Are you well? Rage rooms, sacred sexuality & sea swims in Ireland

Following a significant career change, broadcaster and podcaster Áine Ní Bhreisleáin set herself a goal to uncover the wellness treatments that would help her find balance within her mind, body, and soul.

"I had, sort of, a basic interest in wellness; reflexology, crystal therapy, things like that," she explains, "but I wanted to find out more about it and I wanted to see what things could, perhaps, help me in my lifestyle, my work-life balance."

"What sparked this programme," she continues, "was leaving full-time employment for the first time in 18 years, going out on my own. I also wanted to see what attracted the practitioners to it."

While the word 'wellness' may conjure up images of tricky yoga poses, steaming cups of herbal tea, and over-priced face masks, Áine quickly discovers that Ireland's wellness industry is exceptionally varied.

Over a few short months, the Beo ar Éigean co-host traveled the length and breadth of the country, seeking out the latest therapies and treatments, and meeting some big characters along the way.

From rage rooms in Dublin, to howling at the moon in Galway, and lessons in sacred sexuality in rural Tipperary, the Donegal woman is thrown into some transformational experiences.

"That was so much fun as a concept," the gaeilgeoir laughs, reminiscing on her time in the rage room with friend and fellow podcaster Sinéad Ní Uallacháin.

"Working in media, there's so much stress and travel and sometimes you're frustrated about things, so that was such a healthy, fun, sociable way to let out those stresses."

"I didn't think it went under the banner of wellness," she adds, "but I tried a lot of stuff that was hands on; having acupuncture done, doing the sauna, ice bath, and aromatherapy practices, making kombucha and tasting kombucha."

Another memorable moment came when attending a women-only event in Galway held by Kayte O'Malley. The Cosy Club encourages young women to create a support network for themselves to lean on - or just to scream at the sky together.

"I went full moon howling with the swimmers down in Blackrock in Galway," she explains. "We went down on a full moon in the middle of the summer.

"It was lashing rain and all these people, in the dark, got into sea and we all just howled like crazy at the moon and swam around. We sat around afterwards eating cake and having a cup of tea."

"It was really interesting," she muses, "that communal effect of doing something good for you - and it's even better than doing it on your own."

A point of contention for many broaching the wellness industry is the price tag that comes with being 'well'. And while Áine insists that events like Wellfest are fascinating ("it's like Electric Picnic for people who go to bed early"), she insists that plenty of techniques can be embraced for free.

"I might have gone to an ice bath to do cold water plunges, but you can do that at home with a cold shower, or go to the sea and dip in" she insists. "Even things like making kombucha was just about thinking about your gut health and finding slightly healthier practices."

"Breath work was something very practical," she continues. "Some of these things have been around for hundreds of years, in terms of the sweat houses and hot and cold therapy, it's now just been re-branded as wellness."

Speaking of ancient practices, in the final episode of the show, Áine found herself investigating sacred sexuality in a pub in rural Tipperary.

"The course was all about the divine feminine," she explains. "I spent the day with a small group of women in kind of a healing circle, we practiced different breathwork and ways of releasing tension through chanting and song.

"It was about channeling different energies in the body, the divine feminine, and the power women have when reclaiming their own sexuality, their own power, and their own autonomy. We did a lot of grounding, lying in the grass, and at the end of the day, we went to a local river where everyone swims under a waterfall."

"It was very powerful," she confirms. "It was something that stayed with me a good while after."

Having tried so many physical, mental and spiritual activities in such a short time, the overriding lesson for Áine was simple: try a bit of everything until you find what fits.

Having never felt like much of a gym-goer, the broadcaster suddenly found herself loving her time with personal trainer and performance expert Ciana Ní Churraoin.

"I'm still at it which was a big change for me!" she laughs. "There's a lot of different strands to wellness, a lot of it is personal choice."

"We filmed it all between May and the start of October so it was a pretty compact amount of time," she explains. "I did about 15-17 different things so I felt like I had gone into a pick and mix shop, trying one of everything and deciding what I liked. It definitely opened up my mind."

Sonas airs Wednesdays, from 19 March, at 8.30pm on TG4.