We recently had the chance to connect with Dana Llewellyn and have shared our conversation below.
Dana, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Music and dance always put me into a flow state where I lose track of time and find myself again. I enjoy playing piano and guitar, singing and have always loved to dance. Listening to music, playing instruments or movin’ and groovin’ always brings me back into the present moment.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Dana Llewellyn and I’m the founder of Better Being Bodywork. I help people break free of the cycle of pain and inflammation by providing a variety of hands-on therapies, like massage, lymphatic drainage and craniosacral. Sessions at Better Being Bodywork bring health to the forefront by helping to release restrictions that can cause dysregulation and imbalance. My unique, therapeutic approach is both intuitive and deeply anatomically informed.
Anatomy has always been my calling – I’ve been studying it for over a decade! During that time, I’ve practiced in different traditions and modalities and have integrated everything I’ve learned along the way. I studied kinesiology in college, went on to be a personal trainer and group class instructor, received my 200-hr yoga teacher training in Iyengar yoga and entered the field of bodywork in 2018 after graduating from massage school. Since then, I have obsessively attended continuing education courses not because I have to but because I love it. I’ve taken courses on oncology massage that teaches how to safely work with those living with or in treatment for cancer, visceral manipulation that works the soft tissue around organs, lymphatic drainage that stimulates the body’s waste removal system, ashiatsu massage that’s done with the feet instead of the hands, craniosacral which works with the spine, skull and central nervous system and more.
My practice now serves a diverse group of people who come to see me for various reasons. Some people come to me because they are experiencing some kind of medical condition and want a knowledgeable and highly trained practitioner. Many of my clients are in treatment or post-treatment for cancer, are managing lymphedema, have autoimmune disease, mold toxicity, or have just had a medical or cosmetic operation. I also see folks who simply want to decrease muscle tension and feel more relaxed after an amazing massage. I’m a highly versatile practitioner and customize every session to the client’s needs on that particular day. The goal is to send my them off feeling better than when they came in, maybe even having learned something about themselves or their body.
I love what I do and I feel fortunate to be able to share it with others
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
I had an amazing mentor in massage and bodywork named Kay. Kay was a radiant soul, a skilled bodywork practitioner, and fabulous teacher. She taught ethics as well as a course called “Thumbs Free Massage” where she showed other practitioners how to work smarter with their hands to avoid injury. Her commitment to helping others was inspiring. She took me under her wing as a rookie massage therapist and taught me so much at a time when everything felt so new. Sometimes I would see her riding her bike downtown with her massage table on a little trailer behind her. A true baddie. She had breast cancer that recurred several times over the course of years, but when I met her she was in remission.
My first inspiration for learning oncology massage and lymphatic drainage came after a practice massage session with Kay. Over the course of her cancer treatment, she had developed lymphedema in one of her arms. She asked me not to do certain strokes because it could worsen the swelling in her arm. I became interested in oncology work because I realized then how important it is to take precautions when working with folks who have medical conditions. These early formative sessions paved the way for a career where I now serve many people living with, in treatment for, or recovering from cancer.
Kay always emphasized the importance of bodyworkers taking care of ourselves, to use good body mechanics and stay strong so we don’t get injured. That we receive work and learn from other practitioners. She got me thinking early on in my career about using my body wisely and integrating different tools and techniques. I’m so grateful for all of her guidance; it surely has served me over time.
Unfortunately, Kay passed away from cancer in 2020. I’ll always remember her vibrant energy and the way she seemed to find joy in everything she did. She was a personal mentor just as much as a professional one.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would give my younger self a high five, tell her she’s doing a great job and that all this hard work is leading somewhere…I would also suggest that she think twice before getting the haircut with the bangs!
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. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
There are so many passing fads and trends in the wellness industry. It’s easy to get distracted by them or think that one product or service might be the key to unlocking total health. I differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts by questioning the intention behind the fad, understanding where it came from and asking myself if there are any alternate ways one might be able to achieve the same result. Real foundational shifts are sustainable and long lasting and won’t collect dust in a closet somewhere or be forgotten over time.
For example, vibration plates and rebounders (small trampolines) are a couple of items on the market that are sold as tools to help with lymphatic drainage in the body. These apparatuses use muscular movement and gravity as the mechanisms to assist in fluid movement. While I don’t doubt the effectiveness of these tools, they can be pricey, cumbersome and don’t necessarily offer a better effect than simply going for a walk, exercising or simply bouncing up and down on your feet. For some, getting a rebounder or vibration plate might make sense in their lives and be the invitation their body needs to get more movement in. For others, it may be another purchase that goes unused while their body goes un-moved. The real foundational shift here is getting the movement our bodies need. If the fad (rebounder or vibration plate) helps get someone there, great! If not, then it’s time to peel back the layers to find what alternate ways there might be to achieve the underlying foundational shift.
I don’t think all fads are inherently bad or misguided but I think it’s important that we ask ourselves what we truly need and what alternative ways there are to address the intention before diving into whatever is trending.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
One really important aspect of the work that I do in my practice is finding the wholeness in each person. People often come into my practice wanting me to “fix” them, but the truth is that I don’t think anyone who comes into my practice is broken. When I orient to the wholeness of each client, I see them as more than their pain, their tension, their disease. I consider their body, their mind, their soul, their experiences and know that every single aspect of their life has shaped them into who they are today. It can often be difficult to feel our own wholeness, especially when we have endured trauma and pain. The work I do addresses issues in the body, but I always start by finding the wholeness first. By orienting to wholeness, health comes to the forefront.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.betterbeingbodywork.com
- Instagram: @betterbeingbodywork
Image Credits
Katie Torres of Your Story Photography
