Blog Post Title One
Finding Your Third Space: Why We Need Places Beyond Home and Work
By Kristian Ryan | Founder, Third Spaces
In 2018, I was hit by a car in a catastrophic accident that could have ended my story. Instead, it became my beginning.
The years of recovery that followed weren't just about healing broken bones—they were about discovering something profound about human resilience and transformation. As I worked to rebuild my body and mind, I found myself drawn to practices that existed at the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern science: heat therapy, cold exposure, breathwork, movement. But more than that, I discovered something about where transformation happens.
It doesn't happen in the chaos of our workplaces. It doesn't happen in the comfort of our homes, where routines keep us tethered to the familiar. It happens in the spaces between—what sociologist Ray Oldenburg calls "third places." And that realization changed everything about how I approach wellness.
What Is a Third Space?
You spend the vast majority of your life moving between two primary locations: your home (your first place) and your workplace (your second place). These spaces define most people's entire existence.
But there's always been a third space—and it's arguably the most important one.
Third spaces are the cafés where friends gather for hours. The community centres where neighbours connect. The parks where people decompress. The local gym where familiar faces become friends. Historically, they were village squares, public baths, town halls—neutral ground where people could simply be without the roles and responsibilities that define them at home or work.
Ray Oldenburg, who developed this concept in his book The Great Good Place, argued that third spaces are essential for community, democracy, and individual wellbeing. They're where we:
Connect authentically with others outside our immediate family or work colleagues
Shed our roles as parent, employee, spouse, and just exist as ourselves
Experience belonging without formal membership or obligation
Find renewal through voluntary social interaction
Here's the problem: we're losing them.
The Modern Third Space Crisis
Take a moment and think about your own life. Where is your third space?
For many people, the answer is nowhere. Or worse, it's a shopping mall, a drive-through, or a screen.
For many the coffee shop has been replaced by takeaway orders. Community centres have declined. In local pubs and cafés people can be found scrolling social media from their chairs and couches. Even gyms, which should be third spaces, often feel transactional—get in, work out, get out.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend dramatically. We retreated into our homes and learned to do everything there—work, exercise, socialize, entertain. The boundaries between first and second place blurred completely. And the third place? It nearly vanished.
The consequences are showing up in our health statistics. Australia faces rising rates of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and chronic disease. The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey consistently shows increasing social isolation. We're more connected digitally than ever before, yet feeling more alone.
As someone currently completing my third year in Psychological Sciences at Swinburne University, I can tell you the research is clear: social isolation is as harmful to your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. We need third spaces—not as luxury, but as essential infrastructure for human wellbeing.
Why Wellness Spaces Create Powerful Third Places
Here's what I've learned through certifications as a Yoga Instructor, Wim Hof Method Instructor, and Oxygen Advantage® Instructor, and through years of lived experience: the most transformative wellness experiences don't happen in isolation.
Yes, there's value in individual practice. But something magical happens when people gather in intentional spaces dedicated to wellbeing—especially in natural settings.
Think about traditional Finnish sauna culture. It's not just about heat exposure (though that's beneficial). It's about community. Finnish families and friends gather in saunas together, creating a ritual space for connection, conversation, and shared experience. The health benefits of Finnish sauna use are well-documented—including a 63% reduction in sudden cardiac death for frequent users—but the social component is inseparable from the practice.
The same is true for yoga studios, meditation groups, running clubs, and traditional bathhouses around the world. These aren't just places to exercise or relax. They're third spaces where transformation happens through the combination of practice and presence with others.
Wellness spaces offer something unique as third places:
Voluntary participation: You choose to be there, unlike mandatory work or family obligations
Common purpose: Everyone shares the goal of wellbeing, creating natural connection
Leveling effect: When you're in an ice bath or holding a challenging yoga pose, titles and status disappear
Regular rhythm: Consistent practice creates community through repeated encounters
Neutral ground: Neither your home nor your workplace—a space apart
But here's the challenge: traditional wellness spaces—gyms, studios, spas—often create barriers. Memberships are expensive. Locations are fixed. The environments can feel exclusive or intimidating. Hours are limited by building schedules.
What if we could create third spaces that were more accessible, more beautiful, more connected to nature?
The Mobile Third Space: Bringing Wellness to You
This is why I created Third Spaces.
After my accident, after studying psychology and training in multiple wellness modalities, after experiencing firsthand how transformative these practices can be, I kept coming back to one question: How do we make this accessible?
The answer was to bring the third space to people—literally.
My vision for Third Spaces is a mobile wellness service offering authentic Finnish barrel sauna, ice bath therapy, breathwork, yoga, and meditation in beautiful natural settings across Adelaide and South Australia's stunning coastline. We want to set up on beaches at sunrise, in parks at sunset, in backyards for private gatherings, at corporate events.
The equipment is professional-grade. The practices are evidence-based. But the philosophy is simple: create temporary third spaces where people can step outside their daily routines and experience transformation.
