Zarina Del Mar on Movement as Medicine and Presence as Power

For our cover story, we sit down with Zarina del Mar, Certified Smart Movement Specialist, whose life is a testament to what becomes possible when we choose to listen to the wisdom of our bodies. Once a tax attorney in Moscow, Russia, Zarina made the radical, soul-led decision to leave behind a prestigious career for a path filled with uncertainty, intuition and movement. What began as a quiet whisper in her chest evolved into a global wellness platform and her signature 3D Method, a practice that reframes movement as presence, not punishment. In this intimate conversation, Zarina opens up about fear, reinvention, identity and the fierce courage required to shed an old self in order to step fully into the woman she was always meant to become. Her story reminds us that the body doesn’t just carry the dream; it shows us the way back home to ourselves. 

Hope + Wellth:

You made a dramatic shift from working as a tax attorney to becoming a movement educator. Looking back, was there a single moment when you knew with absolute certainty that you couldn’t keep living the life you were living as a tax attorney? What did that moment feel like in your body?

Zarina:

Yes, there was a moment  and I remember it not just as a thought, but as a sensation in my body. I was in Moscow, working late in the office, surrounded by piles of contracts and tax codes. On the outside, everything looked perfect: stable career, prestigious position, clear path ahead. But inside, my body was screaming.

I remember sitting at my desk and feeling this heavy pressure in my chest as if my breath had nowhere to go. My shoulders were locked, my hips were stiff from hours of sitting, and it felt like I was slowly turning into a closed box. That night, I realized: if I stay here, if I keep living in numbers and documents, I will lose the connection with my own body and that means losing myself.

That was the first time I stood up, walked to the window, and simply let myself breathe. It was such a simple action, but my whole body told me: this is what freedom feels like. I didn’t know then that I would build a new career in movement, or that I’d move across the world to California, but I knew one thing with certainty that I could not ignore my body anymore. That was the turning point.

Now, every time I guide women through my 3D Method, I remind them: change doesn’t start in the head. It starts with listening to your body because the body always knows before you do.

Rlynda on Falling for Every Chapter of Her Life

At 49, Rlynda is standing tall, not because the road has been easy, but because she has chosen, again and again, to rise. Every wrinkle, every reinvention, every step forward or backward is part of her story, and right now, she’s falling for all of it.

Rlynda’s story is not an ode to change as loss, but as power and it echoes the theme for this issue; Falling for You: every chapter, every change, every age. From her childhood in Cape Verde to the runways of New York, from divorce to rediscovering love, from surviving an accident to building new dreams, she has embraced every chapter not as an ending, but as an opportunity for reinvention.

There are people whose lives inspire you, and then there are people like Rlynda, women who remind us that resilience isn’t about avoiding challenges, but about rising after each fall with more grace, wisdom, and strength. As she tells Hope+Wellth, her mantra has carried her through every chapter:  “Rooted in love, rising in light.”

Falling for Resilience

Rlynda was born in Lisbon in 1976, the daughter of Cape Verdean immigrants. Her childhood, however, took a dramatic turn when her parents divorced and her father invited her and her brother to Cape Verde for what was meant to be a two-week visit. Instead, they stayed for five years.

“In Portugal we had everything,” she recalls. “But in Cape Verde, we had nothing; no electricity and not even running water. At just 11 years old, I was cooking, cleaning, carrying water so we could bathe, even gathering wood to make fire for meals.”

It was a jarring shift, but one that gave her a foundation for everything that followed. 

“That was one of the biggest transformations of my life. I understood early that life can change overnight. We don’t always control what happens, but we do control how we adjust.”

When she returned to Portugal as a teenager, she carried with her resilience and gratitude; two qualities that would shape her career, her artistry, and her outlook. She poured herself into school while also dancing, modeling, and exploring creative expression. 

“After Cape Verde, I didn’t take anything for granted. I wanted to live fully, without regrets.”

“We don’t always control what happens, but we do control how we adjust.”