Interview with Yasmin Woods – How Heat Wellness Helps Heal Trauma and Build Resilience
- Mar 5
- 6 min read
Yasmin Woods’ journey is one of resilience and transformation, from overcoming personal trauma to building Heat Wellness, a space dedicated to healing and connection. Through her work, Yasmin is creating a sanctuary where people can restore their bodies, minds, and sense of community.
Yasmin Woods, Founder & CEO of Heat Wellness
1. Who is Yasmin Woods at home?
At home, I’m a loving mother. It’s just me and my son. No family. No safety net. I’m the nurturer, the protector, the safe place. Everything I build in life begins with one mission: I want my son to grow up feeling safe, loved, and emotionally equipped in ways I never was.
Home is simple for me. Success at home means safety. Food in the cupboard. Water running from the tap. A regulated nervous system. Peace.
I know what it’s like to be homeless. To eat from bins. To survive an abusive relationship and break a trauma bond that once felt impossible to escape. I know what it feels like to hold everything together for a child while silently falling apart inside.
People describe me as resilient, kind, and deeply understanding. But resilience was forged through survival. I rebuilt myself from nothing emotionally and physically.
Nature grounds me. Breathwork steadies me. The cold became my medicine.
And most importantly, I’ve broken cycles so they end with me. My son is growing up with love and tools for healing that I had to discover alone.
2. And in the business world, who is Yasmin?
In the business world, I am the founder of Heat Wellness, a sauna and ice bath contrast therapy space in Pembrokeshire, built from lived experience, not trend.
Heat was born from rock bottom. After escaping abuse, I numbed the pain with alcohol.
Trauma had left me disconnected from my body, my feelings, and myself. I was isolated as a single mother, sometimes going days without adult conversation, carrying the weight of healing my son while not knowing how to heal myself.
One day, I heard on a podcast that cold water could help with hangovers. Desperate for relief, I went for a sea swim. It changed my life.
The cold made me feel again after years of numbness. It regulated my nervous system after prolonged fight-or-flight. I became obsessed with the science of cold exposure and later discovered the profound impact of combining cold with heat. Contrast therapy transformed my physical and mental health.
I started taking my son. It helped us both. Then, in the very sauna space that had become my sanctuary—the only place I felt community—I was sexually assaulted.
That violation shattered something in me. The weight of homelessness, abuse, isolation, trauma, and that final incident became too much. I attempted to take my own life.
I speak about it now, not for sympathy, but for truth. That was my absolute darkest day.
Months after, when collecting my son from school, I saw a space for rent. Something shifted in me. I called immediately. In that moment, I made a decision: This will not be my life. I will not let another person take anything from me. I will build the safe space I needed.
Heat Wellness was born from that decision. Designed intentionally with full visibility, safety measures, and community at its core, Heat is more than a sauna and ice bath facility. It’s a regulated, supportive environment where people can connect in a healthy way, not over alcohol, not through escapism, but through shared healing.
People now travel from Swansea, Carmarthen, and Ceredigion to use my facilities. But my mission is larger than contrast therapy. With a background in mental health, I’m breaking the stigma that sauna and ice baths are only for athletes. My work addresses a global epidemic of loneliness and dysregulation. I’m creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and safe.
When clients leave Heat Wellness, they are calmer. Clearer. More connected to themselves and to others.
3. How does sauna and cold plunge therapy improve wellness?
Hot and cold therapy works by deliberately activating and regulating the nervous system.
When we experience stress or trauma, the body can become stuck in a prolonged fight-or-flight state. This dysregulation affects everything: sleep, digestion, mood, immune function, and emotional resilience. Contrast therapy offers a powerful, natural way to reset that system.
Cold exposure: Nervous system reset
Cold water immersion activates the sympathetic nervous system, initially increasing heart rate and releasing adrenaline and noradrenaline. But with controlled exposure and steady breathing, the body learns to regulate under stress.
This builds:
Emotional resilience
Improved stress tolerance
Reduced inflammation
Increased dopamine levels (which can elevate mood for hours after exposure)
Greater mental clarity
For many people, especially those recovering from trauma or burnout, cold exposure helps them reconnect with their bodies after periods of numbness or dissociation.
Heat therapy: Deep restoration
Sauna use activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the “rest and digest” state many of us rarely access in modern life.
Regular sauna use has been linked to:
Improved cardiovascular health
Detoxification through sweating
Muscle recovery
Reduced cortisol levels
Improved sleep
Increased circulation
Heat allows the body to fully relax and release tension stored in the muscles and fascia.
The power of contrast
When heat and cold are combined, the alternating vasodilation (heat) and vasoconstriction (cold) improve circulation, lymphatic flow, and nervous system adaptability. But beyond the physiological benefits, there is a psychological shift.
Contrast therapy teaches the body that discomfort is temporary and survivable. It builds confidence. It creates presence. It anchors people back into their breath and their bodies.
In a world where loneliness and dysregulation are becoming global issues, these therapies also create something equally important: connection. Shared contrast sessions foster community, healthy social interaction, and co-regulation, something many people are deeply missing.
At its core, sauna and cold plunge therapy are not just wellness trends. They are tools for resilience, regulation, and reconnection physically, mentally, and socially.
4. What makes your wellness lounge different from others?
Heat is different because it was built from lived experience, not just trend. I created this space after surviving trauma, abuse, and isolation. I know what it feels like to be dysregulated, alone, and craving safety. That perspective shaped every detail of the lounge from full glass saunas and security cameras to intentional layouts that foster connection while protecting privacy.
Contrast therapy is often marketed to athletes, but here we teach that it’s about healing for everyone.
Our sauna and ice bath sessions are grounded in mental health principles and designed to help people regulate their nervous systems. People come here not just for physical wellness, but to reconnect with themselves, find calm, and feel seen in a safe community.
We’re solving something bigger than fitness: a global loneliness epidemic. Heat Wellness is a place where connection, restoration, and resilience come together, and that’s what makes it truly different.
5. How do you guide newcomers to sauna and cold plunge practices?
At Heat, we guide newcomers with patience, empathy, and clear structure because we know how intimidating stepping into cold water or a sauna for the first time can feel. We start by helping people understand what to expect when they enter the cold. Guided breathwork is always the first tool we use, giving clients a sense of control and presence before they even enter the water.
We encourage them to move at their own pace, listen to their bodies, and honour their limits. Many people arrive carrying stress and anxiety. By combining education, gradual exposure, and community support, newcomers learn to regulate, build resilience, and experience the restorative benefits safely.
For me, guiding someone through their first session is about more than wellness—it’s about helping them feel safe, empowered, and connected from the very beginning.
6. What are the key benefits clients experience at your lounge?
At Heat, the benefits go far beyond just physical recovery. Clients leave feeling regulated, resilient, and restored physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Through contrast therapy, people experience:
Nervous system regulation: learning to move between stress and calm, which improves emotional resilience
Mental clarity and focus: the cold and heat sharpen the mind and improve mood
Physical recovery: improved circulation, reduced inflammation, and muscle release
Stress relief and calm: helping people release tension and reconnect with their bodies
Connection and community: clients often tell me the lounge is the first place they feel seen, safe, and part of something healthy.
For many, the most profound shift isn’t just physical. It’s the sense of being present, safe, and alive again.
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