Our Pillars of Practice
At Third Spaces, we work with four fundamental wellness practices, each with deep traditional roots and modern scientific validation:
Heat Therapy: The Finnish Sauna Tradition
Our custom-built Finnish barrel sauna (80-100°C) brings authentic thermal therapy wherever you are. Research spanning decades shows regular sauna use reduces cardiovascular disease risk, supports brain health, and promotes longevity. But beyond the science, sauna creates a unique social space—a ritual pause in the day where conversation deepens and stress melts away.
Cold Exposure: Building Resilience
Ice bath immersion isn't just a trendy biohack—it's a practice that teaches your nervous system to remain calm under stress. Having completed the certified Wim Hof Method instructor training and studying cold exposure through the lens of my psychological sciences degree, I guide people through safe, progressive cold exposure that builds mental fortitude and physical resilience. There's something profound about voluntarily choosing discomfort and discovering you're stronger than you thought.
Breathwork: Your Most Accessible Tool
Whether through Wim Hof Method, Oxygen Advantage® techniques, or traditional pranayama, breathwork is the most immediate way to influence your physiological and psychological state. You take 20,000 breaths per day—learning to do it well changes everything. And unlike specialized equipment, your breath is always with you.
Mindful Movement: Yoga and Meditation
Movement isn't just exercise—it's a practice of presence. Yoga cultivates mind, body awareness, flexibility, and strength while teaching you to stay calm in challenge (a skill that transfers beautifully to ice baths and life). Meditation develops the capacity to observe your thoughts without being overwhelmed by them.
Each practice is powerful individually. But together, they create a comprehensive approach to building a resilient, vital, long-lived body and mind.
What Makes Third Spaces Different
I could have opened a studio. Many people with my certifications do. But that felt like recreating the same barriers I wanted to remove.
Instead, Third Spaces operates on these principles:
Mobile and Accessible: We will come to you, or you can come to us – whether that's a beach, park, or private location.
Nature-Connected: Whenever possible, we love to set up in beautiful natural settings. There's something about practicing wellness outdoors—breathing ocean air in a sauna, plunging into ice bath water with sand or grass beneath your feet—that deepens the experience.
Community-Focused: We offer both private sessions and group experiences. Some people need solitude; others thrive in community. Both are valid expressions of third space.
Evidence-Based: Every practice we offer is supported by scientific research. I'm not selling magic – I'm teaching techniques that measurably improve health and wellbeing.
Psychologically Informed: My ongoing studies in Psychological Sciences shape how I think about stress, resilience, habit formation, and sustainable behavior change. This isn't just physical practice – it's psychological training.
Professionally Delivered: Full insurance, comprehensive safety protocols, qualified instruction, proper equipment. This is wellness as professional service, not amateur experimentation.
Your Invitation to Find Your Third Space
Here's what I know from personal experience and professional training: you need a third space.
You need to find somewhere that isn't home or work. Somewhere you can shed your roles and simply be present. Somewhere you can challenge yourself physically and mentally in a supportive environment. Somewhere you can connect with others who share your commitment to wellbeing.
For some people, that's a yoga studio. For others, it's a running club or a climbing gym. For many, it's becoming harder and harder to find.
At Third Spaces, we're creating these essential gathering places through mobile wellness experiences. Whether you book a private contrast therapy session for yourself, gather a group of friends for a beach sauna experience, or bring our services to your workplace for team wellness, you're participating in something bigger than just a workout or relaxation session.
You're creating and protecting third spaces in your life. You're prioritizing your wellbeing in a culture that constantly demands more of your time and energy. You're discovering that transformation doesn't happen in isolation—it happens in intentional spaces where you can be fully present.
What's Next
In this space, I'll be writing more about the specific practices we offer at Third Spaces – the science behind heat and cold therapy, how breathwork actually works, why movement matters for longevity. Each post will dive deeper into the evidence and the practice.
But I wanted to start here, with this foundational idea: You need a third space. And it's our job to help you find it.
My accident in 2018 could have been the end of my story. Instead, it led me to discover these practices, pursue this education, and ultimately create Third Spaces. Not because I wanted to run a business, but because I genuinely believe these practices – done in community, in beautiful settings, with qualified guidance – can change lives.
They changed mine. And now I get to help facilitate that transformation for others.
Ready to Experience Your Third Space?
Third Spaces offers mobile sauna and ice bath experiences, breathwork sessions, yoga, and integrated wellness programming across Adelaide and South Australia's coastline.
Whether you're curious about trying sauna for the first time, ready to take the plunge into ice bath therapy, or looking for a comprehensive approach to building resilience and vitality, we're here to guide you.
Because everyone deserves a third space. A place between home and work where transformation happens. A sanctuary of balance.
Book your first session at www.thirdspaces.au
Follow our journey on Instagram [@thirdspaceswellness] to see where we're setting up next.
