Exploring life and business with Laura Lea Cavopol, LMT

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Lea Cavopol, LMT

Hi Laura Lea, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As someone who has always had a tendency to try and plan out every aspect of my life, I love the fact that I landed where I am today by complete accident. If you had told me even just five years ago that I would have a private practice as a holistic bodywork therapist I don’t think I would have believed you – in part because I wouldn’t have even known what exactly that term meant!

My background is in environmental science and management, and for most of my 20’s I worked as a writer and project manager for environmental research groups and non-profit organizations. I’ve been passionate about sustainability and environmental issues since I was a college student, and for a long time this career path felt perfectly aligned with what I cared about most. But in my mid 20’s I started to become really interested in health and wellness and holistic healing. I started eating differently and exercising differently and filling my bookshelf with books on longevity and food as medicine and mindfulness. In 2020 I became pretty sick and for a few months I had no idea what was wrong with me. Western medical doctors didn’t have any helpful answers or solutions for me, but thankfully someone finally told me about Tennessee Alternative Medicine in Franklin. The naturopath I saw there truly saved me – she instantly knew what was going on with me and helped deliver me back to my old, healthy self within a matter of a few weeks.

That experience was fascinating to me. In addition to giving me back my well-being and my energy, it left me with a strong pull to find a way that I could help people feel better and feel more empowered around their own health and healing. I started considering different options for pivoting my career into the health and wellness space, but it wasn’t until I experienced a really debilitating running injury in 2021 that I found the exact path I wanted to take.

This running injury was really a doozy. I tried everything under the sun to feel better, and I also started reading about how our bodies hold onto stress and old emotional wounds – and how often these things show up as physical symptoms. I started learning about fascia (which I previously hadn’t heard of!) and the way it acts as a memory keeper, and I began exploring fascial modalities like Myofascial Release Therapy and Rolfing. I was beyond intrigued by these modalities and instantly knew that bodywork was what I wanted to do.

I started going to massage therapy school at the beginning of 2023, and in school I learned about energy (everything is energy!) and the healing power of very light touch modalities like Craniosacral Therapy. I knew this was the direction I wanted to take my training and my future private practice in. These modalities support the body’s innate capacity for self-healing and they address the deeper imbalances and dysfunctions in the body that give way to pain and disease. As someone who has spent a lot of my life unknowingly addressing issues that were symptoms of an underlying imbalance within me, I was eager to learn these approaches that work to directly address the root cause of what people are experiencing.

I launched my business this past summer and I’m now practicing Craniosacral Therapy and energy healing in all my sessions with clients. There have certainly been challenging moments, but this process has helped me learn and grow in so many ways – which I love! And most importantly I feel so certain that this work is exactly what I’m meaning to be doing. I love helping people understand their bodies – understand that their body is perfectly designed to heal itself and that their body is supposed to feel good. I love helping people undo old patterns and return to a more balanced and grounded version of themselves in which they can experience more peace, joy, well-being, and vitality.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the most part, my journey to launching and growing my practice has been a fairly smooth ride. I have certainly had to learn a lot and push myself outside my comfort zone and work really hard, but overall, I’ve felt like everything has unfolded in the most beautiful way possible. This process has really showed me that when you find your calling or your purpose and you decide to go all in – even if it means taking a huge leap of faith – the Universe/God/Source (whatever you want to call it! will always have your back and find the most perfect ways to keep you aligned with success. At every phase of my journey, I’ve felt like just the right opportunity, or connection, or person, or book, or synchronicity of some kind has fallen into my lap and helped me move to the next level, so to speak. I’ve been in awe of the way that the path forward just continues to appear before me.

I’d say the one hard thing about this process has been accelerating my growth. I feel so excited about the work I’m doing and I really want to share it with as many people as possible. But as all small business owners know, it takes a lot of time and effort to get the word out and get people in the door. I was really fortunate to get connected with a business coach a few weeks ago, and working with her has been a game changer. She has her own private massage practice and coaches massage therapists, and she is full of ideas that are perfectly suited to support me and my business. After just a few short weeks of working with her, I’m already feeling like things are taking off. It’s looking like I’m going to have a full practice sooner than later! This was a great investment (it’s almost already paid for itself!) and I would recommend a coach to anyone who wants to fast-track their growth.

We’ve been impressed with Laura Lea Cavopol, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The work I do technically falls under the umbrella of massage – but it’s very different from traditional massage. Craniosacral Therapy and energy healing are two complementary modalities that I blend into one integrated approach. These are very gentle, light-touch modalities that influence the systems of the body that facilitate self-healing – especially the nervous system.

The state of our nervous system affects everything about our lived experience – including how we feel inside our physical bodies, the way we experience emotion, the quality of our thoughts, the way we behave in different situations, how resilient we are in the face of stressors, and how quickly we bounce back from illness.

Our nervous system’s one and only job is to protect us and keep us alive at all costs. But we have a tendency to push our nervous system to the limit with these fast-paced, high-stress lives we lead – and when we do, our nervous system can turn against us, so to speak, and keep us stuck in a cycle of stress or dysregulation. Craniosacral Therapy is one of the best tools we have for breaking the cycle of stress – allowing us to feel more like ourselves and bring more ease into our lives. Receiving this work is like hitting the reset button on our nervous system and showing our body a different, more grounded way to be moving forward.

Because our nervous system has such a strong influence on just about every other system in the body, when we show it some love, we automatically nourish our body as a whole. This is why Craniosacral Therapy can support better digestion, improve the quality of our sleep, strengthen our immune system, enhance detoxification through our lymphatic system…and so much more. It’s also an incredible approach for healing and releasing unresolved trauma or emotional wounds from the body.

All of my sessions are 90 minutes. I’ve opted for longer sessions because for most of my clients, the time they spend on my table is the only time during their week or their month when they can fully let go and relax. And simply being in such a deep state of relaxation is so healing for us. Our bodies cannot heal themselves when we are stressed – they can only heal when we’re in a state of regulation and ease!

My clients know that the work I do reaches them at the physical, mental, emotional – and for some even spiritual – level. So when they come for their session, I want to hear about what’s going on in their physical body, but I also want to know about their mental and emotional state. I like to remind my clients about the mind-body connection – our thoughts and emotions have a very direct and strong effect on our bodies. I enjoy being a practitioner who holds space for my clients’ whole selves and I’m grateful to be someone my clients trust and feel comfortable being honest and vulnerable with. These are key ingredients for healing and growth!

I think most of my clients would say that they feel a sense of calm and deep peace when they come for a session. My practice is based in my home in West Nashville. My husband and I live in the hills, tucked up in the woods, and I’m fortunate to have a very serene and private therapy space that really lends itself to relaxation.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I invite anyone who’s interested in working with me to visit my website to learn more about my approach and book a session. Following me on Instagram (@bodyworkbylauralea) is another great way to learn about me and the healing modalities I practice.

Pricing:

• 90 Minute Bodywork Session – $170

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauraleacavopol.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodyworkbylauralea/
• Other: https://cal.com/lauralealmt