We were lucky to catch up with Aiyana Fraley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Aiyana, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
That thought doesn’t cross my mind. I am the happiest I have been being a business owner. Having the flexibility of my own schedule, being the one who plans and creates, and motivating myself to accomplish the goals I set for myself — I can’t live any other way. So the thought of going back to a regular job is completely out of my mindset. I’ve done a lot of work with the law of manifestation. I am a dreamer, I spend time thinking, and imagining and when those visions are clear I start working on them. The beauty of it is that they all come to fruition; some take longer than others but they do happen. I trust this system entirely and so the idea of doing something that is not my passion to be able to support myself and my family would go against what I believe to be true. I am grateful that this is my reality.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am an intuitive reiki healer based in St. Petersburg, Florida. My journey began when I was 19 as a licensed massage therapist. I worked for Ayurvedic and Asian inspired spas in South Florida and learned a lot about Eastern healing techniques and treatments. This shaped me as a young massage therapist and I continued to expand upon what I was doing by taking classes and trainings in Thai massage, reiki, Ayurvedic body treatments and massage. I spent the first half of my career doing this and when I moved to St. Petersburg I had the opportunity to start over. My heart longed to focus on energy healing and energy-based bodywork. My healing practice, Hand to Soul, was born from that desire. Through it, I offer intuitive reiki healing, Shiatsu, Thai massage and ritual healing experiences.
I also experienced some life changing events during this transition and it opened me up to be able to share with others as a teacher. I teach reiki, aromatherapy, chakra balancing and yoga. I am most proud of the eclectic nature of my work. I have a unique combination of healing modalities that have merged to create an awaken healing experience for clients and students.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I grew up in Miami. The sounds, people, food and culture — it is home. But there was a calling inside that kept telling me I needed to move and I told myself as soon as I finished grad school I would move. So I did and it took me to Central Florida for a short time then I landed in my new home town in St. Petersburg, Florida. I knew this was a place I was destined to be in. Being here was liberating and I had the best time getting to know this beautiful city. At the same time, I was starting over. I didn’t know anyone here, had no clients, had no family or friends. It was a complete leap of faith. To get myself established I worked as a writer for a well-established local company and began to build my healing practice on the side. Doing this allowed me some comfort but after a few years I got so used to that comfort that the idea of leaving the job to run my own reiki practice became scary. I had all these doubts about what would happen if I failed and I would be giving up on a job that was “secure”. Well, one day the calling of my heart was more than my mind and in a meeting with my manager I blurted out I quit. It happened so fast that I couldn’t catch the words if I tried. It wasn’t me who planned to say that or resign that day, I believe it was something greater. In that moment, the feeling of being liberated filled my body and I couldn’t stop smiling at the possibilities in front of me. I was in complete trust and within a week I was approached for private corporate yoga gigs, private meditation classes for large companies and reiki clients found their way to me. By year’s end, I had replaced my income with my own business. I have put countless hours of work into building my business and the obstacles and detours were all worth it.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Two things come to mind: consistency and truth. One of the principles in the practice of reiki is being true to oneself. I practice this everyday. I believe that we have to be honest with ourselves and live in a way that honors the truth of our soul. This is how I live. My work is not separate from me and I am not separate from it. My work is an extension of me and it is how I express my truth. Because it is part of who I am, I am consistently showing up to do the soul work necessary to maintain my state of truth. I think this is what draws people to me because they need that kind of inspiration to do it for themselves. It is outside of the way our culture thinks and acts, but it is what I believe a lot of people are wanting for themselves. They just don’t know how to do it yet.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://handtosoulhealing.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiyanafraley/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aiyanafraley
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk81lnHhX-H8MA4sNV5R7kw
Image Credits
Photography by Savannah Levell https://www.instagram.com/savannahlevellphotography/