Good Neighbor Podcast: Orange County

Touch That Heals Body And Mind

• Rachel Fyffe & Adil Panton

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0:00 | 8:51

Health isn’t a look or a luxury; it’s your capacity to meet life with clarity and strength. That’s the lens we bring to a lively conversation with healing arts practitioner Adil Panton of Healing Arts Touch, whose first-ever massage sparked a career change and a mission to make respectful, skillful touch part of everyday maintenance. Adil shares how massage therapy, Qigong, Tai Chi, and health coaching fit together to calm the nervous system, sharpen the mind, and help people feel genuinely resourced in their daily lives.

We dig into the myth that massage is pampering and reframe it as essential care—especially for adults who rarely receive safe, supportive touch. Adil explains how the body records thoughts and emotions and why listening through hands-on work often reveals what words miss. He walks us through simple practices like deep, steady breathing and slow, intentional movement to settle stress, improve sleep, and create a wider pause before reacting. You’ll hear how he customizes every session, reading what each body needs, and how small at-home rituals extend results long after the table.

Adil’s story also offers a blueprint for purpose: follow curiosity, stack practical skills, and define health as the ability to solve problems. We talk referrals and community trust, visibility on Yelp and Google, and his new book, Claim Your Happiness, which distills his approach to aligning body, mind, and spirit. If you’re curious about holistic bodywork, or you’re ready to feel less like a human thinking and more like a human being, this conversation delivers clarity and next steps you can use today.

Subscribe for more neighbor-to-neighbor stories, share this episode with someone who needs a reset, and leave a review to help others find the show. Then tell us: what small practice keeps you grounded right now?

SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Rachel Fife.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Now, if you are looking for holistic bodywork services that will positively affect your body, mind, and spirit, well, this resource is closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Adil Panton, with Healing Arts Touch. Adil, how is it going?

SPEAKER_01:

It's going great, Rachel. Thanks for the opportunity to spread the word about this great service that I have to offer.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I gotta tell you, we are really excited to learn all about it. So tell us about your business.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, the name is Healing Arts Touch, and it's my passion being in the healing arts. What I do basically, I help people become healthy, teach people to really honor themselves with health. Um, I have a few uh things that I do. I'm a massage licensed certified massage therapist, I'm a certified health coach, I'm a certified uh Chigong and Tai Chi instructor. And basically, any of those modalities that you choose will definitely serve you well and finding yourself and really late to yourself in a higher self-esteem and creating results that's going to be beneficial not only to you but your family and friends.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. Well, how did you get into this business?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, um, we don't have much time to share everything, but basically, I started by getting a massage. Um, a friend of mine, mother, actually invited me to go to massage a massage opening. And I never had massage before I was like 31 years old. You know, back in the day, men don't get massage.

unknown:

Right?

SPEAKER_01:

So I went, and at the time I was in my life, I was really struggling. I just lost my job. I used to be a manager at a nursing home, and I just lost my job because I wouldn't comply my boss's wishes. And I said, I'm not gonna do anything until I find passion. I have to be passionate about the next thing I do. So I went and part of the interview was basically getting a free massage. I never had massage before, got on the table, and it opened me like a flower. All the tension, stress I had just was immediately relieved to that one session. I said, Oh, I should be doing this. And that's immediately I signed up for massage school, and that started me to really pursue and understand what health really is. And once I got into massage school, I can stop eating information and knowledge and technique and wisdom, understanding that health is our true wealth. And it just took me from there to you know become a licensed massage therapist. I had to take a sort of uh Shigan class as an elective, took that, realized the value of it, kept on doing it, you know, started to recognize how important nutrition is, got involved with that, and everything just leads one thing led to another, and I just feel totally excited and really feel like I have something to offer people, letting them to learn about themselves in all aspects body, mind, and spirit.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. Now, what do you think are maybe some myths or misconceptions in your industry?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, that massage is a luxury and it's not, it's maintenance. To be honest with you, everybody needs a massage because as we grow older, we no longer be touched in a respectful or honorable way. You know, they've shown studies where kids, babies when they're born, if they're not touched regularly, they don't grow as fast as those that are that are touched. You know, so we as adults, we need consistent, healthy touch. And that's what massage has the opportunity to give you. You know, get in touch with your true self through massage, you know, and basically that, you know, people think that they're healthy and they'll need to invest more into understand what health really is. Health is not just physical, it's body, mind, and spirit and alliance, right? So you're three in one, your body, mind, and spirit, that's what really health is. And health is not just how you look, health is about being able to have the opportunity and the ability to solve problems in your life. That's what health is really about. Be resourceful and capable to handle your life's circumstances, no matter how they are. So we have to broad in perspective what health is.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So now we know marketing is really the heart of every business. So, Adil, how are you finding your customers and clients?

