There’s nowhere to hide in a sauna. Phones disappear. Small talk tends to evaporate along with the steam. Inside a cozy wooden room, surrounded by real heat and perspiring humans, silence feels natural. And honest conversation arrives faster than expected.
That’s part of the magic Jordan and Courtney Mallaley set out to create with Arùna Sauna Collective, their portable, wood-fired sauna and cold-plunge experience based in Loveland. Guests can book a session on the couple’s property, or Arùna can roll up to a party, retreat, or event. But the trailer offers more than just a place to sweat. It brings people together.
“We’re craving a more connected, healthful society and future for our children and humanity,” Courtney explains.
The idea grew out of experiences that led the Mallaleys to question how their family approached health and healing. Jordan lost his late wife to cancer, and Courtney and Jordan’s son experienced a severe brain injury at birth. In search of a different way forward, the family began returning to ancestral practices, including sauna use.
Their previous sauna experience, however, had been modernized: gyms and studios, plus what Courtney laughingly calls “a plastic sauna blanket.” What drew them in was the ritual’s enduring simplicity. For generations and across cultures, people have gathered around heat for restoration, ceremony, and connection. The Mallaleys began imagining how that practice could become both a business and a gathering place for their community.
Jordan built their first sauna directly on a trailer, making trips to Home Depot and Menards to source materials with the lowest possible toxicity. The building itself was fairly straightforward. They chose a wood-burning stove partly because, Courtney jokes, “traditional Finnish culture would have shunned us if we hadn’t.” More seriously, they wanted the bone-warming heat of a real fire. It makes stepping inside feel rooted in something older and more elemental than a trendy wellness craze.
Even the name reflects that intention. Arùna refers to the reddish light that appears just before sunrise, the color of dawn. For Courtney and Jordan, it signifies returning, beginning again, and watching light emerge from darkness. Their logo is a rune from the oldest known alphabet, representing remembrance and homecoming.
That sense of homecoming can look different for every guest, though. Book a private session at the Mallaleys’ Loveland property, and the couple will greet you before leaving you to settle in and enjoy the facilities on your own. Optional add-ons available through online booking make it simple to personalize the visit.
Want the experience somewhere else? The process is just as simple. The Mallaleys deliver the sauna, with the cold plunge, if desired, set everything up, start the fire, and leave behind wood and instructions. Then the sauna belongs to the gathering for a stretch of time. It can turn a party into something people will remember, add a restorative pause to a retreat, or give friends and family a new reason to linger longer.
Loveland was a natural home base because it’s where they live, although Courtney also appreciates the happy coincidence of building a connection-centered business in “the land of love.” As interest in health and wellness grows, Arùna offers something tangible: real fire, cold water, and uninterrupted time together.
The sauna and cold plunge work as a pair, moving guests between deep warmth and bracing cold. Heat exposure temporarily increases circulation and heart rate while encouraging relaxation and perspiration. Cold immersion delivers an intense physiological jolt that can leave participants feeling alert and invigorated. But for Courtney, one of the greatest benefits is much simpler. “It’s very difficult during either practice to be anywhere except inside your body,” she says.
That kind of presence changes how people relate to one another. With no phones to scroll, no notifications to answer, and nowhere else to rush off to, guests can sit quietly without scrambling to fill the silence. Then, often, the conversations deepen.
The Mallaleys watched their vision come alive during an event with Wildlight, their home yoga studio. One guest called it the best sauna experience they had ever had, but the bigger affirmation came after the door opened. People didn’t simply grab their belongings and leave. They lingered around the trailer, talking and sharing their hearts.
“That was the ‘we did it’ feeling,” Courtney smiles.
In a world increasingly shaped by screens, automation, and artificial intelligence, she believes people are hungry for experiences no device can imitate. “Robots can’t replace 20 minutes of dripping sweat in an herbal, steam-filled sauna,” she says.
Arùna’s success is not measured only by temperature, bookings, or how bravely someone enters the plunge. It is visible when strangers become companions, sharing breath, laughter, and vulnerability as the usual barriers between them soften with the rising steam.
“I hope people leave our sauna feeling lighter,” Courtney offers. “Sleep more deeply. They call a friend. And spend a little more time outside.”
And that is where gratitude enters the story. The Mallaleys built Arùna with their own hands after living through darkness, uncertainty, and change. Now, the fire they tend gives others a place to return: to their bodies, the natural world, and one another.
“I am eternally grateful that something we’ve built with our hands is helping humans feel more connected to themselves, each other, and the Earth,” Courtney says. At Arùna, thankfulness is more than a seasonal sentiment. It’s something you can feel: in the crackle of a wood fire, the shock of cold water, the relief of an honest conversation, and the first reddish light before a new day.
ArunaSaunaCo.com | info@arunasaunaco.com | 513.904.9299
“I hope people leave our sauna feeling lighter, sleep more deeply, call a friend, and spend a little more time outside.”