Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna McNeil Wallace.
Hi Anna, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I attended Georgia Massage School in 2018. I was inspired to go to massage school because I had been practicing Acrobatic Yoga and to end our training sessions we learned a type of Thai massage and practiced on each other. I realized the crucial role massage could play in healing and recovery from your sport, but also in your over all well-being.
I grew up in Athens, Ga, and knew after year of working part time jobs here that to get a good job in this town you have to know someone. I had a friend who knew someone who was starting a sports massage business and so I reached out to Robert Douglas, owner of Simply Muscles, and he told me he would have a room for me when I finished school. Robert helped me set up my office space and spent time and energy mentoring me both in massage and how to run a business. I am eternally grateful for his dedication to my success. Through his business I built up clientele and had the opportunity to work on local chiropractors and healthcare providers who would refer to me. I also spent about a year working at Thrive Integrative Medicine where I continued to learn from the chiropractors and acupuncturists I worked with.
In the spring of 2020 I decided to step out on my own. My business name at the time was McNeil Massage. I rented a small office on Milledge where my business grew even more with referrals from other massage therapists who had taken a break or switched gears during the pandemic. I moved to another office building down the road in 2021 where I continued to grow and was blessed by referrals. In my neighboring office I met Tyler Seabolt, owner of Bridge Family Therapies. We began to talk about dreams and goals we had for our businesses, and they were very much aligned. So, in 2024, we decided to rent office space together and begin working toward our dream of becoming a healthcare and wellness collective.
Over the last 3 years I have become a Certified Yoga Instructor, a Certified Functional Breathing Coach, and a Certified Somatic Coach. I have been working out ways to combine this knowledge and offer new ways to help people by building out of massage and extend my clients’ self care into a daily practice. I was trying to find a way to keep people from feeling the overwhelming need be “fixed” by a massage therapist and a chiropractor once a month. My goal has always been to empower people to utilize the tools and techniques that I give them to help rebuild their nervous system, reduce stress responses, and feel more at ease in their bodies.
In order to blend all my practices together, I hired two other fantastic massage therapists, who focus on sports and medical massage, to pick up my clients who did not want to try the pairings of my new offerings. Emiliann Pinson began working with me in the spring of 2024 and Michael Ball began in October of 2024. Their client loads have grown and they have taken on several of my clients as I have transitioned. I am hoping to reach more of the community who are interested in learning more about themselves, the power they have over their nervous system, and how all the skills I have combined can reduce overall tension in your body and mind.
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?
I have been so very blessed to have the support and amazing referral base, as I have built my business over the years. But, as with all start up businesses, it does take time. While I was building a client base, I continued to work in Kroger, in the job I worked to get me through massage school. I was finally able to leave Kroger when I got the job at Thrive Integrative Medicine.
As for everyone in 2020, the pandemic threw a wrench in the works. For a month I did not work at all. Thankfully I had landlords that paused my rent for a month and a boyfriend who could still work and help with groceries. I know many people were not this lucky. Starting back after that month off was slow. But it began to build as therapists who were downsizing started referring to me.
My next largest struggle has been in the last couple of months. In order for Bridge Family Therapies and Revival Wellness and Massage to start working more collectively I made some shifts in my business model. As I mentioned above I am now offering pairings of massage, somatic work, yoga, or functional breathing. These modalities all work hand in hand, and can be blended together to help you connect with your body, heal your nervous system and empower you to take part in your own healing journey. It is new work, that is hard to describe to people, therefore making it hard to sell. But, I am only two months in to the shift, and am determined to make this portion of my business grow. It has so much value. This type of work has changed my clients’ and my life completely, and I am so excited to share it with more people.
We’ve been impressed with Revival Wellness and Massage, 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?
We are a wellness practice aiming to empower you to take your health into your own hands.
We believe in the importance of knowing yourself and not solely relying on a practitioner to maintain your well-being.
We are dedicated to providing you with a safe, comfortable environment where you will receive excellent care, tailored to your needs and desires.
We are passionate about holistic healing, and utilize massage, other modalities, and combinations of approaches to help you build body connection and incorporate healing into your daily life.
We offer sports, deep tissue, and medical massage. We also offer therapeutic one-on-one yoga, Somatic Coaching, and Functional Breathing Coaching. Virtual sessions can be held for all the offerings that aren’t massage. Each of our practitioners has specific training, and or certifications, in each practice they offer.
What sets us apart is our connection with our clients who return again and again, with some clients being with us since we started 7 years ago. We as practitioners are always striving to learn different modalities that we can use to support our clients and further their healing journey.
I specialize in learning what you do with your body how you use it and what modality we can use together to help you heal. I initially focused on sports and medical massage. Through this I learned good evaluation skills to help narrow down where a point of pain is or the source of an injury. Because of this practice, I use this skill now to help come up with yoga stretches or exercises that can help your recovery. We may determine that your nervous system is dysregulated, causing muscle tension in certain areas, and I can provide you with somatic exercises that can help regulate your nervous system and calm down muscle tension. The functional breathing can help with anything from working on sleep apnea to increasing your endurance for sports performance.
Emili focuses on providing a safe, calm space where her clients can relax, and she works through deep muscle tension and points of injury. Michael also provides a safe space for healing, as he does work that allows muscles to move freely, increasing mobility and strength. He is also training to be a personal trainer and will soon be able to help strengthen weak muscles and reduce injury.
I believe we have done a good job of building not just a place to go for massage but a well-rounded wellness practice that people can pick and choose their avenue of healing, and actively take part in the journey.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite memories is hiking with my parents when we were young. My parents would lead us through the forest and make the hike interesting by teaching us the names of trees and plants, encourage us to find pretty rocks and bright fall leaves. When we got bored with that, my Dad would tell us stories about woodland animals or fairy tale creatures that lived inside small rock clefts or hollowed out trees. With my Mom’s help, we would walk through the woods looking for the next fairy house or gnome hole.
To this day, I still go on hike with my parents. Just last week, we were walking in the woods taking pictures of the bright fall leaves, my Dad expertly identifying the trees, based on leaf shape and bark type. My Mom was encouraging us on a few mores steps up the trail, and reminding us to drink lots of water.
My parents and my husband have been my biggest cheerleaders and stedfast support throughout this entire process. They have always supported each new step I take along the way. My husband has encouraged the growth and new levels of learning, buying me books to support my interests and stretch my knowledge.
Pricing:
- Massage between $80-110
- Wellness offerings between $100-135
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Rusty Wallace
