Intentional Vitality Retreats

Hi, it is lovely to meet you . I’m Zoa ~ the creatress of the Intentional Vitality Retreats.

I’m the physicist who will tell you the truth about your health and what you are doing to help and hinder it – even when you don’t want to hear it.

My Ayurvedic type (dosha) is Pitta – which means I’m naturally direct, fiery, and happy to give you the kick in the ass you’ve been needing. I don’t sugarcoat. I won’t just tell you that “this time will be different” – I will show you.

But I’m also a mom to a sensitive soul and a yoga teacher – so I know when to be fierce and when to be gentle. I know the difference between tough love and just being tough.

Here’s what that looks like in practice: I’ll call you out when you’re making the same self-sabotaging choices again. I’ll remind you what to do instead. I’ll also hold space for the part of you that’s scared, overwhelmed, and tired of fighting your own body.

I bring a scientist’s logic to figure out exactly what’s wrong. I bring the energy and encouragement to push you toward what actually works.

I bring the mother’s intuition to know when you need someone to simply witness how hard this has been by listening and wrapping you up in a hug.

You get the whole package – the brilliant strategist, the no-nonsense coach, and the woman who understands what it feels like when your body stops cooperating with your ambitions.

I grew up thinking travel was a combination of boring and chaos.

My first travel experience memory? A family road trip that contained every possible natural disaster except an earthquake – plus a bonus drug bust at our motel. I grew up thinking travel brought stress, challenges, and crazy things out of my control.

Until I took my first solo trip to the beach the summer before junior year of college. Everything changed, The entire world suddenly felt open to me. Travel brought me confidence and joy that powered me through the next decade.

Before I began guiding others toward wellness, I lived a life that took me across the world. As a PhD-level scientist, my studies carried me to Japan for weeks and months at a time. I fell in love with Italy—Rome first, then the rest of its endless delights. South Africa left me with unforgettable stories (and some fabulous clothes that still bring back memories). Pregnancy didn’t stop me from saying yes to Brazil—at least until my belly made travel impossible! And then there was Iceland—oh, Iceland, you inspired me.

After growing a family and starting a business, travel felt like an escape but I didn’t know from what. I just knew my daughter and I felt better when we traveled.

We discovered mold in our home, and over the next 5 years travel became part of our personal medicine. I discovered the real magic of travel: It forces you out of the patterns that are slowly killing you.

Your kitchen, your routine, your stress triggers, your people-pleasing habits – none of that follows you. For the first time in years – maybe ever, you get to remember and recreate who you are when you’re not managing everyone else’s needs.

A retreat isn’t about getting away from your life. It’s about getting back to yourself. Reclaiming the lost, forgotten, and stifled version of you – with the help of travel.

Today, I shine at Zen and Vitality, my one-woman Functional Wellness Studio. Yes, I teach yoga, lead Pilates sessions, and educate on nutrition and the needs of the human body. But wellness—and Zen and Vitality—are more than movement, more than food. This is about support, connection, and feeling truly seen.

At Zen and Vitality, my clients find more than just a class or session. They find a space where they can breathe, reflect, and be supported. A place where they feel noticed and missed when life pulls them away. It’s a place where you can cry on a shoulder when you need to, get thoughtful suggestions for caring for your sick mother, or receive a gentle reminder of what you said you were going to do for yourself this week.

This same welcoming and supportive community vibe is lovingly carried into all Intentional Vitality Retreats.

Whether you choose to retreat in-person at Zen and Vitality, or in one of her curated destination locations, your environment is carefully chosen as part of your healing process. Together, we will choose a setting that supports your nervous system, matches your energetic needs, and helps bring your body into balance.

I learned how crucial self-care is when I nurtured my daughter through a multi-year chronic illness. It was easy to pour all my energy into being her caregiver—but I knew, without a doubt, that I couldn’t be there for her if I wasn’t also taking care of myself.

Self-care became my #2 goal every day—because I needed to be my best to give my best.

As an entrepreneur and functional wellness guide, I want to share what I’ve learned about choreographing a lifestyle where wellness and healing aren’t just afterthoughts—they’re the foundation.

In the push and pull of modern life, we, as women, need to make time for ourselves—without distractions and without apology.

We need to Retreat.

I used to wonder why my clients would take trips and come home sick, injured, and feeling like they needed a vacation from their vacation.

That’s when I realized: Most people treat travel like they treat their health – as something to survive rather than something to thrive in.

Now I create retreats for women who are done running on empty. Women who’ve spent decades putting everyone else first and are finally ready to figure out why they feel like crap – and what to do about it.

Because here’s what I know: You can’t heal in the same environment that made you sick. Sometimes you need to step completely away from your regular life to remember who you’re supposed to be.

Most people travel to escape their problems. I use travel to solve them.

Here’s the thing about trying to heal in the same environment that made you sick: it doesn’t work. Your kitchen still has the same trigger foods. Your bedroom still has the same sleep disruptions. Your routine still has the same energy drains. Your house or workplace might still have the mold that made you sick to begin with!

Travel isn’t a luxury when you’re healing – it’s medicine.

When you remove yourself from all the patterns and people and environments that keep you stuck, something magical happens. Your nervous system finally gets a chance to reset. You remember what it feels like to put yourself first. You discover what actually works for your body when it’s not fighting a thousand daily stressors.

Then we reverse-engineer that feeling for your real life.

The retreat isn’t the transformation – it’s the laboratory. We figure out exactly what your body needs to thrive, then we build a plan to recreate that magic when you get home.

Most wellness programs try to fix you in your broken environment. I take you somewhere your body can actually heal, then show you how to stay that way.