About Us

A wellbeing CIC in East London, founded on the belief that one therapy is rarely enough

We create spaces that feel safe, soft, and human. From our studio in Hackney and our hub in Islington, our team offers therapies and movement practices that help people slow down, reconnect and feel held. Part of our work is to pass this care forward by supporting wellbeing projects within our community.

Why we exist

Most wellbeing problems don't have a one-therapy answer. The massage helps, but the sleep is still broken. The nutrition is dialled in, but the nervous system won't switch off. The yoga is beautiful, but the pain keeps coming back. This is the gap Abuelita's was built to close.

We deliver integrative care, multiple therapies working together over time, coordinated by practitioners who actually talk to each other. We do this in two studios in East London, with corporate clients across the city, and with refugee women and others in our wider community who would otherwise have no access to this kind of care.

How it started

Simona Ilincariu founded Abuelita's in January 2024 after years of practice as a massage therapist and bodyworker, and after her own experience navigating chronic stress and nervous-system dysregulation.

Her own recovery came through a combination, talking therapy alongside body-based work; somatic practice alongside structured movement; nutrition alongside cranio. No single approach reached what was happening; the combination did. Abuelita's exists to offer that same kind of layered, coordinated care to everyone who needs it.

We launched in Hackney in January 2024 with Simona working solo. In our first year, we delivered £33,000 worth of care. As our reputation grew, more practitioners reached out wanting to join us. Their experiences mirrored Simona's own journey—they too had discovered that integrated care works better than isolated treatments.

In February 2026, Tileyard London, who were looking to bring wellbeing to their residents, chose us to take over and run their Wellness Hub. This partnership has allowed us to expand our reach and deepen the impact we're able to have in our community. We are incredibly grateful to them

What makes us different

We're a Community Interest Company (CIC), not a private clinic.
Profit is reinvested into community wellbeing care, not paid out to owners.
We deliver integrative care, not single therapies. Practitioners communicate with each other about your care; the plan adjusts as you do.
Founder-practitioner-led. Simona still sees clients every week. The model is built by someone who does the work, not designed by consultants.
Lived experience matters. We work with chronic stress, burnout, hypermobility, MCAS, peri-menopause, trauma recovery, and the team understands these from the inside, not just from training.
Local. Hackney and Islington (Tileyard). London-based. Community-rooted

Our supporters and funders

Our Mission

To make wellbeing accessible to everyone regardless of income, by providing integrative, affordable, inclusive care that supports both body and mind, helping to create healthier, more balanced lives.

Our long-term vision

We're building toward something specific: integrative care that's accessible regardless of income, and a model of community-rooted wellbeing that the NHS and corporates can partner with as part of social prescribing and ESG.

That's where we'll be in five years. Today we're a small, growing, slightly chaotic CIC that does very good work for the people who find us. If that's you, welcome