Susie Bennett on Blue Health

June 05, 2026 7 min read

We first met Susie Bennett as a loyal Meander customer in our Stockbridge store, where a chat about our shared love of the outdoors soon turned into an inspiring conversation about Blue Health, mindfulness, and the powerful connection between wellbeing and nature.

With a background in community health, a passion for Scotland’s wild blue spaces, and a new coaching venture on the horizon, Susie is helping others reconnect with themselves through the healing influence of water and the natural world. We sat down with her to learn more about her journey, the philosophy behind Blue Health Coaching, and the places in Scotland that continue to inspire her most.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? You haven’t always worked in coaching and wellness - what were you doing before getting into this space?

The majority of my career previously was spent working within the Third Sector for health related charities. I was a project manager working across different health boards to implement support and services within communities and within internal health frameworks.

What first sparked your interest in health and wellness? And how did that eventually lead you into coaching?

To be honest it was a move that came from a very personal place. I resigned from my job at the time due to a sudden decline in my health which had a long term impact both mentally and physically. It turned out it was the brain and body connection acutely telling me things needed dealt with. For so long I was not fully honest about what was happening but I was incredibly grateful for amazing support and over time I was able to regain my health and be honest about what had happened. Through this process I met wonderful people and was re-introduced to the impact coaching can have on helping people move forwards. The experience also highlighted how important it is to check in on your own sphere of wellbeing regularly, learning how to do this effectively and protect time to do that.

A lot of your work involves being outdoors and encouraging others to get outside too. Why do you think spending time outdoors is so important for our health and wellbeing?

I was so lucky being brought up with a huge appreciation for nature and spending a lot of time outdoors whether that was exploring beaches and coastlines, walking up mountains, or skiing down them! It always had been a place of adventure, peace and happiness, a place to escape to when things where challenging or a place where a lot of wonderful memories were made. When I was recovering and building confidence, the stark contrast of the shift in how I felt when I had been outside and taken a gentle walk in nature was huge. It was this contrast that made me determined to build my recovery around a routine involving as much time in nature as possible. There is a natural neutrality about being in the outdoors which I believe supports you to not just relax but to reset, refresh and realign both mentally and physically.

You now focus a lot on Blue Health. For anyone who hasn’t come across that term before, how would you describe it? And what made it really click for you personally?

Having completed my Professional Diploma in Coaching and Mentoring, I knew I wanted to take the coaching conversation outdoors. So many people will understand that shift that happens, the change in how you feel, when you get outdoors and immerse yourself in nature, but it can be easier said than done – time, expectations, confidence, distractions– so many things can prevent someone from being fully immersed in the outdoors. The opportunity to become a Certified Professional Blue Health Coach was exactly what I had been looking for – to take the coaching conversation outside to the blue spaces I have always loved so much. It allowed me to understand why we feel these benefits outdoors and showed me how this understanding can create a unique and supportive coaching partnership with clients that is immersive, grounding and expansive, creating a balance between creating a secure foundation to work from while allowing for personal growth, self-awareness, creativity and energy flow.

Blue Health Coaching is an advanced professional coaching practice working in partnership with blue spaces. Location flows throughout the coaching process, rather than acting as a backdrop to the conversation. Unique discovery methods honour the vital importance of a healthy ecosystem – internally and externally – enabling a new level of clarity within decision making and a distinct awareness of ripple effects. Blue Health Coaching is for those aiming to rediscover their natural intuition and connect more fully with their life, diluting inertia and creating flow. Coaching activities and conversations distil streams of environmental psychology, philosophy, applied neuroscience, neuro-conservation, somatic practices, mindfulness and more. This mixed modality approach to self (and social) inquiry allows for creative and existential awakening beyond traditional psychology. Blue Health Coaching dissolves the space between your internal and the external environments, creating a sense of connection, exploring a sense of space, place, time and intent.

