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Our school's philosophy
The ultimate healthcare system is your lifestyle.
A healthy person has a thousand dreams; a sick person only has one.
Sadly, 76.4% of Americans* have one or more long-term health problems—largely because we aren't meeting our essential basic needs for sleep, movement, nutrition, meaning, connection, and more.
For people with codependent patterns, this is a predictable result of spending years putting everyone else's needs first, while ignoring our own. The ways we cope with accumulated stress are often like pouring gas on a fire.
The cost of getting stuck in patterns of self-neglect for too long is your health and vitality—your ability to fully enjoy this one, precious lifetime.
The body keeps the score.**
Holistic Wellness School gives you the structure, skills and support to help you finally start meeting your own physical, mental, emotional and relational needs consistently, from safe sources.
* Watson KB, et al. "Trends in Multiple Chronic Conditions Among US Adults, By Life Stage, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2013–2023," cdc.gov, 2025.** The Body Keeps the Score is a bestselling book on trauma recovery by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
Meet our lead coach
A project manager for your health and relationship recovery goals
Hey! I'm Zena. I live in South Jordan, Utah, and I recovered from severe codependency, i.e., chronic self-abandonment.
I created this program because I couldn't find what I needed: an evidence-based, structured path to help me break free of self-harming generational patterns and cultivate self-supporting health and relationship skills.
My Coaching Philosophy
Simple: I help you do what you want to do and succeed at doing it. (If you're unsure what to do, not to worry. I also teach the most practical skills I learned!)
My passion is holistic health and my credential is Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach (FMCHC).
I use a blend of evidence-based coaching techniques including Cognitive-Behavioral Coaching (CBC), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and positive psychology principles like character strengths, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and other proven frameworks for human flourishing.
Zena Bardonnay, FMCHC
Read more about Zena
My domain as a holistic health coach is behavior change—I do not treat illnesses or give psychiatric or medical advice.
A lot of my students come to me having already done years of therapy and trainings. They understand their patterns deeply—but struggle with sustaining new behaviors. My program is built for action.
From GLP-1s to psychedelics, this is a safe space for all definitions of self-care. If you have the knowledge to use a tool safely or you're willing to seek advice from a supportive clinician or expert, then I'm here to help you implement your adult choices in ways that work for your busy lifestyle, and help you stay on track with your goals.
Why This Is Personal
As I mentioned, I recovered from severe codependency. I ignored my physical and emotional needs for decades, and as a result I developed generalized anxiety, major depression and ADHD. While I still utilize medical support for some symptoms, what allows me to flourish is practicing the foundational skills I teach in my program.
My Professional Background
Before founding Holistic Wellness School, my background in university leadership, small-business operations, and early childhood education equipped me with a unique set of skills I now use to support you, such as:
Distilling complex info into simple, actionable steps.
Managing long-term goals without losing the details.
Listening deeply to find clarity in emotionally charged situations.
Modeling essential Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) skills like regulating stress, practicing empathy, collaborating in teams, resolving conflicts, and identifying feelings.
My lifelong drive to understand relationships and communication led me to graduate summa cum laude from Montana State University–Bozeman with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in psychology.
I’d be honored to help you rebuild the foundation for your inner home—one day at a time.
YEARS
Practicing holistic wellness
CERTIFICATIONS
Health & life coaching + child developmentYEARS
Coaching and teaching health & relationships principlesThe Health & Relationships Renovation Program
A done-with-you lifestyle renovation
You already know what's wrong, and very likely why. You probably know what to do about it, too.
Doing new actions consistently—day in and day out, even on hard days—is what everyone struggles with the most.
We give you a time-tested framework to help you get crystal clear on when, where, and how to meet your own essential needs.
The secret to success is to stop relying on concepts or fleeting emotions like willpower or motivation and lean into skills, structure and support:
Skills you'll learn
Physical
wellness
➤ Using Tiny Habits ® and SMART Goals
➤ Maintaining Momentum
➤ Improving Stress Resilience
➤ Experimenting With Exercise
➤ Getting Enough Quality Sleep
➤ Eating & Drinking for Holistic Health
➤ Creating Supportive Environments & Routines
Mental & emotional wellness
➤ Understanding Holistic Wellness
➤ Recognizing My Stage of Change
➤ Identifying My Boundaries, Values & Strengths
➤ Cultivating Self-Compassion & Self-Worth
➤ Making Choices That Align with Who I Am
➤ Shifting to an Abundance Mindset
➤ Choosing My Own Spiritual Beliefs
➤ Finding Meaning in Everyday Life
Relational
wellness
➤ Navigating My Attachment Style
➤ Practicing the Five Love Languages ®
➤ Unpacking the Four Parenting Styles
➤ Building Empowered Financial Security
➤ Detecting Narcissism & Abuse
➤ Respecting Others’ Boundaries & Abilities
➤ Communicating My Boundaries Effectively
Tiny Habits is a registerd trademark of BJ Fogg, Ph.D. The Five Love Languages is a registered trademark of Gary Chapman, Ph.D.
