Health Update: ZaRah wellness is focused on “health is wealth” and building economic opportunities – What Experts Say

What do you get when you combine holistic wellness, relaxation, and economic mobility? A space in North Minneapolis is bringing it together under one roof. 

“Health is wealth, so we call our health work-integrated root healing,” said Kenya McKnight-Ahad.

That concept is at the center of ZaRah, a wellness space at West Broadway and Emerson in Minneapolis.

“Root is about the ancient ways African Americans communities practiced holistic medicine, “McKnight-Ahad said.

ZaRah grew out of Kenya McKnight-Ahad’s Black Women’s Wealth Alliance. 

ZaRah, has special meaning.

“To be ready and to flourish. It is our aspiration and hope for our community and for the corridor,” said McKnight-Ahad.

 “It’s been a dream for me,” said Aisha Wadud. Massage therapist Aisha Wadud is one of eight holistic wellness practitioners offering services at ZaRah.

“I take traditional practices from our roots as African Americans, I take Chinese traditional medicine and ayurvedic, and I blend it all in with our western practices, “said Wadud.

You can find hair services focusing on health.

“A lot of times women don’t even know why their hair is falling out they don’t know why it’s thinning,” said Crystal Davis the CEO of Revive Restorative Salon. 

Crystal Davis studies hair and the scalp.

“I do scalp analysis. I take a look at the hair itself, check the porosity of the hair, and kind of find the root cause of the hair loss or the scalp issue before we go into styling,” Davis said.

ZaRah also offers wet rooms for scrubs, a bathtub, a jacuzzi and sauna. 

“So this is the first version of our Himalayan salt room,” McKnight-Ahad said.

“So what does the Himalayan salt do?” asked Adam Del Rosso.

“It extracts toxins out of your body and just kind of calms you,” said McKnight-Ahad.

As practitioners offer healing, they also benefit.

“25 million dollars annually leaves the northside in holistic wellness and health, so were basically tapping into the demand that is already here, “said McKnight-Ahad.

Kenya says she wants to help Northside business owners develop a clear path towards ownership and long-term economic stability.

“My work is all about building agency. Economic agency with Black women, and so it’s really the know-how I’ve taken us from a place of just participating in the economy to being owners of it,” said McKnight-Ahad.

She’s doing it in a building where she couldn’t afford to stay as a tenant. 

“Our end goal is to create a career and economic center that has a variety of different types of businesses here to really support people in building prosperity, ” said McKnight-Ahad. “You get to be responsible for making a difference you get to provide opportunity for people and hope.” 

McKnight-Ahad founded the Black Women’s Wealth Alliance in 2014 to drive community-rooted leadership.

ZaRah opened in 2023. A new cafe is set to open in the building soon.