There is now a growing Blue Health Coaching community internationally and the Blue Health community is celebrated every year with ‘100 Days of Blue’. This series invites everyone to explore and appreciate our connection with water, learn more about Blue Mind wellbeing, celebrating the intrinsic value of water, learning how to safely enjoy but also protect our blue spaces.

You’re in the process of starting your own business around blue space mindfulness - how’s that been going, and what can people expect from it?

I will soon be launching ‘Wellbeing of Blue’, my very own Blue Health Coaching business where I will be working with individuals and groups to deliver Blue Health Coaching and tailored experiences. I am so excited about this new chapter and grateful for everything that has led me to this point, the good and the bad, the grey and the blue. My drive to help others to discover or rediscover the support our natural surroundings can gift us, and how they can be a partner in supporting positive change, finding clarity in self, and provide a safe environment to work through challenge, is at the heart of Wellbeing of BlueCoaching. I am based in Edinburgh and East Lothian where we have access to stunning coastal landscapes and this is where I deliver the majority of my coaching.

Our coastal environments, like all blue spaces, are ever changing environments. From rivers to waterfalls, blue spaces show up in different ways, just like we do. How blue spaces change and move before us, and the immediacy of change we can see and feel, creates a perfectly placed environment in which to work through creating positive change in our own lives. Blue Health Coaching is an opportunity to relax in a safe and supportive space, to dial down the daily internal thought processes and dial up the senses and natural instinct. There is a lot you can learn when you are given the opportunity to truly listen to and understand the self. If you are looking to create positive change in life - whether professionally or personally, looking to address challenges, wanting to discover or re-discover what really matters to you, or you are wanting to find flow and balance in life, then Wellbeing of Blue Coaching could be for you!

You also work with Ocean Vertical - can you tell us a bit about them and what you do there?

Ocean Vertical is an ethical outdoor adventure company based within the stunning John Muir Country Park just outside Dunbar in East Lothian. We deliver a range of amazing adventure activities and experiences for individuals, groups and teams all year round. As an ethical adventure company working towards BCorp certification, Ocean Vertical are committed to protecting the wild and natural environment we work in, supporting customers to have a lot of fun and adventure safely within these beautiful environments, but also encouraging people to learn about and respect our natural environments, building a business that benefits community and planet. I have been working with Ocean Vertical for two years and I love what I do. I am an ASI Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Instructor and Project Development Coordinator, working on community and corporate programmes. I also support the delivery of our wellbeing retreat offers, offering a Mindfulness and SUP retreat day.

Being a Mindfulness Practitioner enhances my work as an instructor and as a Blue Health Coach, complimenting the coaching experience I provide and allowing me to develop tailored experiences around wellbeing in the outdoors. Working with Ocean Vertical allows me to combine my love for the outdoors, coaching, working with people, and supporting positive change both socially and environmentally. I recently had the most amazing opportunity to take part in one of Ocean Vertical’s international offers, trekking to Gokyo Lakes and Renjo La in the Everest region of Nepal! It is one of the best things I have ever done and I would highly recommend it – the country, the landscape, the people, and for me the most stunning blue health locations I have ever had the privilege to personally reflect in. If you are in need of an adventure of a lifetime or have ever wanted to experience Nepal in its most beautiful form then get in touch and get booked on, you won’t regret it!

Finally, we’d love to hear about your favourite places to meander in Scotland - are there any go-to spots where you especially love to practise blue health and mindfulness?

One of my favourite places to meander in Scotland is the stunning peninsula of Ardnamurchan. There is a feel to that landscape I cannot put into words and where I could meander for days completely immersed in its beautiful mix of coastline, remote hills and some of Scotland’s ancient rainforests. Closer to home I love getting the paddle board and heading north - a place I like to often visit is Loch Lubnaig or I can be found enjoying some of our stunning beaches in East Lothian such as Yellowcraig.

A big thank you to Susie for taking the time to sit down with us to talk all things Blue Health. If you are interested in chatting more to Susie about how she may be able to help, please contact her via her email wellbeingofblue@gmail.com or Instagram @wellbeingofblue.

Imagery taken byJacob Allen.