Amy Bradley and Jessica Dietrich were walking two different paths on opposite sides of the world in 2016. Dietrich had just relocated from Winnetka to Hong Kong for her husband’s career, and Bradley was battling an aggressive form of breast cancer at just 36-years-old. What neither knew at the time is that their separate experiences would soon end up bringing the two together to open the new Winnetka wellness sanctuary Sole + Luna.

“Amy and I are neighbors,” says Dietrich. “While overseas in Asia, I became immersed in the culture of self-care that is so ingrained in daily life there. When we returned to the North Shore in winter 2018, it felt like nothing met those same needs locally.”

Adds Bradley, “I had just come off a crazy period when Jessica moved back. I had completed six rounds of chemotherapy, two surgeries, more chemo, 36 rounds of radiation, and a full hysterectomy. It was a really big wake up call to put more energy into taking care of myself.”

Dietrich and Bradley met for coffee, which turned into a “magical” three-hour meeting and soon, the idea for a local wellness retreat was born.

Moving to Hong Kong provided Dietrich with the opportunity to immerse herself in progressive Eastern approaches to spiritual health and wellness. And, for Bradley, the battle scars from her fight with breast cancer were still fresh. Her physical and emotional ordeal was a head-first, blind dive into many traditional (and non-traditional) medical therapies. Through both transformative journeys, the founders then knew they wanted Sole + Luna to be a place of refuge from the everyday grind, one that offers daily rituals for the mind, body, and soul.

“We named it Sole + Luna because, when we were on opposite sides of the world, the sun would be here and the moon there,” says Bradley. “It’s a reflection of our journey together and apart.”

Core to their mission is to educate and improve the self, but also to bring people together and share as a community in the name of balance. As their sign reads, they believe slowing down is the new hustle.

“That’s why this year has been kind of a great reset and pause,” says Dietrich. “It has made everyone think about what is really important and how to take a break to do something for themselves. The pandemic shined a light on that.”

They had initially planned to open Sole + Luna in May 2020 but were delayed by the coronavirus outbreak, which led to a slow roll out throughout the past few months. Think a variety of rituals and meditations designed to improve overall health and wellness.

Rituals include everything from “Glow,” a 12-minute face and neck-focused service made to support tightening of the skin, fight fine lines and wrinkles, and minimize the visibility of pores, and “Dream Team,” a combination of infrared sauna and Halo Salt therapy to detoxify, reduce inflammation, and improve lung health, to “Radiance,” a professional anti-aging facial panel to reduce and eliminate wrinkles, and “Recharge,” a sit with the BioCharger, a customizable experience to align and balance the energy of every cell in the body.

Meditations range from morning moments of reflection and intention to “Silks and Sounds,” where you work your way through the chakras as you sway in the supported cocoon of a silk hammock, absorbing the vibrations of crystal bowls, and “Sound Bath Yoga Nidra,” a practice described as dynamic sleep that allows the body to dive deep into relaxation while the mind remains alert.

“We looked to the coasts, like Los Angeles and New York, in our research,” says Bradley. “Love her or hate her, Gwyneth Paltrow is great at spotting trends, and we also pulled inspiration from time spent at Miraval in Arizona.”

Adds Dietrich, “We view ourselves as conduits to find the latest movements, vet them and then bring everything together under one roof in a beautiful and cohesive way.”

The space at 1015 Tower Court had sat empty for two years but when Dietrich and Bradley saw it for the first time, they fell in love with the beautiful beams, bright skylight, and natural tones. Then they added a standout Japanese light sculpture from Noguchi and fittingly dubbed it “the moon.”

“Within three weeks of deciding to move forward with our idea for Sole + Luna, we had incorporated and found the space,” notes Bradley. “Every time we put it out there, it happened. It’s almost like we were just along for the ride. We incorporated in September 2019 and opened nine months later in June. It was like a pregnancy.”

Now, they have slowly started to expand into monthly group workshops, private events, and meditations—even hosting a community Reiki on election night to help lower collective anxiety—and they have dreams of eventually launching IV hydration services, Gua Sha facials, and lymphatic massage.

“It comes down to the simplicity of mindfulness and staying present in the moment,” explains Dietrich. “That in and of itself can be truly transformational.”

Sole + Luna is located at 1015 Tower Court in Winnetka, 224-505-5990, sole-luna.com.