Meet Cagney Nay of Healing Hands Wellness Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cagney Nay.

We are thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. Before we get started can you briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I am a third-generation Angeleno. I was born and raised in West Hollywood during the 70s and 80s which was a very cool and influential time in L.A. culture. I feel very lucky to have grown up in such a diverse and inclusive community. I have also raised my two daughters here, in the Miracle Mile area.

I attended UCSD where I earned a BA in art history and a teaching credential in art education. I started my career teaching art to adults at the Braille Institute on Vermont. When my former husband decided to attend law school, I had to find a job that provided more income and benefits for us. A friend helped me secure an executive assistant position at the Walt Disney Studios and I later moved to the Universal Music Group which was such a fun job. I worked for UMG until my eldest daughter was born. During my maternity leave we realized that after we paid for child care, I would only be bringing home about $200 per month. My ex-husband was done with school and was establishing himself quickly so we decided that we would try to live on his income. With a few cutbacks, we were able to make it possible and I am very aware that we were fortunate to have been able to do that. Unfortunately, I think this is a difficult but common financial decision that a lot of families struggle with and it can be quite complicated because, as I learned, there is simply no way of knowing what the future holds.

When my 21-year marriage ended suddenly, I realized that I needed to work toward building a stable long-term career. Thinking that I had some time to dedicate towards that end, I went back to school and started to work on a master’s degree. In late 2016 our lives changed dramatically when my ex-husband lost his job and would, as it turned out, remain unemployed for several years. I knew that I had to expedite my career plans and learn a marketable trade that would allow me to earn a decent hourly wage. Now that I was a single mother and the primary caregiver for my kids, I also needed to do something that allowed me some flexibility. With all of this in mind, I decided to pursue a certification in massage therapy. I attended the School of Integrative Psycho Structural Bodywork (IPSB) in Culver City. I moved through the program as quickly as possible and after I graduated and passed the required national certification exam, I went to work for IPSB as their scheduling manager and admissions advisor. I also regularly checked in with Healing Hands Wellness Center as I waited for there to be an opening so I could begin my practice. I had been a client of Healing Hands and was aware that it has a great business model where I could operate my own practice and develop a clientele. I began my practice at HH in June of 2019. I also worked hard at building my private in-home clientele through word of mouth. The wellness community is so generous with referrals and sharing clients and that helped me immensely. Likewise, clients are always so great about referring the names of therapists that they love and trust.

In March of 2020, the pandemic hit and I was not able to massage. Having depleted my savings, I sold my house which I had been renting out in order to have some income while I went to school. After a year of not being able to practice massage, I went back to work at Healing Hands as soon as I was vaccinated and we were permitted to practice massage again.

A few months after our return to work, I approached one of the owners of Healing Hands and asked if she would consider selling me her share of the business. She accepted my offer and everything moved very quickly after that.

One of the most remarkable things about HH is that there are many therapists who have been there for years – even a decade or more. This includes our wonderful facilities manager, Suzy, and our amazing chiropractor, Dr. Paul Methot. When it comes to our practitioners, we have historically had very little turnover. However, as a result of the pandemic, people moved away or had other reasons for not returning to the industry. Because of my experience at IPSB, as both a student and as the admissions advisor, I know a lot of talented therapists and I am happy to say that several of them have brought their practices to Healing Hands. We have a wonderful, warm, caring, intuitive, thoroughly-invested group of therapists. I don’t want to fail to mention our acupuncturist, Loren Stiteler who has been such a great addition to our wellness services. His technique is so profoundly therapeutic and he has an expert command of Chinese herbal medicine. Sharōn Ronen is our esthetician and skin care specialist. Healing Hands had not previously had a skin care specialist so we were thrilled with Sharōn approached us about moving her practice, From Head to Toe, into Healing Hands.

