We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Candida Della Ragione a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Candida, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

Some people call it being stubborn, I call it determination.

Some of the best qualities in life that I learned from my parents are determination, a good attitude and the ability to never give up!

My parents are 2 Immigrants from Italy that moved to the US right after they got married. They experienced being newlyweds in a new country, with very different traditions and a different culture than what they were costumed to. They experienced some challenges, but they continued their journey in this new country.

My Father at the time was a young tailor with many years of experience. He started at the very young age of 10, learning all about the art of fashion, sewing, fabrics etc. He sewed his very own wedding suit and was quite proud of it.

Once in the United States he worked in New York City with a company that was pretty well known. He often talked about his very first job sewing a suit for the actor Peter Falk, from the Tv show Lieutenant Colombo.

About a year later, circumstances changed, and my father had the opportunity and also a nudge to change career. He started working in an Italian restaurant, learning all the ins and out and shortly after he would own his very own Italian Pizza and restaurant store, in Mechanicsburg PA.

My parents had 3 children while navigating a marriage and a business. They became American Citizens and were very happy together.

They did miss their home in Italy, their family and friends, and often felt as a piece of their heart was always missing.

So, after living here for about 10 years they decided to move back to their hometown.

We lived in Italy for about 10 beautiful years before my parents made the decision to move back to the US. During those years I had the opportunity to go to school and learn all about the culture, art, history and all the things that make Italy unique.

I was 20 years old when we moved back but my family has always followed a quote: Family stays together.
Reminds of the Disney cartoon Lilo & Stitch and how they would say Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. moved back to the US. It was difficult for me to move back, but my family has a motto which is Family stays together.
My family owned an Italian restaurant and we all had to help. I learned from my parents how to run a business, customer service and all the fun stuff that comes with owning your own business.
I learned from my family how to be supportive of each other, how to push through difficulties and reach your dreams.

Candida, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Candi (Arena) Della Ragione and I am a Holistic Practitioner and a Fitness Coach with over 25 years of combined experience.

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist with extensive training in Ayurvedic Massage, Bowen Therapy, in the VOILA’ Method, and Access Bars. I have training in Acupressure points, Marma points and chakra balancing.

I am also a Usui Reiki Master/Teacher and trained in Karuna Reiki. I have been initiated into the 9 rites of Munay-Ki.

I have been studying Yoga for many years and have almost 500 hours through The Pranakriya School of Yoga Healing Arts.

Through my years of training and life experiences I have learned that the health of one’s physical body is deeply connected and rooted within one’s emotional state. To assist my clients in achieving optimal health, I will tailor a treatment that will address the body, mind, and soul’s unique needs creating a safe space for healing to unfold.
I am here to witness you in your entire essence and to listen to your specific needs.

Our Bodies are very resilient, sometimes they just need a little nudge in the right direction by a facilitator. At the root of most illness and discomfort is a non-balanced nervous system. I am happy to share and teach you ways to bring your body into balance and healing mode. In High School my favorite subject was the science of the body and mind. I have dedicated years of study to learn about the mechanics, the structure and systems of the human body.

In my mid-thirties I suddenly got severely sick and almost died. It took 2 years of endless doctor’s visits and many different tests to find that my body was fighting Lyme Disease. My body did not respond well to traditional medicine. I found alternative modalities where my body responded and started healing. That’s when I decided I wanted to learn more about the human body and started my journey of studying different types of Bodywork.

My company’s name is ” My Sol Essence”.

When we are not well, when we have pain or disease in our body it’s a sign that our true essence, our frequency, our energy is low. When we experience insomnia, depression, racing thoughts, migraines, our essence is not balanced. When we experience traumas, whether emotional or physical, our essence becomes unbalanced. Concussions can bring an imbalance to our essence as it affects our nervous system.

My mission is to help you get in touch with your true essence and find alignment and bring your body back to balance. There are many different modalities and treatments to choose from that can help reach a state of peace and balance.

Have you ever had to pivot?

With my former husband I also worked in the food industry but after my divorce I wanted a change in all the areas of my life including my career. My education is in Childhood education; however, I was ready for a radical change.

I have always loved Science, Fitness, Nutrition and Health. So, I applied at a local gym as a fitness instructor and a personal trainer. I continued learning fitness and learning how to apply my knowledge of running a business to this gym.

As soon as the position for management opened, I applied and kept that position for about 15 years. During those years I learned many different group fitness classes and I loved all of it, it was not easy, but my passion for all of it made it feel easy. I was teaching Zumba, Cycling, Yoga, Kickboxing, Silver Sneakers, Pound, Piloxing, etc. Every year I would attend the SCW Convention and would learn more to share.

I was and still am a full-time single working mom of 2 children.

During my time at the gym, I learned about alternative bodywork modalities. In my mid-thirties my health took a turn for the worse and after two whole years of endless doctor visits we learned that I had Lyme Disease. My body did not respond well to traditional medicine. That’s when I learned about alternative modalities, and my health slowly improved. As my health improved, my curiosity and my drive to learn more kicked in. So, I decided it was time to expand my knowledge of the human body and all its functions. I started learning about Body Work and how our emotions play a huge factor in the healing of our body.

I was still the Manager at the gym and tipping my toes in the Holistic world of healing when my life suddenly changed. The owner of the gym where I worked, who was also a dear friend, passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack. In less than 2 weeks, the gym was under new ownership with a new vision where I no longer fit in.

After 2 months of feeling completely lost, as my life of 15 years had just crumbled, I decided to go back to college and pursued my Licensure in Massage Therapy. At this point in my life my son was also in college and my daughter was in high school.

A year later I had my Massage license and shortly after I specialized in Ayuvedic Massage and treatments, Accupressure, The Voila’ Method, Bowen Therapy, Reiki, Access Bars and many more modalities.

My mission in life is to help others heal and stay healthy. I have always loved Science, the human body and all its functions. The human body is a marvelous and intricate structure.

Our nervous system is a fundamental system for our health. When we give love and attention to our nervous system daily, we can find perfect health. Being present with ourselves, breathwork, sound, frequency bodywork, are just a few things that could make a huge difference in our life.

We can all get caught up with life and all the things of life, forgetting how simple it can be to care for our body and all of its functions.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Yes, I truly believe that what I do now is my purpose in my life. Learning how to heal my body from emotional trauma and physical trauma has helped me learn so much about how to help others. I am now very aware of how for many years I lived in fight or flight mode, also called survival mode. Having the awareness of the effects of stress on the endocrine system, the skeletal system, the muscular system, (just to name a few) allows me to help others find freedom from pain and heal their body.

I have a deep passion for learning in general, but I absolutely love science, the human body and t’s functions. I love how resilient our bodies are, and how we have the ability to heal, and I love being able to facilitate that for others. A healthy nervous system is really fundamental for our overall health. Our nervous system is divided into 2 systems: our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. When we address both of these systems on a regular basis through massage or meditation, Access bars or Yoga or whichever modality you prefer we can achieve optimal health. I love to be a facilitator for others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mysolessence.massagetherapy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candida.dellaragionearena
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candida-della-ragione-81326836/
• Other: https://www.drkcomtcenterforwellbeing.com/about.html