Pulling Back the Curtain on Lion Zen Wellness Spa

Tara D’Agostino, owner of Lion Zen Wellness Spa in Warwick. Photography courtesy of Lion Zen Wellness Spa

For Tara D’Agostino, the owner of Iron Lion Tattoo in Warwick, years of daily tattooing had taken their toll. When the back pain and stiffness became too much, she was forced to do something she’d never done before: take a month off to rest and heal.

“That was the breaking point where I knew had to do more to help my body,” says D’Agostino. “If I can’t tattoo, my mental health is no good. I realized I couldn’t keep letting my physical health get in the way of my career and mental health and decided to make a change.”

Photography courtesy of Lion Zen Wellness Spa

That change included looking into holistic medicine practices and remedies. She started seeing a functional medicine doctor and began practicing reiki and oracle card readings. Once she saw the difference in her health she began thinking about sharing the benefits with others.

“I knew other people needed it because I needed it,” D’Agostino says. “I was going to buy a sauna for my house but then thought about how I should create a place where everyone can benefit.”

She opened Lion Zen Wellness Spa in August 2025. Connected to D’Agostino’s tattoo studio, the spa consists of five therapy rooms: one for red-light therapy, a Himalayan salt room, an infrared sauna room, a space for meditation and a room featuring a cold plunge and a hot tub.

While clients are welcome to spend time in one specific room, the most popular option is The Lion Zen Journey, an experience that allows clients to try all the rooms in thirty-minute increments. Private parties can book the space to have the whole facility to themselves, and the spa also offers one-on-one aura imaging and energy field analysis sessions with D’Agostino.

What sets the spa apart most is its privacy.

“I wanted to create this space where you and your partner or you and your best friend can come in here and it’s an intimate experience,” she says. “Also, if you’re alone you don’t feel weird being by yourself. You don’t have to worry about sharing the sauna or cold plunge with a stranger.”

After celebrating one year in business, D’Agostino is excited for what the next year has in store. She plans on hiring more practitioners and holding public workshops on sourdough bread making and soap making, while welcoming more people into the space to share the wellness experience.

“I needed a space where I could come and heal my body,” says D’Agostino. “My body from tattooing is so broken but going in the sauna and the salt room and cold plunging daily has helped enormously. I just love getting to introduce more people to the power of it all.” thelionzen.com