Massage as routine self-care and health care with Shannon Livezey of Avodah Massage

Shannon Livezey is the owner and founder of Avodah Massage Therapy in Columbia, SC. She started her massage journey back in 2017 when she was pregnant with her firstborn. She was experiencing pain and discomfort during her pregnancy, so her husband gifted her a massage membership at a franchise.

After her son's birth, she continued to go regularly and one afternoon after a massage session an idea popped into her head: "What if I used massage therapy to help heal people's trauma through touch?" 

"Soon after our family moved to SC and we were expecting our second son, I found doors slamming in my face for every job I wanted."

Shannon felt desperate and stuck in a job she hated when the opportunity to attend school for massage therapy presented itself.

"This time I took the leap and signed up all with the goal of opening my own practice one day and helping transform trauma therapy."

Fast forward to the end of 2020, she graduated and quickly went to work for a massage franchise. While she loved using her gifts of intentional touch there, it felt too constraining and she yearned to have a practice where she could spend the time needed with her clients to give them the time they deserve — and that's what she does at her space, Avodah Massage Therapy.

"It's my goal through this business to create a compassionate, loving, and safe space for all of my clients as we walk through the path of healing and wellness together through massage therapy."

Shannon believes that massage can help everyone, no matter the age. Keep reading for Shannon's thoughts on massage therapy as self-care and health care for all ages.

Q. What are the benefits of getting consistent massages?

A. It really depends on the client, what they're experiencing, and what they're seeking a massage for. For example, someone who is using massage to relax or decompress may not benefit from coming in as frequently as someone who is seeking massage to aid in reducing chronic pain or another chronic issue.

I personally find getting a longer massage (around 90 minutes) once a month, with maybe a 30 minute massage thrown in there occasionally, really benefits my stress levels and chronic pains from my work. However, each person is different in their needs, budget, and time constraints therefore I tend to ask clients to help me set the parameters of how often is beneficial for them.

If a client is coming for stress relief every week, but the cost of the massage is adding to their stress then the massage is no longer beneficial, or if a client is experiencing high levels of pain on a bi-weekly basis, but is only coming in monthly then the massage is not as beneficial as it could be.

Q. What is integrative massage?

A. Integrative massage is really what everyone knows to be "Swedish massage." Typically walking into a spa the regular massage will be termed "Swedish massage" even though, typically, it is really a blend of different massage modalities.

 I found working in the spa industry that the term "Swedish massage" was very confusing and did not accurately describe the type of massage the client was actually receiving. Therefore I decided to lump it together with all the modalities that I typically use in a session (CNT, stretching, deep tissue, fascial release) and called it integrative massage since I integrate different modalities.

Q. What is the benefit of massage for babies and children?

A. The benefit of massage for infants and children is so great and often overlooked or deemed "not as important." I received my Bachelor's in child and family studies and tend to view bodywork through that lens, especially when it comes to the chronic and widespread conditions we're seeking in our infants and children.

Touch, compassionate and consensual, is so important as we are very social creatures, however touch has not been prioritized, especially in the younger and elderly years. We've only just recently prioritized skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth even though studies have long shown that the lack of touch can have detrimental effects in early childhood development.

Now we have seen a rise in the need of birth and, consequently, childhood interventions. My theory is that our current culture has contributed to the rise in the need of these interventions. We can see the results of our stress and anxiety in our infants and children through physical symptoms such as torticollis or the inability to self regulate.

Massage, especially at the infant stage, can aid in reducing these issues by freeing up the child's fascial restrictions and aiding in co-regulation. In my case study of two (the two in question being my sons) I have been able to see first-hand what massage can do. My first son did not receive many massages and I only had a few prenatal massages before he was born and when he was two he had the worst tantrums that we could not stop no matter what we did.

With my second son, I was in massage school receiving many massages and he received many as well once he was born and we never experienced the level of tantrums as with my first son.

An added benefit was I also had a lower level of postpartum anxiety with my second son than with my first even though we were also in the middle of a pandemic. Now that both of my sons receive regular-ish intervals of massage they both have calmer temperaments and tend to be more empathetic and thoughtful than their peers. 

Q. What do you have to say to those who feel like massage is a luxury and not a necessary part of self-care?  

A. I think we have all swallowed the lie from some degree to another that we shouldn't spend money on massage as health care or for self-care because it isn't covered by insurance. It is difficult to justify, in insurance's eyes, the use of massage therapy as preventative or health care, because it is very subjective, you don't need an advanced degree or years of schooling to perform massage, it's marketed as a luxury, and it is hard to prove that by getting a massage you've prevented xy or z from happening.

However, massage is important for self-care. It has been shown to aid in muscle recovery, flexibility, reduction in chronic pain, shorten the time span of healing injuries, release feel-good hormones which aid in improving mental health, increase immune system functioning, and so much more.

This is why I'm trying to flip the script on massage-as-luxury to massage as necessary for health. It isn't an easy thing to do, but I do think it will gain ground as we begin to realize all these preventative or alternative forms of healthcare are more beneficial and cost-effective than our current system.

You can learn more and book with Shannon through her website or by following @avodahmassage on Instagram.