We were lucky to catch up with Kyanni Fleming recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kyanni, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
In 2018, I held a mid-level management position at a top academic hospital center. I was making six figures and climbed the ladder from Manager to Director. I loved leading my team, but as executive leadership changed, My colleagues were leaving for greener pastures and I felt stuck and stifled. I was looking for jobs elsewhere but nothing seemed to be panning out. A pivotal moment happened in my almost 7 year tenure at this organization and I knew I had to leave. I prayed and prayed about it. One night I had a dream, which was more like a memory of an actual dream I had when I was 5 years old.
When I was five years old, my neighbor, who lived 2 houses down the street, would pick me up and babysit me after kindergarten. I had an afternoon routine when I got to her house. I would do my homework, if any, while she prepared lunch. My favorite was tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich. After lunch, it was nap time. I napped in a spare room that had posters of popular music albums. One poster I found myself gazing at as I fell off to sleep was the group Earth, Wind and Fire. The poster had an ancient pyramid, a third eye symbol and other Egyptian signs. One particular day, I had a dream that the third eye symbol illuminated from the poster and hovered in front of me as I laid in the bed. A voice spoke that said “You are meant to be a part of something bigger than you”. This vision this time felt different. It felt real. It felt like everything I had gone through and been going through was intentional. It was to define this moment and the moments to some.
I proceeded to put in my resignation. Although it was something I needed to do, I felt torn and like an absolute failure. I decided to go back to bedside nursing because it was comfortable and it would give me a chance to gain clarity and insight into what was next. The same week I started orientation at the hospital, one of my massage colleagues, who was closing her practice. She asked if she could refer some of her clients to me. I was like “Sure.” My new 3 days a week work schedule would allow me to take on new clients. I was able before with the demands of my previous position. This marked the shift. I went from having one monthly client over the past 8 years to having 10 monthly clients. I began collaborating with a local chiropractor who heard about my ability to work magic from a client. Now I was operating out of two locations when not working at the hospital. This was my sign to start taking things more seriously. I registered my business with the State of Maryland and officially formed my LLC in January 2020. Then Covid hit. I had to close down. And It was a stressful time in healthcare as an essential employee working in the hospital. In May 2020, the State deemed licensed massage therapists as health care practitioners and allowed us to open back up along with outpatient healthcare clinics. I was one of the few massage therapists that jumped back to work. Afterall, I was already in the hospital trenches working. To my surprise, 75% of my clients came back without hesitation. One of my clients, who passed away in August from Covid, tipped me off about the Governor’s order to open up “massage parlors”. She had gone too long without her massages and “kneaded” back in asap. Over the next 11 months, I lost my three biggest supporters one right after another – my dad, my best friend and my mom. I was devastated. That level of grief brought me the stillness I needed in the midst of my healing. I could clearly see and understand the “bigger than you” message I received when I was five. My life’s purpose was to bring healing to others using my heart by way of my hands. I could see the “why” that had been trying to present itself to me all my life. In February 2022, I made the decision to leave bedside nursing for good to pursue caring for people on my terms. My clients demanded more of me. I had enough clients to keep these hands in service for 8-10 hours a day, 6 days a week. I can now wholeheartedly embrace my calling as a nurse massage therapist reconnecting people to our first love language of physical touch. I am only “touching” the tip of the iceberg. There is bigger in store for me that has yet to be revealed.
Kyanni, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Kyanni Fleming. the owner and operator of The Kneading Well, a massage therapy, bodywork and wellness practice located in Maryland. I am a nurse massage therapist known to my clients as Kyanni The Kneader aka The Hug Dealer. I have been a nurse for 22 years and I have spent 19 of those in the Maternal Child Health specialty. I have been a licensed massage therapist for 15 years. I got into massage by way of nursing. At the time, I was a labor and delivery nurse in a busy tertiary care academic medical center. In the early 2000s, there was an uptick in women presenting for delivery with birth plans and wanting natural births. I was a hands-on nurse. I was different. I wanted to be as supportive as possible. I saw massage therapy as a holistic practice I could integrate with my nursing to care for women during the different stages of their pregnancy. Needless to say, I used very little of my massage skills in the hospital because many patients changed their minds about their birthing plans when the labor pains hit. Regardless of the setting in which I practice, my purpose is to be of service, create a safe healing environment and to use touch to improve quality of life.
