We Heal Together with Aya Nikole Cook of Haji Healing Salon

Ep 125: We Heal Together with Aya Nikole Cook of Haji Healing SalonPart of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤Recorded live on Lumpen Radio 105.5 FMWhat happens when the person who built the healing space finally has to heal herself?Aya Nicole Cook built Haji Healing Salon because everything she needed growing up on the South Side required leaving the South Side to find. Ten years later, she's in the middle of what she calls a death portal, undoing a decade of go-go-go and rebuilding the space and herself at the same time.What We Talk AboutWhy the healing at Haji happens out in the open instead of behind private doors, and how watching a stranger nap through acupuncture lowers the barrier for everybody in the roomWhat she gave up all at once — caffeine, meat, dairy, gluten, sugar, cannabis — and what being fully present made possibleThe new tea salon: a tech-free space where you check your phone at the door and journal, nap, daydream, or just sitThe unexpected turn: ten years as a one-woman show nearly took her out, and she wants you to hear the cautionary partIf you love origin stories that don't skip the scary parts, this episode is for you.All about Aya Nicole CookYou're gonna love Aya — she's a plant whisperer and sacred spacemaker. Ten years into building Haji Healing Salon in Bronzeville, she's an artist, mother, community herbalist, reiki master, yoga nidra priestess, and death doula who has made acupuncture, herbalism, reiki, and yoga accessible on Chicago's South Side.Things We MentionedHaji Healing Salon → hajihealing.com — 4448 S Cottage Grove Ave, ChicagoThe Healing Wisdom of Africa by Malidoma Patrice SoméLumpen Radio 105.5 FM → @lumpenradioChapters:00:23 - A New Beginning in Chicago01:35 - Building a Business Around Care and Community11:27 - Creating Inclusive Healing Spaces16:33 - Creating Sacred Spaces: The Journey of a Yoga Teacher23:34 - Healing Spaces and the Role of Plants29:55 - The Importance of Community in Healing40:02 - The Vision of a New Space45:00 - Creating a Healing Space: The Design of Haji49:17 - The Healing Space: A New Paradigm53:17 - Transitioning into Elderhood and BalanceThis series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤Connect with Aya Nicole CookIG: @hajihealingsalonWebsite: hajihealing.comStay Connected📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it freeMore ways to connectEmail: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.comSupport & FeedbacknoseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾⭐ Rate & Review the Show📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear thisEpisode CreditsProduced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie GrahamLyrics: Queen LexInstrumental: Freddie Bam FamCover Art: Emma McGoldrick