Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Deanna Scaldaferri. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Deanna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents were human and made many mistakes of course. However overall, they did many things right in raising myself, and my older sister and younger brother. They instilled the importance of the values such as family, good work ethic, kindness and generosity. Both my mom and dad were good people at heart, hard workers and loving, caring people. My dad owned several successful businesses and modeled the true entrepreneurial spirit. They both were always willing to lend a hand to a friend, family member or stranger in need. I witnessed them do this in many shapes and forms throughout my childhood and into adulthood….my mom would help circulate someone’s resume who lost their job, she would volunteer for school functions, she would pick something up from the store for you if you were sick and homebound, she would shovel an elderly neighbor’s driveway when it snowed. My dad was a carpenter by trade and shared his gift with many who needed something done around the house, or needed to borrow a tool. He owned pizza shops and would often feed our neighbors and friends, and used pizza as his currency to repay favors. My parents have impacted my life and career in many ways. I am a giver just like them, and I gravitated to a career where I can use my empathy and kindness to help people through massage, energy healing and coaching. I opened my own business 2 years ago as well. I believe my life purpose is one of service and compassion, and my parents were both wonderful role models of that to me. <3 <3

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an Italian-American woman originally from the suburbs of New York City. I studied business in college and never quite felt fulfilled in the corporate jobs that I held in the past. I then was blessed to have been a stay-at-home mom to my 3 boys, who are my absolute world. Once they hit school age and I was ready to go back to work, I did some soul-searching and landed on the decision to go back to school to become a massage therapist. I’ve always enjoyed massages as part of my self-care, so I imagined I would also love making other people feel the same way. What a very different career choice, huh?! I took a huge leap of faith and was so happy to find that I loved it immediately. It was so satisfying to me to help people feel good in their bodies. From there, massage opened up a whole new world for me….one that truly plays to my strengths as a person. Turns out that my empathy, compassion, and caring nature suits the health & wellness world perfectly. I then went on to learn about energy healing and within a couple years’ time, became a Reiki Master. From there, I added in spiritual/life coaching as well. I opened up my own business 2 years ago, which I am extremely proud of, and it allows me to help even more people in my own creative and individual way. I offer many modalities of massage, as well as Reiki sessions and coaching. My signature massage and my happy place is my Reiki-Infused Massage, because it blends the two so beautifully to help both the body and spirit. All of my sessions are aimed at helping someone with their body-mind-spirit connection, and approaches each person individually. Everyone is here on this earth on a journey, and most people are in need of some sort of healing. I am honored to be able to hold the space for someone and help them along their journey to a happier, healthier life. I meet people where they are, and offer a safe, trusting and nurturing space for healing.

nurture

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Over the last 6 years, I’ve been on my own personal spiritual awakening and healing journey. Life handed me some pretty traumatic situations and I had to learn how to overcome them to move forward in my life in a positive direction. Grief, narcissistic abuse and divorce almost took me down for good. But I’m so incredibly grateful that I was able to push through, do the work and make it to the other side, to a much healthier and happier place in my life. The wisdom, strength and resilience that I have gained from my life experience these last years is truly priceless. And now…..I am focused on taking that pain and turning it into power by helping others along their healing journeys.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I believe the most helpful things for succeeding in my field are honesty, authenticity and love. When you let people see you in a vulnerable place and stand in your truth of who you truly are, you subconsciously give them the permission to do the same. And when you approach people with love and compassion, it turns around any situation or issue going on in their lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.healinghandsbydeanna.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw4Sv8POfGX8H6KJXnh4kJw
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Rich Becker – Raelle Photography