W Coffee Talk In Conversation with Rosanne Lee: Building a Mandala for Body, Mind & Spirit in the Heart of Saigon

You don’t need to travel far to secluded retreats or squeeze wellness into your holiday schedule. Nestled in the lush, tranquil neighborhood of Thảo Điền, Mandala Wellness offers a space for complete healing and restoration, right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.

Founded by Rosanne Lee, one of the pioneers in holistic health in Vietnam, Mandala Wellness is a fully integrated model that brings together targeted therapies, mindful movement, clean nutrition, and spiritual grounding. Here, you can easily access a wide range of treatments: from acupuncture, osteopathy, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, and Reiki, to simply joining a sunlit yoga class in a peaceful setting.

In this conversation with WOWWEEKEND, founder Rosanne Lee shares the journey behind creating this one-of-a-kind space, starting from a personal calling to the real-life challenges of bringing holistic wellness into an urban context.

Xin chào Ms. Rosanne Lee!

The founding of Mandala Wellness is closely tied to your personal passion and experiences in Asia. What was the turning point that made you decide to turn that into a business model?

I started to meet more practitioners doing amazing work in holistic healing, working alone from their homes. And at the same time, the local yoga community felt like it was ready and searching for alternatives to healthcare options outside of hospitals and clinics. I felt the community of practitioners needed a central place to connect to each other, and the wider audience needed a central place to learn, experience and discover.

In a market where the concept of “comprehensive wellness” is still relatively new, how do you position Mandala Wellness? 

I believe we need to forge the way forward with the concept of “comprehensive wellness” with education, community and empowerment. Mandala Wellness is positioned as a holistic health platform offering a wide range of services to empower people to take better control of their lives.

If you were to describe your core clientele, who are they – in terms of both lifestyle habits and service needs?

Our core clientele want quality over quantity, to be seen and treated with respect and care.  Our clients are busy all the time and have similar habits and lifestyles as the average person, but when it comes to their health, they want the practitioner to take genuine interest in what is happening in their body and mind, to be open-minded and help the client figure out the core cause of the issue, not just to make money and treat symptoms.

As of now, which type of service seems to attract the most customer interest? From your perspective, which program or treatment would you like to see gain more recognition?

The more well-known services are popular, such as acupuncture, podiatry, osteopathy, bodywork, and psychotherapy. I would love to see hypnotherapy, coaching, reiki gain more recognition because these are amazing modalities just as important and useful as the others that are more popular.

Mandala Wellness offers a wide range of services – from holistic therapies, fitness, and mental wellness to clean nutrition. What kind of operational strategy does it take to manage such a diverse ecosystem?

It is very important to have operating systems in place with the use of software, clear lines of responsibilities, and strong communication channels for the admin team and practitioner/teaching teams.

In your opinion, what is the most challenging aspect of developing an integrated wellness space?

To have clients see the value of taking a multi-disciplinary approach to their wellness journey, that effort has to be made on their part on several fronts, not solely from the practitioners. For example, attending classes (meditation, yoga or Pilates) while seeing the acupuncturist.

With a team of specialists from various countries, how does Mandala maintain both high professional standards and a consistent customer experience? 

Ensuring that the practitioner is qualified in what they do, and their philosophy behind their work aligns with Mandala’s ethos and mission, and by training the customer experience team with regular feedback mechanisms aimed at continuous improvement.

How do you perceive the current landscape of the premium wellness market in Vietnam?

What’s missing, and where do you see untapped potential? The current premium wellness market is focused on locations outside the cities and more “spa” offerings.  I think there is potential to look at broadening services beyond “spas”, retreats and exotic locations and focusing on the cities where people live and work, and offering services that can delve deeper into the main pillars of Wellness.

In your view, what is the most significant shift you’ve observed in how Vietnamese people perceive health and lifestyle?

The growing trend for movement and exercise over the past 10 years has been impressive with the plethora of running races, yoga and Pilates studios. Vietnamese are seeing the benefits of movement for their bodies and minds.

Rapid Fire Questions

• One morning ritual you can’t live without? Stretch and move.
• Your favorite spot at Mandala? 2nd floor by the windchimes.
• What’s the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word “wellness”? A beautiful serene view of the mountains where there is balance and peace