Program structure & support
Common starting points
Most programs focus on symptoms.
This one addresses root-cause patterns—because medication can't resolve those, and nearly 60% of Americans are raised in a dysfunctional environment.*
If that's you, you may identify with some or all of these patterns:
🌪 Chronic stress — not self-regulation.
🛠 Codependence — not interdependence.
🌁 Lacking faith or purpose — not inner trust and guidance.
🎭 People-pleasing or emotional walls — not boundaries.
🌧 Self-shaming and blaming — not self-compassion or -encouragement.
📲 Superficial relationships — not meaningful connections.
🍩 Unhealthy food choices — not body stewardship.
* Dumitru, Oana, "What Do Americans Think About Different Parenting Styles, and Which Style Did They Grow Up With?", YouGov.com, 2023.
Testimonials
★★★★★
Beverly M.
"Zena is knowledgeable and a great listener. She was able to help me with a plan that works for me. No unrealistic expectations, just positive coaching all the way."
★★★★★
Lori F.
"With Zena's coaching, I've been able to improve my life by adopting new tiny habits that have added up to big successes in the areas of nutrition, physical fitness, and stress reduction."
★★★★★
Doug M.
"I found Zena to be a great health coach. She's collaborative, conscientious, detail-oriented, thorough, focused, and upbeat, with excellent follow-through."
How to get started
Each stage of The Health & Relationships Renovation Program builds on the previous one, so phases must be completed in order—but you can stop between phases.
Phase 1: Catalyst
Walk away with: A repeatable method for building any new habit without relying on willpower.
✓ 1 month
✓ Habits That Hold online course
✓ Foundational tools & exercises
✓ Weekly live group call
✓ Private community access
Phase 2: Groundwork
Walk away with: A personalized roadmap and core skills that make follow-through automatic instead of exhausting.
✓ 3 months
✓ Personalized Living Wellness Plan (editable)
✓ Weekly skills workshop (live)
✓ Weekly goal-setting lab (live)
✓ Self-guided wellness plan tool
✓ Private community access
Phase 2.5: Plan Review
Walk away with: A fully reviewed and refined plan that preemptively addresses the obstacles most likely to derail you.
$299
Groundwork alumni only✓ 90 minutes
✓ Optional for Groundwork alumni
✓ Mandatory for Integration applicants
Phase 3: Integration
Walk away with: A healthier lifestyle that's built around your likes and dislikes and 'done with you' for the first year so it doesn’t require motivation to maintain.
$799/mo (billed once)
before tuition & fee creditsGroundwork alumni only✓ 12 months
✓ Small cohorts (8 students max)
✓ Weekly coaching sessions
✓ Spot support (limits apply)
✓ 5-year Alumni Maintenance Plan
✓ Private group chat
Tuition carries forward with you
Complete Catalyst and receive a $99 credit toward Groundwork.
Complete Groundwork and get your plan reviewed, and receive an $898 credit toward Integration.
*less other discountsTuition ensures that every student in your cohort is as dedicated to sustainable change as you are, fostering a safer and more focused environment.
Why busy, stressed adults choose our program
01
Personalized
Your plan is built for your real life—your obstacles and recovery goals
02
Proven
Learn and implement research-backed relationship and health skills
03
Efficient
Small changes and measured progress in ~2.5 hrs/wk or less
04
Integrative
Implement advice from your doctor, therapist or dietician
NO habit you didn't choose has to be permanent.
It's what you were taught—or how you survived.
And you can replace it.
Frequent questions
Understand health coaching
What is health coaching?
A professional health coach is your self-care accountability partner. Our job is to provide the structure and unconditional support you need to:
- Refine wellness goals you have for yourself and help you build a realistic, actionable plan.
- Implement your plan by helping you navigate real-life inner and outer challenges.
- Unlock your own solutions when you feel stuck or face obstacles.
- Maintain your momentum and build your confidence.
What isn't health coaching?
Coaching is not:
A substitute for medical advice, therapy, or treatment.
A source of diagnoses, prescriptions, advice, or treatment for health conditions.
Able to deliver instant results or 'band-aids' for symptoms.
Coaching focuses on problem-solving and relevant actions—not diagnosis, treatment or advice.
Who would I be coached by?
You’ll have a human coach. Always.
Zena Bardonnay, FMCHC, is the founder of Holistic Wellness School and a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach.
Zena believes that how we care for ourselves and how we relate to others are both root causes of physical and emotional health.
