Bringing hope to “warriors” of abuse with passion and commitment, this accomplished red bank yogini found the strength to reveal her story, freeing herself and legions of others

by Laura D.C. Kolnoski

Born and raised in Milan to a wealthy family, Eleonora Zampatti had a dual career as a university professor of fashion design and aerobics instructor, but was unhappy in an abusive relationship and a highly structured life. In 2003, her father took her and her sister to New York City; the first time she was in the U.S.. Always into body art, she visited a tattoo studio here, but opted not to get one…yet.

Zampatti fell in love with New York and returned six months later with her best friend, intent on getting her first.

“I felt a desire to move here,” she said. “I thought of the American Dream. I saved money, and two years later, left my abusive relationship and enrolled in a New York City dance academy on a student visa, leaving everything behind. I ran away from my problems, but New York City eats you alive.”

With no support from her “beautiful family” or financial ability to leave, she ended up in another abusive relationship.

“New York City was too much for me, but I loved the United States,” Zampatti said. “I worked as a waitress and started teaching fitness, Pilates, and personal training in Brooklyn in the Orthodox Jewish community. They tried to help me.” Working constantly, she suffered from insomnia and panic attacks. While watching Jersey Shore (of all things!) she “fell in love with New Jersey” and its ocean. An acquaintance who lived at the actual Jersey Shore invited her to visit, and after touring Red Bank and Hartshorne Woods Park overlooking the Navesink River, she told her partner she wanted to move.

“He got mad and said, ‘You are not allowed to even dream about this,” and that’s when I understood I was coming here,” she recalled. “I broke up with him and moved to Atlantic Highlands.” Without a driver’s license, Zampatti bicycled everywhere, including to the train station so as to continue teaching in New York. “I was very happy because I could see the ocean and started to meet people who wanted to know who I was. I began to have friends.”

When Renaissance Pilates opened in Red Bank, Zampatti began teaching yoga classes there. (She still teaches classes in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as in Fair Haven, Little Silver, Middletown, and Avon-by-the-Sea.)

Her training began at the age of 18 in gymnasiums in her native Italy. Then and since, the instructor has earned a variety of certifications, with experience that includes synchronized swimming, Pilates, Yogalates, Video Dance, Total Body Workout, personal one-on-one fitness training, and a special strength and conditioning class she designed for dancers and music lovers named Shakti Power Flow.

“All I have learned influences what goes into my yoga classes today,” Zampatti said. Along with her expertise, she began sharing experiences as an abused woman, encouraged by the new love in her life, Chris Cordasco. (The pair now resides in Red Bank.)

“I was in denial about my past relationships and threatened by my abusers not to speak,” she related. “Then I met a man who showed me what it means to be loved, cared for, and safe. He loves me for who I am. I started to come out of my shell and realized I could be vulnerable, and that’s when I became strong.”

Zampatti also realized she needed to find an organization to work with, and found 180 Turning Lives Around of Monmouth County. (Since 1976, the nonprofit and its many local chapters have been dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence in their respective communities.) Renaissance Pilates owner Danielle Buccellato then allowed her to start a special class, and Ode to the Moon was born. The monthly sessions, scheduled to coincide with the new moon, drew four people, then 20, 40…50. There, students would tell her their stories in tears, and thousands of dollars were raised for 180 Turning Lives Around.

“I saw the potential to become relevant and take away their shame,” Zampatti explained. “I cried in the first class, but I don’t cry any more, because I am healing by helping others. If you look at the moon, sometimes it’s weak and you don’t see it. Sometimes it’s full and strong. We must allow it to be empty before it becomes full. That’s what inspired me. It helps get people to that vulnerable spot and release the past.”

Zampatti, also a nutritionist, added the elements of art, music and sustenance for her “warriors” of abuse (she doesn’t use the terms “victims” or “survivors.”) The artists are from the Amanda’s Easel Creative Arts Therapy Program, which helps children of domestic violence. The music is supplied by singer Allison LaRochelle, a 17-year-old Red Bank Regional High School student, accompanied by her 14-year-old sister Samantha on piano. Chef Sam Witten provides healthy food.

Zampatti is now advancing Ode to the Moon to the next level, creating a foundation and taking it on tour with dates in New Jersey, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. In June, she will return to Italy for the first time in five years to present her program in Milan, and is working to stage an expanded Ode to the Moon in July on a large theatrical space under the title “Symphony of Life,” incorporating dance and photography. Monmouth Regional High School recently invited Zampatti to conduct a student project to make teens aware of domestic violence “…so they don’t develop those patterns,” she said.

“I don’t want people to stop believing in love; I still do,” Zampatti said. “I keep my heart open. I have the American Dream. If you come here and are good, you will make it if you work hard.”

Ode to the Moon
Eleonora Zampatti
embraceandbloom.com