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Nyssa Hanger

Helping YOU live on the Upward Spiral 💫

Life and Biz Coach. Massage Therapist. Aromatherapist. Teacher. Writer.

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Featured Post

Tiny little bottles

It usually starts with a tiny little bottle. My mom’s story did. She was traveling to California in a VW van in the ’70s when they stopped at a flea market in Texas (of all places). That’s where she found her first “tiny little bottles.” They were labeled essential oils—or at least the closest thing to real essential oils you could find back then. She started putting them in her massage oils, and that was it. She read everything she could get her hands on, started a school and wrote books....

9 days ago • 2 min read

Apparently my generation was the last to grow up offline and the first to grow up online. Of course, I read that on the internet … no irony there! 😂 But dang, Reader, I relate to that. I remember dial tones and busy signals. AOL Online. (“You’ve got mail!”) Yahoo before this new search engine called “Google.” What’s better, I also remember the lost art of playing outside. 🏃 Riding my bike to my friend’s house. Kickball in the street. That satisfying *thwack* of a Keds shoe hitting a rubber...

16 days ago • 2 min read

They say good things come to those who wait. We didn’t even wait a month after losing our sweet pup, Bodhi, before the universe brought us Papi Chulo a.k.a. Boomer. Meet the new love of my life. We weren’t actively looking for a dog, but we weren’t not looking either. We just said we’d see what appeared. Then a family in the neighborhood needed to rehome their 8-month-old French Bulldog. Never in my life did I think I’d adopt a dog like this. I always pictured another Chihuahua, or maybe a...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read

One night a few weeks ago, Kelly asked the question no one wants to hear in a Florida summer: “Is it hot in here?” Sure enough, the AC wasn’t cooling past 75. It wasn’t an easy fix with freon, we needed a whole new condenser. Thankfully, our handyman saved us with two window units to get through the week. And then, two days later, our old pup Bodhi declined. We knew his time had come. What timing. So we sat with him—listening to the constant white noise of the window unit—as we said our last...

2 months ago • 1 min read

Earlier this month, I got to spend time at one of my favorite places, Cocoa Beach. I love starting the day watching the sunrise from the porch. One year, I kept seeing this woman down at the beach. But she wasn't walking. She was ecstatically dancing down the beach. Headphones on. Arms moving, hips swaying. I immediately wanted to meet her, befriend her, and also be her. On my last morning, I finally said something:“I’ve seen you dancing all week. Thank you, it’s made my day.” She smiled and...

2 months ago • 1 min read

Last Spring, I got my oil changed and they told me my battery was failing. Trying to save money, I picked one up at the auto parts store instead of the dealership. Then at my recent oil change? “Your battery’s failing again.” 🤦♀️ Impossible, I thought. It’s brand new. So I went back to the store and asked the guy to test it. He looked annoyed to leave the air conditioning and check a battery in the Florida heat. But as we stepped outside, his phone rang. It was Black Sabbath’s War Pigs....

3 months ago • 2 min read

When you work for yourself, Reader, especially when much of that work is behind a screen, it’s easy to feel alone. But after reading your responses last week, I know that’s far from true. I’ve been sending emails since 2011. 😱 And yet, so much of this creative work feels like tossing ideas into the void. Your replies remind me there’s a whole world of you out there. Here’s what I know about you: You want connection. You want reminders that it’s all going to be okay—and that while it’s on its...

3 months ago • 2 min read

I checked in with one of my coaching clients and asked, “So, how’s the project going?” Them: “It’s going…” [trailing off as to guard against uncertainty] This is a common conversation I have with clients. We’re usually working on something big—personally or professionally—and it’s so easy to focus on what’s not working. So I always encourage the opposite: celebrate the small wins. They add up. 🎉 This client was overwhelmed. They came into the session thinking they’d have to delay everything...

3 months ago • 2 min read

The way I’ve been dealing with the state of the world lately? Gardening like never before. While spending more time in my yard, I noticed a bunch of forgotten cinderblocks—tucked under bushes, in overgrown beds, collecting leaves in the far corner. One Saturday last Spring, I decided to gather them and build a small garden bed for my new herbs (some from a shopping therapy trip, some I’d nurtured from cuttings). I weeded, leveled the ground, laid cardboard, hauled the blocks, added soil, and...

4 months ago • 2 min read

This past week I’ve been home recovering from surgery to remove a fibroid. Even though I was technically cleared to return to work pretty quickly, I had a feeling I would need more time. So, I canceled a week of clients. (scary!) Old me would have resisted and pushed through, probably to my detriment. Instead, I gave myself some grace to get over general anesthesia and calm down my cramping abdomen. And yet, the guilt demons still showed up. At least I can fight them lying down. There’s still...

4 months ago • 1 min read