Healing Hands is such a great fixture in the Larchmont community and being one of its co-owners has been one of the great gifts and opportunities of my life. I feel like I have finally arrived at what I as meant to do all along.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My path to co-owning Healing Hands Wellness Center was not a smooth one because it was the result of a painful divorce that had profound financial implications for me and my daughters. Once I set my sights on becoming a massage therapist I knew that I had to move forward quickly. I was 50 years old and had to consider what such a physically demanding occupation would mean for my own body as I aged. With some guidance from a massage therapist friend, I found IPSB which focuses on training therapists to use proper body mechanics thereby reducing the chances of injury and ensuring career longevity. I also started using my brain in a way that I hadn’t used it in a long time. I always say that a mother survives on muti-tasking but my return to school meant that I had to focus in a way that I hadn’t done in years. I can recall that I literally had to consciously force myself to stay seated and study every time I felt the impulse to jump up and do something around the house. I felt an actual shift in my brain and it was very rewarding and reassuring. I moved through the program as quickly as possible and when I ended up working for IPSB, I wore many hats which provided me with invaluable experience in running a small business.

As a single parent, taking classes in the evenings and on weekends meant that I had to learn to ask for and, perhaps most importantly, accept help from my friends. The greatest gift of all was when my good friends invited my youngest daughter and me to move into their guesthouse which allowed me to rent out and eventually sell my house so I could afford to go to school while also continuing to pay for my kids’ educations. At that point, my older daughter was in college and my younger daughter was still in middle school. The guesthouse is like a magical little treehouse close to HH but it’s small and we had to make adjustments. Personally, I enjoyed the fact that we had to live more consciously and creatively. We went from a comfortable three-bedroom house to a one-bedroom guesthouse. I gave the bedroom to my teenage daughter and I made do in the living room. We did not have a lot of the conveniences and comforts that we had become accustomed to but all that really mattered was that we had a roof over our heads, we were safe, and I was able to go to school and make sure that my kids could finish school. There has never been a moment during these challenges where I have not been aware of how lucky I am. I was also able to show my daughters that one’s circumstances can change and you have to do what you have to do to make it work. I will always feel grateful for what my friends gave me – the opportunity to rebuild and create a future for myself and my kids. We lost a lot but I know that we have more than so many people and I never lose sight of that.

I learned the valuable and hard lesson that you can never count on anyone but yourself for financial stability and that is something that I have worked hard to instill in my daughters. Even if (especially if) you are in a marriage or partnership, you should never ever be in a position where you forfeit your ability to support yourself.

As you know, we’re big fans of Healing Hands Wellness Center. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Healing Hands Wellness Center was founded in Larchmont Village in 2003. Our mission has been based on the principle that bodywork, a necessary component of any wellness regimen, can and should be offered to the community at affordable prices without compromising the quality of care. Offering Massage Therapy, Chiropractic care, Acupuncture, and Skin Care, our clients are treated by practitioners who are among the best that Los Angeles has to offer.

Everyone practicing at our center is an independent business owner and holds current statewide certification in their specific scope of practice. It is their goal to provide our clients with individualized holistic care and treatment at a price that allows for the maintenance of a consistent wellness program.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Honestly, I took a risk because I had no choice. However, my story is not unique. There are many women who, for any number of reasons, find themselves at a crossroads at mid-life. I invested everything I had and took a chance because I had nothing to lose. I decided at 50 years old to take on a physically demanding occupation because I knew that I could get through school and begin working within a couple of years. It is so rewarding to be part of a team that provides my community with a place for wellness. I know that our space is warm and welcoming and that people come away feeling better – what a gift! What more could I ask for? Healing Hands has the best, most loyal clientele and I am proud to co-own a business that gives both new and established practitioners a place to practice and be small business owners themselves. Every single day I am grateful to be where I am, doing what I’m doing.

Pricing:

• 60/75/90 minute massage $85/$95/$110
• Chiropractic $160 initial visit/$80 follow-up visit
• Acupuncture $125 / 1 hour treatment

Contact Info:

• Website: https://healinghandswc.com
• Instagram: @hlnghands
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hlnghands

Image Credits
All photos credited to Phoebe Jarvis