Metro Detroit-based club’s message: Adults need recess too!
Two Recess Club participants are pictured scaling a hillside.
Wellness leader and movement specialist Melissa Coulier launched Recess Club in 2025, a women’s outdoor wellness community designed to help women step away from screens, reconnect with nature, and restore balance through movement, breath work, and meaningful connection.
Founded on the belief that “we never grow out of the need for a reset—we just stop giving ourselves permission to take one,” The Recess Club is a community built around one powerful idea: adults need recess, too, especially women.
Outdoor experiences for 2026 are now being announced and additional experiences will continue to be added as The Recess Club will grow and expand throughout the year.
Mental-health boost
Hosted throughout Michigan’s parks and trails, Recess Club experiences bring women together for guided hikes, forest meditation, breath work, and shared outdoor gatherings that support both physical and mental well-being.
Founded by Coulier, a certified Function First Pain-Free Movement Specialist and wellness educator, Recess Club was created to address the growing stress many women experience from constantly juggling careers, caregiving, and digital overload.
“Women are holding so much for everyone else,” says Melissa Coulier, Founder of The Recess Club. “Recess Club is a space where they can finally put that down, step outside, breathe deeply, and reconnect with themselves.”
Designed for wellness-curious women and anyone seeking authentic connection to surround yourself with like-minded and supportive individuals, The Recess Club is free to join and offers a variety of weekly inspirational emails, free meetups in nature, and some opportunities to participate in expanded adventures that may have fees which will range in scale based on the overall experience.
Restorative, not intense
Each Recess Club gathering is designed to feel restorative rather than intense.
Experiences include guided nature walks, breath work under the trees, moments of quiet reflection, and community connection through thoughtfully curated outdoor picnics.
The goal is simple: create a welcoming space where women can slow down, move their bodies in nature, and leave feeling stronger, clearer, and more grounded.
Recess Club welcomes women of all fitness levels who are seeking a healthier way to manage stress, build community, and reconnect with the outdoors. “Nature is one of the most powerful tools we have for healing,” Coulier adds. “Sometimes the most productive thing a woman can do is step outside.”
