Ryan Ann LettBrown shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Ryan Ann, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
As of late, my daughter and I have been volunteering our time together out at the Mustang Ambassador Program in Calhan, Colorado, helping with ranch chores. It’s been so fun! We get time together doing something good to help a nonprofit organization in our community. It’s soul fulfilling connecting on so many levels, not to mention being around horses just brings a sense of peace.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Ryan Ann. I am a licensed massage therapist and certified personal trainer. I own Natura Bodywork Collective. I wanted to have a practice where I could treat the client as a whole- on all perspectives rather than just one way. Which is why I’ve studied movement just as much as bodywork and how I came to creating my business. I LOVE all things fascia and nervous system related. I feel everyone can benefit from this type of work and I absolutely love that it’s forever changing in the research world. So much has come to light in the last decade on how our bodies communicate and function- I will forever be a student.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Oh what a cool question!
I’d have to say; Ego and the illusion of separation. Many traditions or beliefs suggest that suffering and division arise from ego: the false sense of a separate self. Bonds dissolve when “I” becomes more important than “we.”
In my opinion, shared suffering and compassion deepen bonds not because life is easy, but because people face pain together and see themselves mirrored in each other.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Success amplifies our persona or the image we project.
Suffering strips it away.
In pain, we meet the unadorned self, the one who cannot impress, cannot hide, cannot pretend.
That encounter is often terrifying, but also so incredibly freeing.
It reveals what cannot be taken from us: the inner ground of being that endures when all masks fall.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That you have to compete to win. We’re all in this together.
Somewhere along the way, something just shifted. Competition stopped being about better work and started being about beating others. Why? The race became less about vision and more about visibility. Success turned into a scoreboard, and collaboration, once a source of strength — became a threat.
When that happens, industries lose their soul. I believe we grow our strength when we work alongside other therapists. It’s actually really inspiring!
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I’m absolutely doing what I was put here for. I’ve always felt I was meant to help others in some way. I’m certainly not doing what others have told me to do. I was supposed to be a nurse by now because that was the more stable direction. I wanted to understand pain and help those experiencing it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.NaturaBodyworkCollective.com
- Instagram: NaturaBodyworkCollective
Image Credits
Ernest Bordon with Ritual Photography
