

Ms Jameson, 46, who grew up in Somerset, moved to the area around 20 years ago to work as a teacher at Highdown School in Emmer Green and now works in administration for a recruitment company.

Their three sons, Raephe, Flynn and Max, are now aged 16 and attend The Piggott School’s sixth form in Wargrave together.

Ms Porter said: “Considering we’ve set this up at the same time that the boys have been doing GCSEs it has been quite amazing. We’ve always spent quite a lot of time together and we’ve always met up with the children. We’ve all got girls as well and they all get on really well.”

Ms Quinn, who lives in Sonning Common, began looking into the benefits of saunas after using one on holiday and the group started looking into the possibility of running their own service.

Ms Quinn said: “I started off researching traditional saunas where the air in the sauna is hot, so your body temperature heats up because of the ambient air and then I started looking at the health benefits of the infrared sauna. It is more environmentally friendly because you don’t use as much energy and it has got more benefits for the body.

“So we were talking about it and then the idea started developing and the opportunity came. Within a week we put everything in place to do it.”

Ms Jameson, who lives in Kidmore End, said: “Timing-wise, this room came up for rent, and we’re just like, ‘Let’s go for it’ and within four weeks we had it in.

“We were discussing it in May, June and then we were up and running by the beginning of July.” The sauna sessions run from around
20 minutes up to an hour and the sauna can be programmed at different heats. The average temperature is 50 to 55 degrees but the sauna can reach up to 70.

As opposed to traditional “Finnish” saunas, which work by heating the air, often with a wood-burning or electric stove, infrared saunas use special heaters.

They raise the body temperature internally by penetrating the skin and underlying tissues, warming the body directly from the inside out.

This process occurs at lower air temperatures than traditional saunas, allowing users to sweat without the surrounding air being as hot. Ms Quinn explained that the sessions could be tailored for various purposes, such as pain relief, relaxation, muscle recovery, detoxification and improving skin health.

Ms Jameson said: “The thing with infrared is it’s not as hot as a traditional sauna. So it’s more bearable.

“I manage 20 minutes in a traditional sauna, whereas in this sauna the heat’s slightly different.”

She said she believed there would be an appetite for the experience in the town.

Ms Jameson said: “Henley is an area where fitness and health stuff is high up on the agenda. I think it’s that whole thing of feeling good and looking good.”

Ms Quinn said that health and fitness services are becoming more accessible to people and hoped that the Recovery Lounge could offer a good solution for those with a busy schedule.

She said: “You don’t have to do something that takes ages or go out of town or whatever.

“You can just come down and you spend half an hour and you feel like you’ve done something for yourself and you have benefited your health.”

Ms Porter, who lives in Henley, has been a member of TG gyms for a number of years and said she really liked the atmosphere.

“It is a community,” she said. “People are really friendly here. There are really nice instructors here and the classes are good.”

Ms Quinn, who has been a member since before Mr Garbett took over the building in 2022, added: “There’s a real support element here.”

Ms Jameson, who is not a member but works out from home, said she found it to be a very welcoming environment.

She said: “Toby really cares about the team here and all the people. That’s the bit that I found as an outsider.

“It’s quite encompassing, and he likes to look after all the people that are here.”

Ms Jameson said that as mums, they still found it important to take time to relax and recharge.

“It’s few and far between,” she said.  “Especially as the children get older, you start to realise how important it is, otherwise you kind of lose yourself. And it’s very easy to do that when they’re small.

“It’s funny because you think the little ones will be more demanding when they’re small. But, actually, I think as we’re finding as they’re getting older, it’s actually difficult, in different ways and in some ways they need you more.”