BAINA Bathe
Vol 38.
Yasmine Ganley

Based in Auckland, Yasmine Ganley is a thoughtful voice in independent publishing—a creative whose work drifts seamlessly between print and digital. As editor and art director behind titles such as anyonegirl, ISLAND, and WAIST, Yasmine creates space for stories that invite reflection and gently draw the reader into another world. With a background in dance, photography, and creative strategy, her multidisciplinary approach explores people, place, and culture with an ever-curious lens.

Yasmine reflects on bathing as a ritual rooted in nature, movement, and renewal. Without a bath at home, the ocean becomes her sanctuary, offering everything from quiet solitude to playful moments with her children. Through cold swims, coastal rituals, and spontaneous plunges, Yasmine speaks to the sensory experience of bathing outdoors, and how it clears her mind, shifts stagnant energy, and creates space for reconnection.

"We don’t have a bath at home, so my bathing rituals are in the ocean. I love to swim any time of the year, sometimes it is just a dunk to wake me up, sometimes a lazy float out behind the waves, sometimes a boogie-board with my children, or sometimes it’s a way to cool down.

It’s a physical (and mental) shake out. When it’s winter, the beach is usually empty and I can have it to myself, so it can be a really great ritual for finding connection and invigorating my senses."

"Understanding the reward of feeling energised and activating the senses again is the reason I get into the water any season. There’s also something about moving water that stimulates anything stagnant inside me, whether that’s a feeling or energy or creative thinking. Post-bathing, I always find my mind is clearer, like I have unlocked mental or emotional blockages.

On a cold day, once I get out of the water, I dry off and quickly put my track pants, wool jumper and coat back on over my swimsuit. Sometimes, depending on how quiet the beach is, I will take my togs off and rug up, even a wool blanket is a good idea to pack too, the feeling of wool after a cold ocean plunge is very satisfying to me. Recently we took a bottle of champagne down too – it didn’t need chilling!"

"Recently my sister and I stayed at Koru Sabi House in Mullumbimby, and they had an outdoor bath and shower. After a day of exploring, we would hop into the bath as the sun was going down, and watch the birds fly back up through the valley, squawking their heads off."