SPEAKER_01:

The majority of my customers are word of mouth. Rhoda, road, I'm sorry, word of mouth is the best uh advertising. So a lot of my clients are referrals, and I'm on Yelp and Google, and you know, I do that basic, but most of the people that I see come in because somebody referred them. And they just because you give good great service, people are gonna return to you and they're gonna you know provide the information for their friends.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Now, have you ever thought about doing your own podcast by any chance?

SPEAKER_01:

I've thought about it. I've thought about it. I mean, that may be down the road. Um, I'm like, to tell you the truth, I'm technically challenged in that aspect. I'm old school, I'm 69 years old, and I feel 24 every day. And I need to broaden that that that opportunity, take advantage of that. I've been a people have asked me to do that, so I think I'm going to look into that more.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, now, outside of work, a deal, what do you like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_01:

What do I like to do for fun? I love to read, right? I like to, you know, take a walk in the park, you know, uh visit friends, encourage friends. Um everything I do for me is fun. Chicago Tai Chi is you know, the best exercise, the best means of really expressing oneself and experiencing life. Um the work I do is it's all about fun. It's not for me, it's not even work. It's just an extension of my life, purpose, and mission. Um, breathing, you know, breathing deep. You know, if you breathe deep, you really get excited about living. People don't breathe deep enough, you know. So I love taking deep breath, um, traveling, um, visiting families, uh, seeing new places, you know, the basic things that everybody wants to do, you know, become happy. I'm also a practice, a practicing Buddhist. I chant every day, you know, and that really charge my body, my battery up, get me going.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, Adil, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about healing arts touch.

SPEAKER_01:

Healing arts touch, you're gonna remember is that is very unique, it's custom made for you. So it's it's not a cudi, uh a basic pattern. Every life is different, every life speaks different ways. So I'm really tuning to you. When you come to heal not to touch, you're gonna get my undivided attention on dealing with your circumstances because the body speaks. You know, people don't know that their body speaks. The mind is the body's just as as significant and as smart as your mind. And so people come in and tell me, well, this is happening, that is happening. Then I touch the person as a whole new frontier that is opened up because the body is a care of your thoughts and emotions. Everything you go through gets registered in the body, and so there's a lot we're missing, just focusing on our mind and thinking, you know, you're here to be a human being, you know. So the question I like to ask people, are you a human thinking or are you a human being? Right? So if you're going to be a human being, you need to still the mind so you can hear the heart speaking to you, let you know how to direct you and guide you to utilize the mind to create the results that you're seeking and wanting.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, how can our listeners learn more about healing arts touch?

SPEAKER_01:

They can go to the website, healingartstouch.com. They can find me on Yelp and Google. Um, so all those um platforms I'm visible there also. Wonderful.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, Adil, I really appreciate you being on the show, and I wish you and your business really all the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, one more thing, Rachel might just say this is my book, Healing Arts Touch. My book is Claim Your Happiness. I don't know if you can see it, but you can find that on Amazon also. So you can find me very visible in all these places.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gmorangecounty.com. That's gmp orangecounty.com. Or call 714 94864.