Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Livia Chaves. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Livia, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I’ve always been a very resilient, determined, dedicated person who always finished a task assigned to me – even if at the expense of my own health. Due to the way I’ve been raised, I didn’t know my body’s limits; I’ve always had a very high threshold for pain. In that sense, I was an excellent employee, the one that was always available and ‘carried the heavy weight’. Productivity, processes, were the areas I dominated. And big corporations love results… so that is where I’ve worked most of my life. Throughout time, I can say that I’ve been successful on what I did, and life was pretty comfortable. Well, at least until 2013, when I had to stop for the first time: I suddenly found myself in an Intensive Care Unit with Pulmonary Embolism. I almost died; I was forced to look for the reasons why I was still breathing… and I started realizing I wasn’t really living but surviving my whole life. Something started to change. But it would still take me almost 10 years to finally take a leap.
You know, it is very easy to get caught up in the demands of the routine. Faster than I could apprehend, I was back to a stressful life. As a Brazilian immigrant mother, I always had to prove myself over and over to be respected in the workplace. It seemed that no matter what I did, it was never enough. Corporations’ demands never end: the target goal is always higher in the upcoming quarter. Competition is highly encouraged among peers and salary is based on performance measured by several different spreadsheets. Mistakes are not tolerated. Besides, after I turned 40, ageism was added to this equation. Then, I realized I was not willing to give what it takes to climb the hierarchical ladder; I had no desire to hold a management position in such a cruel environment. It felt that my job no longer had meaning. I found myself stuck, and I knew I’d be doing the same worthless tasks until the time for retirement came. Then, during COVID, the world faced an extraordinary reality, and again, I was forced to stop. Once more, I found myself questioning my role as a human being and what I was giving back to my community: Why am I surviving? What am I doing with my life? I was feeling miserable and getting sick often and, this time, I decided to change.
It was 2022 when I decided to take the risk and started the process of leaving the corporate world and started to look for other ways of living. It wasn’t easy. I knew that an extremely hard and intense process of self-knowledge and discovery had to start so I could finally feel whole. I recalled the time when I dreamed about saving the world… In my early 20’s, when I graduated as a Biologist, all I wanted to do was to connect people back with nature. Back then, I felt that, as we were moving towards this technological cybernetic world, we were getting more and more disconnected from ourselves and from each other. I also remembered about an old passion of mine, when I was studying Botany, I fell in love with medicinal plants and holistic medicine. So, I decided to go back to school, and I started by getting licensed as a bodywork and massage therapist. I thought this license would open the door to a lot of opportunities in the Healthcare Industry while I focusing on alternative care. As I started working with people’s body, I came across a lot of pain, discomfort, tension, stress… all those things that were very familiar to me, but as I related to it, I realized something was missing. I knew that I was only treating the symptoms, and not helping people get a real relief. I felt an urge to integrate my own experience to my practice, and I decided to approach it holistically. Then, in order to apply what I’d lived, I had to let go of many preconceived ideas and I’ve started researching. I’ve spent a lot of time studying several massage modalities, somatic work, trauma research, breathing techniques, energy work… A whole new world was being revealed to me, and I’ve embraced it. As I gather all those tools, I am connecting with my own body, my own history, and my own wisdom. I’ve discovered my place as a holistic somatic therapist. This has been a work in progress, as all careers in healthcare should be. As I’m going through the biggest transition in my life, I am evolving as a human being.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in a dysfunctional household, but it wasn’t until very recently that I understood that what I’ve experienced was developmental trauma (aka Adverse Childhood Experience). Since an early age, I’ve known abandonment and abuse, and the way my undeveloped physiology adopted to survive was through disconnection and dissociation. In order not to feel all the pain, I shut down. As a result, I’ve lived most of my life without experiencing the major emotions that affect people’s life. It wasn’t until I got very sick, that I began to understand that I wasn’t fully living. I grew up adapting to life’s demands; I didn’t know how to make choices, to set boundaries, nor take breaks. Even my perception of reality, my memories and my ability to learn had been impacted by the dissociation. Stablishing healthy relationships had always been very challenging.