In my current practice, I offer mixed modality, customized massage and bodywork services that includes cupping, stretching, IASTM (instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization), manual lymph drainage and reflexology. I solve problems for all kinds of clients. I serve the average person who suffers from everyday stressors on the body of repetitive movements and non-ergonomic working conditions. I serve recreational and competitive athletes who push their bodies to the limit and use their bodies to obtain a certain level of health and fitness. I serve individuals who understand they cannot rely only on Western Medicine to improve and maintain their health. I serve medical professionals who believe in collaborative practice and are vested in improving patient outcomes with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. What sets me apart from my other colleagues is that I know and see the body as an interconnected feedback system. The mind and body cannot be separated. I integrate my nursing and massage therapy knowledge, skills and abilities to give my clients the service they want and I also give them what they need. I use my hands intuitively to sense areas of physical tension and energetic blockages in the body, My clients say my hands are like “metal detectors”. I always know how to find their “pain points”. After their sessions with me, they have more awareness of and in their bodies., I also serve outside the four walls of my practice in the capacity as a speaker and educator. I design engaging events for couples to teach them how to use touch in healthy and healing ways to improve the wellness of their relationships. I develop workshops from my experience as an athlete to educate other athletes on bodywork techniques for improved performance, injury prevention and recovery. I teach busy women about rest and self-care practices and how it benefits their health and well-being.
I am most proud of seeking and taking opportunities to continue along my path, and taking little leaps of faith to answer my higher calling to be a part of something bigger than me. I always wanted to be a doctor, but that dream was not my final destination. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, stated, ” Anyone wishing to study medicine must master the art of massage.” My path has come full circle, so to speak. I get to help, nurse and care for people with my heart and hands through mastering the art of massage and delivering my own style of wellness medicine.
What I want people to know is that I love what I do helping others to feel better, heal better, move better and live better within their bodies. The body is fascinating to me. It always looks to achieve homeostasis and balance, to support us and to heal from within so we can be our best self. As humans, we do not do our due diligence in giving it what it needs to be there for us. Michaelangelo stated, “to touch is to give life”, as a nurse massage therapist, it is my mission to give all whom I touch a better quality of life.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I am more than just my two hands. I am a student of life. I have two Bachelor’s degrees (Biology and Nursing), two Master’s Degrees (Leadership and Management and Business Administration) and a multitude of certifications. My life’s journey has been one of personal development and growth. In order to manage your business and team, you must first learn to manage yourself. I am a seeker of knowledge, truth and self-awareness. It comes naturally for me to turn to books for enlightenment and answers. The following books have resonated with me and have significantly impacted my personal management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy, not in any particular order,:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
Tax-Free Wealth by Tom Wheelright
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington
You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
One Word That Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
I could name a few dozen more! My best advice to any entrepreneur is to start reading NOW. Many of us do not have access to great mentors or can even afford high-level coaching. But there is no excuse why you cannot capitalize from the sound advice, inspiration and ideas found by opening a book. Changing your mindset, your reality and your world is right at your fingertips.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Outside of training and knowledge, knowing how to connect with people is most helpful for succeeding in the wellness field. Relationships are currency. I am fortunate enough to have several clients who have been loyal clients for over 10 years. I am fortunate enough to care for entire families in my practice. I show up every single day as my true authentic self. I create a safe and trusting space for my clients. I meet my clients where they are and we go from there. If being of service is the priority, then prosperity will always be in your favor.
Contact Info:
- Website: thekneadingwell.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/thekneadingwell
- Facebook: facebook.com/thekneadingwell
- Youtube: youtube.com/@kyanninicole
- Other: instagram.com/kyanninicole facebook.com/kyanni.nicole
Image Credits
Dr. Austin Hill, YRN Photography is the photographer for all images.