The Burnout
Catherine arrived at Zeneidas in what she now calls her "running on empty" phase. As the founder of a successful tech startup in Toronto, she had spent the past five years building her company, often working 80-hour weeks, sacrificing sleep, relationships, and her health in pursuit of growth.
The panic attacks started six months before her trip to Santa Teresa. At first, she dismissed them as stress, something she could power through. But when she found herself crying in her car before a major presentation, she knew something had to change.
A friend suggested a wellness retreat. Catherine's initial reaction was dismissive—she didn't have time for that. But after yet another sleepless night, she booked a two-week stay at Zeneidas Surf Garden, telling herself it was a "strategic reset" before the next funding round.
The Awakening
The first three days were harder than Catherine expected. She couldn't turn off her business brain. During morning yoga, she thought about product roadmaps. In surf lessons, she mentally composed emails. Her phone was always in reach, even at the beach.
Then came the ice bath session that changed everything. Sitting in the cold water, her instructor guided her through breathwork, explaining how to embrace the discomfort rather than fight it. "Your body knows how to handle this," the instructor said. "You just have to trust it and breathe through it."
Something clicked. For years, Catherine had been fighting—fighting stress, fighting exhaustion, fighting her body's signals that she needed to slow down. In that moment of extreme cold, paradoxically, she felt the first warmth of self-compassion she'd experienced in years.
Rediscovering Movement
Catherine had been athletic in her younger years—a competitive swimmer in high school. But somewhere between founding her company and her first funding round, movement became something she scheduled (and usually canceled) rather than something she craved.
Surfing brought that back. Unlike the gym workouts she used to force herself through, surfing was pure joy. Every session was different, every wave a new challenge. She loved the full-body engagement, the mental focus required to read the ocean, the complete presence demanded by the sport.
The morning yoga sessions became her favorite ritual. At first, she was surprised by how tight her body had become from years hunched over a laptop. But week by week, she felt herself opening up—not just physically, but emotionally. The breathwork and meditation components gave her tools she immediately recognized as valuable for managing her anxiety.
The Business Epiphany
One evening, over dinner with other Zeneidas guests, Catherine had a conversation that would reshape her entire approach to business. She was talking to a successful entrepreneur from Sweden who had built and sold three companies, always maintaining what he called "sustainable intensity."
"I used to think like you," he told her. "That success required sacrifice, that balance was for people who weren't hungry enough. Then I had a heart attack at 42 and realized I was sacrificing the wrong things."
He explained his current approach: working intensely but in focused sprints, protecting his mornings for exercise and meditation, taking real vacations where he completely disconnected. His businesses thrived even more with this approach because he was sharper, more creative, more present when he did work.
The Transformation
Catherine spent her second week at Zeneidas beginning to implement changes. She established boundaries: no email before 9 AM or after 7 PM. She scheduled non-negotiable time for exercise and meditation. Most radically, she gave her leadership team more autonomy, trusting them to handle issues without her constant input.
The results surprised her. Not only did she feel better—more rested, less anxious, more creative—but her team stepped up. Problems that seemed urgent at 2 AM in Toronto seemed manageable when discussed during scheduled check-ins from a beachside cafe in Santa Teresa.
She extended her stay twice, working remotely from Zeneidas, proving to herself that she could maintain her business while prioritizing her well-being. The 3-hour time difference became an advantage—she could surf and do yoga in the morning while her team handled the Toronto workday, then have focused time for strategy and leadership in her afternoon.
The Practices That Stuck
When Catherine returned to Toronto, she brought back more than photos and a tan. She brought a completely new operating system for her life:
Morning Non-Negotiables: Every day starts with movement—whether it's yoga, a run, or when she's back in Santa Teresa, surfing. This time is sacred, blocked on her calendar as her most important meeting of the day.
Breathwork for Anxiety: The techniques she learned during ice bath sessions became her go-to tool for managing stress. Before big presentations or difficult conversations, she takes five minutes for breathwork, arriving centered rather than anxious.
Strategic Disconnection: She now takes quarterly week-long trips where she completely unplugs, often returning to Santa Teresa. These aren't indulgences; they're strategic investments in her mental health and creativity.
Team Empowerment: Giving her team more autonomy wasn't just good for her work-life balance; it made her company stronger. Her leadership team grew into their roles, and she could focus on the strategic vision rather than operational details.
The Ripple Effect
Catherine's transformation didn't just change her life—it changed her company culture. She implemented wellness stipends for her team, flexible schedules, and mandatory vacation policies. She talks openly about mental health and the importance of balance.
Revenue hasn't suffered; if anything, the company is growing faster than before. But more importantly, employee retention improved dramatically. The team is more engaged, more creative, more loyal. Catherine's own transformation gave her team permission to prioritize their well-being too.
Returning Home
Catherine now returns to Santa Teresa every three months, each visit deepening her practice and her connection to the community. Zeneidas has become her reset button, the place where she remembers what matters and realigns her priorities.
She's surfing at an intermediate level now, comfortable in bigger waves, starting to explore different breaks around the area. Her yoga practice has deepened to where she's considering teacher training. And she's become an ice bath enthusiast, installing a cold plunge at her Toronto home.
The Message
"This place taught me that success without balance isn't really success at all," Catherine often tells other entrepreneurs she meets. "I used to think that taking time for wellness was selfish or indulgent. Now I understand it's essential—not just for my health, but for my effectiveness as a leader and my company's success."
She's become an advocate for what she calls "sustainable entrepreneurship"—building companies that don't require founders to sacrifice their health, relationships, and well-being. She speaks at conferences about her experience, always pointing other burned-out founders toward the kind of transformative experience she found at Zeneidas.
Your Turn
If you're reading this while feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or disconnected from yourself, Catherine's message is clear: you don't have to wait for a breaking point. You don't have to choose between success and well-being. You can have both, but it requires intentionally creating space for yourself.
Zeneidas provides that space—a place where you can disconnect from the constant demands of modern life and reconnect with yourself. Whether you come for a week or a month, whether you're seeking transformation or just rest, the ocean, the community, and the practices available here have a way of giving you exactly what you need.
As Catherine learned, sometimes the most productive thing you can do is stop producing and just be.