Cariño is a Latin word used to express deep care for someone or something. It was the “Cariño” that was gifted to Johnny Ray in Central America that restored his faith in himself and the ability to continue massaging again.
After four challenging years of rebuilding himself and his business, Johnny expanded his private practice into a high-end massage boutique in the heart of West Hollywood. In 2020, Johnny relocated to the San Francisco Bay, to care for his elderly mother. It is here that he keeps the Ancient traditions alive that were passed down to him by continuing to share the gift of Cariño.
Meet Johnny Ray Nelson
Johnny has been a practicing Certified Massage Therapist since 1988, and has studied a wide range of therapeutic techniques that serve as the foundation for his signature style called the Cariño Massage. These techniques include Swedish, Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Sports, Reflexology, Thai, Pre/Post-Natal, Lomi Lomi, Reflexology and Integrated Breathing. Johnny has mastered these techniques through the many hours he has spent working with chiropractors, physical therapists, geriatric therapists, and practicing at exclusive spas in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Sacramento and San Francisco.
The birth of Cariño Massage stems from a terrifying incident in 2003 when an airplane crashed into Johnny's apartment building in West Hollywood. A three-story fall from his kitchen window left Johnny with severe injuries that required immediate surgery.
Professionally and personally devastated by the accident, and told by physicians in Los Angeles that he would never be able to practice massage again, Johnny sought low-cost rehabilitation in his family’s home country of El Salvador.
In El Salvador Johnny's path to recovery was facilitated by a blind healer who used Ancient Mayan and Papil Indian traditions and beliefs for healing, centering, and realigning the body. These Ancient principles forever altered Johnny’s approach and attitude towards healing and would ultimately form the foundation for the “Cariño Massage” technique.
Prepare yourself for a whole-being, therapeutic vacation at Cariño Massage, centrally located in the great San Francisco Bay Area. Your retreat to our private and tranquil oasis will make you feel like you’ve been transported to a hammock under a palm tree on a white sandy beach, far, far away from your busy life.
Cariño Massage brings massage out of the day spa and into an exclusive “massage-only” space, making it a focused accessible part of your healthy life ritual. Modern massage techniques combined with Ancient Mayan practices makes Cariño Massage a place to Heal the Body, Relax the Mind and bring Spiritual Peace.