She developed The Health & Relationships Renovation Program and, as lead coach, she conducts all 1:1 and live group-coaching sessions.
You’ll get real coaching, from a real person, who actually cares about your health as much as you do.
Email us your question
How coaching and medical care work together
How are therapy and coaching different?
In a nutshell, a therapist is highly trained and licensed to diagnose and treat mental and behavioral health conditions.
The right therapist and approach for your diagnosis can be life-changing.
A health coach helps clients achieve their general wellness goals and implement guidance from their medical providers through awareness, education, personalized planning, and accountability.
Health coaches often work in tandem with licensed providers to help clients rebuild a solid foundation for brain health, including enough sleep, movement, and nutritious food.
Functional medicine certified health coaches are trained to support individualized, measurable, realistic lifestyle plans.
Not all health coaches are certified.
How do we support medical providers?
Certified health coaches increase patient follow-through.
The result is decreased workload for licensed care providers and skilled support staff.
Patient follow-through also reduces provider burnout. Physician burnout is physically and emotionally harmful to some of the most essential, deeply caring human beings in our society, and their families.
This negative modern trend reduces access to quality care for Americans.
Additionally, like most humans, even highly trained medical professionals sometimes struggle to achieve their own health goals due to juggling extensive responsibilities.
Can I use my health insurance?
No, but uploading a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) from your doctor to your HSA or FSA administrator may allow you to use funds from either of those accounts, if you have one.
Some HSA/FSA companies provide a form for your provider to fill out, or you can use our Google Docs template.
What is functional medicine?
It’s helpful to see functional medicine as one of two essential halves of a modern healthcare system.
Allopathic (Western) medicine excels at identifying and treating acute issues like infections, broken bones, and life-threatening medical emergencies—i.e., crucial, life-saving care.
Functional medicine excels at identifying and treating the root causes of chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, cancers, and autoimmune disorders.
A licensed functional medicine practitioner looks "upstream" to find out why a disease is happening.
This approach is designed to complement primary (allopathic) medical care and reduce or eliminate the need for long-term medications that may come with harmful side effects.
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coaches receive additional training in root-cause and lifestyle medicine principles like nutrition and food plans, mind-body medicine, and the psychology of eating, from Institute for Functional Medicine–certified physicians.
For independent & frugal learners
I'd prefer to do this on my own.
We completely encourage self-study!
Our Catalyst students continue into the Groundwork and Integration phases because they’ve finally realized that knowledge alone isn't enough for transformation.
That’s why our programs offers three things you can't get from research alone:
Accountability with a coach who's invested in your success
A structured process that’s proven to build momentum for change.
A dedicated holistic wellness community of 'Pattern Breakers' cheering each others' progress.
I can just ask an AI for help.
You absolutely can!
We love AI as a tool—in fact, students in our second and third phases have access to Phineas, our tuned AI coaching assistant, if they need help after hours or between sessions.
One other thing to remember is that most AI models only respond to user prompts—they're dependent on you knowing what to ask.
At Holistic Wellness School, you'll learn what to ask so that AI becomes an even more powerful 24/7 tool for you going forward.
Are there any discounts?
For a limited time we're offering Founder's Cohort credits:
Phase 1: $30
Phase 2: $320
Phase 3: $599
Additionally:
Tuition for Phase 1 is credited toward Phase 2.
Tuition for Phase 2 and the plan review fee are credited toward Phase 3.
If you purchase phases separately, the 100% credit still applies.
If you're a business owner, you may be able to deduct tuition for employees. Confirm your situation with your tax advisor.
If your HSA/FSA administrator accepts a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) from your doctor, you can use funds from those accounts. Some HSA/FSA companies provide a form for doctors, or you can use our Google Docs template.
Is this too good to be true?
It's totally natural to have some doubts, especially if you've had a bad experience in the past. Zena has.
Back in 2020 she bought 'coaching' from an untrained YouTuber. The person changed the terms of service after sign-up, and Zena lost her credit.
Here are a few things to know about HWS:
We're not in this for repeat business. We want you to be a lifelong success story.
That's why when you complete our program, you'll get lifetime access to our maintenance plan for free.
A lot of people and programs promise instant results, but those don't exist. We help you focus on small, sustainable changes that support all of who you are. We personalize 100% of the what, when, why, how, and how much to you.
We help you address your Big Picture—we teach you research-backed tools and strategies like meditation, mindfulness, glycemic load, resting metabolic rate, character strengths, the 12 Steps, and more.
Willpower and motivation are emotional—they come and go, which is why we focus on changing your mindset from 'failure' to 'experimenting,' getting you clear on your BIG WHY, and updating your daily habits.
When you take that approach, chipping away at your Living Wellness Plan gets easier and easier—because that's what happens when you stop relying on how you feel today.
10% of our net profit is Making America Healthy Again
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