Under the Covers with Zoila Darton

ZOILA DARTON

Zoila Darton is a Panamanian-Jamaican Jew from NYC currently living in Los Angeles. She is a passionate innovator, skilled connector & creative director with 10+ years of success in the business of community building and marketing. She is the founder of WORD, an LA-based creative agency committed to cultural social impact, storytelling & conceptual ideation that puts creativity at the forefront while supporting advancement for women & marginalized communities. She has created meaningful marketing campaigns and consumer experiences for brands like The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Red Bull, Foot Locker & Lululemon. In December of 2019, Zoila launched OurHouse.la – an editorial site created to support creative storytelling. She hopes to provide a platform for anyone who wants to use their voice. 

Zoila’s most important title is “Mama” to her 2 1/2 year old, Dakota. She is committed to raising a kind & emotionally intelligent human and works daily to show Dakota what that looks like. In the in between moments, Zoila enjoys dancing like a maniac, watching crime docs, tending to her growing plant familia, learning to surf and cooking a mean veggie ramen from scratch. Yes, even the broth!

UNDER THE COVERS WITH ZOILA

There’s been a lot to keep us up at night lately, how do you create a sacred space for bedtime to get better quality sleep?

I’m a big advocate for rest, but if I’m being 100, I haven’t been cultivating the best habits recently. Being a business owner and a mom to a toddler keeps me up at night. And if I am sleeping, there’s a very high chance I get woken up by anxiety. I often find myself awake at 5 AM – sometimes I just get up and start the day. After about 3 months of not so great sleep habits I decided to go back to my old faithful routine of no phone for one hour before bed, writing in my journal, reading, and using a special blend of essential oils to relax and restore my body overnight. I find it really helpful to have a strict bedtime routine, one that I look forward to, and the essential oil massage I give myself nightly is a huge part of that. So much so that my husband does it now too!

Do you have a morning routine or ritual(s) for starting the day?

Yes! Building a morning routine literally saved my life. After giving birth, I felt confused and overwhelmed by work and mom-life balance. My morning routine gave me a clean start to each day and set me up for success because no matter what I did or didn’t get done the day before, I could always count on my routine to set the tone for a new day full of possibilities. Each morning I do my best to do the following: 

1. Elevate my legs when I wake up to get the blood flowing
2. Say a quick gratitude prayer in bed with my eyes closed
3.  Drink a massive glass of room temp water
4. Journal and/or meditate for 10 minutes minimum (I recently bought a sound bowl so I have been into playing that as well - so soothing and gratifying)
5. Pull a divination or tarot card to read my energy for the day
6.  Stretch and take a walk

Do you have any small practices throughout the day for recentering yourself? 

1. Breathing lol - it’s less common than you think. People don’t realize how often they’re holding their breath until they start to breathe with intention. Try setting a breathing alarm every hour while you’re working. I bet you’ll be surprised!
2. Sometimes I’ll stop and dance. When things feels tense, dancing brings me to center. It reminds me to not take myself or anything really, too seriously.
3. Making coffee or tea. Preparing my coffee is a ritual I take a lot of pride in. It’s also a perfect way to stop and take a break! 

What are you grateful for? 

I am grateful for my health and freedom. I am grateful to do what I love and make my mark on the world while working with other incredible people beside me. 

What are you most looking forward to or feeling optimistic about?

There are so many things. I think I’m most excited to see how my son turns out. He is only 2 1/2 and there's so much time but knowing he’s going to turn into this person who makes his own decisions and will develop hopes & dreams really excites me. I get to be this supporting role in his life and it’s a true honor – even if he drives me nuts on a daily basis.

I’m also really excited about a new product I’m launching to support people in their rest routines! This beauty product is close to my heart because it’s solving a problem I have dealt with for years and I can’t wait for it to be out in the world. So stay tuned!

Connect with Zoila at:

ZOILA DARTON

WORD.AGENCY

OUR HOUSE