When I decided to change my life in 2022, I found out that the more I tried to connect with myself, the more fragmented I found myself to be. The dissociative state I’ve lived in all my life is not an easy one to come back from. A deep-rooted trauma requires deep work to be resolved. I had no idea of who I was, what I liked and where I was supposed to be. I didn’t know how to connect! I knew I had to find a way in and learn how to feel in order to start living. I tried a lot of different therapies, holistic work, spiritual approaches… but it wasn’t until one day, during an unpretentious morning yoga while on a women’s retreat, that I simply burst into tears. Something moved inside me as I was moving my body. I had no control over what was happening to myself! I cried relentlessly as several women supported me. No judgement, no agenda, just trust and bonding. I felt safe for the first time and my body was finally being able to surrender. On that same retreat, I had my Kundalini activated during a ceremony and I was able to connect with my own essence for the first time. The awe that came after that first experience was something that I had never experienced in my whole life. I knew right there that I was beginning to touch something deep, and I realized that the way into my repressed feelings was to navigate safely through my body. This was my “A-HA” moment and it changed everything thereafter! This realization that trauma is resolved in the body is what guides my life and my business now. Little by little, I was reaching deeper within myself and mending my broken pieces, and I was feeling more and more whole and alive. It felt like I was learning to walk again, and every day was a battle to find my place in an environment that no longer fit me. As I was finding my path, I understood that I was also opening the way to people that have been through disconnection and dissociation. My purpose now is to be a channel that allows others to connect with their own body, and experience their full potential, in the same way that I did.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As soon as I got licensed as a bodywork and massage therapist, I decided to open my business. I went through all the bureaucracy and hard work to get everything done right, but things were not moving as expected. It was too soon; I wasn’t ready, and I relied on people that didn’t take it as serious as it was expected. I found myself overwhelmed and stressed again, as if I was going back to my old pattern of living. It wasn’t an easy decision to shut down and focus on my self-development a little bit longer. But as I took a step back, I had more time to connect, in a deeper level, with people that share the same interests and to learn more about the business itself. I am gathering the right tools that are building a stronger path for me as a therapist. I am able to dedicate my time to further study of Psychotraumatology, Somatic work and Kundalini activation in dept and I am applying all this knowledge as a trauma-informed somatic therapist now. As I’m overcoming the obstacles, I am finding my place and my own voice; thus, as I share my story, I’m meeting people that relate to my experience and are also seeking to learn how to live fully. Sadly, I have learned that unless life shake us off, most of us keep running on this wheel like lab mice fulfilling what’s expected of us and not living our real purpose. We need to be very careful and take our time to let our essence, our inner voice, guide us. Through my recent studies, I’ve been consolidating the knowledge that everything is energy. Body, mind and soul are connected, so an integrative approach is necessary. With that mindset, I’ve developed a practice consisiting of a personalized sensory experience combining guided meditation, intuitive touch, music and energy work on a journey through the body allowing trapped feelings and blocked energy to resume its course, empowering the client to experience connection, wholeness and relief. All in a safe environment, which is the most important factor when dealing with somatic memories and emotions. I feel more connected now and the right clients are showing up!

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

When working with people’s feelings, illnesses and trauma, it is the utmost importance to do it responsibly. Experience and self-work cannot be replaced by online courses and books. We do need to do the work ourselves! As somatic therapists, we need to know our darkest side as well as our brightest qualities. We need to be able to self-regulate in order to be fully present to our client. And this is a never-ending process that needs to be developed and reinforced by every serious therapist.
In order to live wholly, we all need to be able to connect with our senses and be fully present to feel. It requires experience and an empathic position to guide someone through the path of body connection. A disconnected person resists the invitation to feel in order to avoid pain, a sense of trust and security need to be stablished first. It is so rewarding to help people discover their full potential while connecting with their body! When someone is able to integrate trauma and pain, while working on emotional balance, they begin to live a motivated and fulfilling life! This is a work that saves lives, and it should not be taken for granted! Yet, doing so as a trauma-informed therapist is what really makes the difference to me, and I understand now that my whole life led me to this path. With great pain also comes great strength, and my mission is to show people the beauty held within each and every survival story. We made this far and there’s a beautiful journey ahead; one that must be experienced fully by our entire body.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @livewb