We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Ayanna Miller. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. Ayanna below.

Alright, Dr. Ayanna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents raised me in a very family-oriented, disciplined, Christian home. I was not permitted to do many of the things that my peers were allowed to do, and my parents monitored me closely as I grew, matured and matriculated through my youth. I had to go to church often. I had to study and participate in clubs, organizations and fine arts. I had to read, recite, memorize math and poems, and I couldn’t stay out late partying. My parents had to know who I spent time with and where I was when I was not with them. I didn’t like the constraints of a strict household then, but in retrospect, it was the best foundation that could have been provided to me! It was their way of showing love and protection. They modeled what love, charity, sober-mindedness and morality should be. They taught and expected me to be responsible, respectful, self-driven, disciplined, business-minded, entrepreneurial and enterprising. There were instances where they “could have” given me things that I wanted, but they didn’t. Rather, they taught me earn my way through life and to value God, family, the intangibles and others’. My mother was a high school teacher, and my father was a pioneer in the city that I grew up in. He retired my mother, and they worked to build a small, service-related business together that did very well during the 1970s-early 2000s. I will never forget his wise sentiment that you will always do well in life if you “invest in people”. I never forgot that statement. It set the trajectory for my life.

Dr. Ayanna, 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?

I always knew that I would follow in my mother’s footsteps and attend a university after high school. As I prepared to go, I wondered what I would major in. I thought that it would be law or journalism, but one day, a high school coach suggested that I consider physical therapy. I thought that it was a novel idea, and I liked the prospect of the career as well as what it promised during the early 1990s. Once I obtained my physical therapy degree, I began to practice with the plan of ultimately opening a center to treat those living with neurological impairment i.e. brain injury caused by stroke.

I have practiced independently for 25 years, and in this 26th year, I am now turning the page by transitioning to a neurological-wellness format whereby I inform the public on how to make lifestyle shifts to avoid stroke and other long-term disabling pathologies thereby suffering less as we live longer. I offer group and individual consultation services to help guide and monitor the individual’s progress. Organizations can schedule on-site workshops, and individuals can schedule virtual consultations/ screenings through my website, www.vinsonna.com/the-body-mechanic. Phase II will include bringing clients in-house for neurological/ stroke rehab and prevention consultations as needed. Whereas my niche began completely traditionally, I now render some traditional care while focusing on prevention. Essentially, I work to help people prevent “needing” me because of disease (particularly neurological) leading to disability.

I am supremely proud of the positive response to my bi-monthly community health newsletters that are send out via direct email. The publications give meaningful insight into simple, seldom-considered aspects of life that lead to disease, disability and early death. They stimulate the reader’s understanding of where their control lies, and they provoke thoughtful action toward higher quality of life and longevity.

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

Vinsonna Physical Therapy Associates (VPTA) began in 1998 with sweat equity, cash flow from my supplemental W2 income, attending business workshops and following in the footsteps of those mentors who came before me. My small practice developed a niche, grew and remained self-sufficient until the shutdown of 2020, 22 years after its inception. The impact of this unprecedented time in history could never have been foreseen! With no warning or preparation, the wheels on the wagon came to nearly a screeching halt! However, having remained a small enterprise was a silver lining in the cloud. While some larger ships folded completely, I was able to navigate the rough waters and to never completely shut the doors of VPTA. I continued to treat those few clients who remained, and I began to IMMEDIATELY regroup, access whatever few resources were at my disposal to shift gears and to move into another direction by the practice’s 25th year anniversary. Hence, in 2023, The Body Mechanic’s Neuro-Wellness Popup Shop (The Body Mechanic), the sister organization to VPTA, was born! The slope has been very slippery as I have begun to start my business all over with a new format, in a wildly new & unfamiliar digital age, while 25 years older and with no prior plan (or foreseeable reason) to do so! I am so thankful for the foundation and modeling that my parents gave me in my youth and for those mentors and partners who have been selfless and kind enough to help me along the way!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I work with individuals who come seeking answers to confounding health-related questions that plague their minds, stunt their hope and at times breed fear. Some feel frustrated and helpless because of the “not knowing” aspects of the pathologies that affect their lives and physical function. Many have been tossed and driven with little resolve. They are motivated by a desire to continue to live and to recapture a prior level of function that was lost or that they aspire to attain as never before. I believe that what has helped to build my reputation in my market is my turning the lightbulb on, my shining a light on answers that my clients seek…even when they can’t articulate their confusion themselves. My inspiring them through understanding what is happening to them and my walking in lock-step with them toward their goals contribute as well. When we understand better, we suffer less, and this is something that we all want. Understanding breeds happiness, motivation and hope which is infectious.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vinsonna.com/the-body-mechanic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neurowellnesspopup
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neurowellnesspopup
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/drayannaatvinsonna
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NeuroWellnessPopup
• Other: https://www.vinsonna.com/the-body-mechanic