In this companion episode, Kelly uses the skills of Real Dialog to interview Nyssa about her unconventional path into healing work. 

Nyssa traces her journey from teen poetry nights and open mics, to aromatizing Manhattan after 9/11 with her mom’s aromatherapy team, to studying religious experience and Sanskrit, and ultimately building a career as a massage therapist, aromatherapist, and coach. 

Along the way, she shares how words, scent, and touch became tools for transformation, and why falling “off track” is actually part of the upward spiral.

Main Topics Covered:

• How a teen poetry night at the public library changed Nyssa’s life
• From marching band to a performing arts high school: Nyssa’s “vision quest” detour
• The open mic mentor who saw Nyssa’s talent and nudged her toward a new path
• What it was like aromatizing Manhattan after 9/11 with essential oils and chair massage
• How witnessing trauma care at Ground Zero redirected Nyssa’s career toward healing
• Why Nyssa chose massage and psychology over a traditional creative writing path
• Falling in love with religious studies and discovering Sanskrit as an “ancestral” language
• The connection between poetry, mantra, and having a numinous (holy “quaking”) experience
• Using scent, words, and intention as a kind of everyday spellwork for change
• What Nyssa learned from running her own healing center before and through the pandemic
• Redefining the “downward spiral” and why falling off track is actually part of the path
• How Nyssa now supports wellness solopreneurs to grow without burning out

Links:

Partner Thai Massage Workshop, February 21, 2026 at Gaze Hot Yoga: https://www.nyssahanger.com/workshops

Stay in Touch:

Nyssa Hanger: www.nyssahanger.com | IG: @nyssahanger

Kelly Brady: www.kellybrady.me | IG: @drkellybrady