Lila Saint-Buzon has a hand in healing.
The Davenport resident, by way of West Virginia and the West Coast, owns Mountain’s Bounty, a rustic, spa-style massage therapy practice at 615 Buck Road in Davenport.
“I moved to (Los Angeles) right after massage school in 2007,” she said. “I grew up on country land very similar to where I live now, in Davenport, so, for me, being out in nature was a respite. In LA, I was one of 140 therapists at a very large space, and I got to come with just my hands. It was an eye-opener experience for me, and I got to do really elaborate, fun treatments. My takeaway from that was that people enjoy a vibrant experience; they want to be cared for from the moment they’re in the door, and even before, with the communication, and they want to see excitement with what you do, so I try to do that.”
Saint-Buzon said the convergence of the Hollywood writer’s strike and the COVID-19 pandemic caused her to re-evaluate where she was implementing that approach.
“I have two young children — now 10 and 5 — but 7 and going on 2 at the time, and I wanted to find a lifestyle that was maintainable and where I could provide a therapy that could not be taken away. During the pandemic, I went back to school and got my personal training certification again, with the foundations of movement therapy being the highlight.”
Saint-Buzon said that pursuit of increased knowledge has been a hallmark of her journey.
“I was an avid year-round athlete, playing basketball since third grade,” she said. “I tore my ACL my senior year in high school and had to do about 12 months of concentrated physical therapy to get my body ready for the rigors of competitive college basketball. Relearning how to jump, land and run with a new ‘knee’ was challenging. When I could not play, I would work on teammates’ shooting arms and shoulders to prep them for the game.”
From there, Saint-Buzon said, she double-majored in a four-year athletic training and exercise science degree from Waynesburg College. Then, she said, while working in a physical therapy office, she earned her medical massage certification. Saint-Buzon, who said, “I never stop learning,” added myo-skeletal alignment technique, neuro-cupping and prenatal and infant massage certifications in the intervening years.
Today, Saint-Buzon brings her curated expertise and emphasis on empathy to Mountain’s Bounty.
“The typical person would seek my services for any aches and pains they might be getting that are not your everyday pains,” she said. “Probably 45% of my clients have been sent to me by a PT or by communicating with a friend that has the same problem and they said, ‘Oh, you need to go to Lila.’
“From the moment you walk through the door, I will give you a lovely ginger tea and we sit and talk about what they do and how they feel today and how (they) move in a day,” Saint-Buzon continued. “Knowing what’s happening when they’re not on the table is such a huge piece, and being an ear. I love our local people; we have such hard workers … and I get a lot of farmers, teachers, construction workers. On my menu, I have a deep-tissue and sports massage … and I do a hot stone with pretty much everybody, unless it’s contraindicated. That gets you out of fight-or-flight and it just gets a dopamine hit and resets your nervous system. Clients come in for an hour, and it’s 10 minutes for the sauna and hot tea, then they get on the table and I do full-body … and all sorts of wonderful things for the head and neck and I do cupping.”
Since relocating in late 2020 and beginning Mountain’s Bounty in 2021, Saint-Buzon said, she has been embraced by clients and the community.
“Within three years I have like 500 clients,” she said. “It’s insane, the amount of people that want and need touch, which is awesome. And I moved at the right time; my mom is an hour away and I had come a couple summers ago … and we just fell in love with this area. We have 15.5 (acres) and it’s super accessible. I love it … and I feel like this was an ideal location where I can treat people right from my home, because I was fried from traveling. We converted our walkout basement and made an infrared sauna. It’s soundproof and nothing but relaxation. I’m getting everybody, but mostly locals. From 30s to 65 to 70 is my regular clientele, and then I teamed up with the athletic director at Charlotte Valley Central School, so occasionally they’re sending some of their athletes here, because I have that background, and recently I started getting into the prenatal avenue. I love taking care of hardworking, pregnant bodies.
“It took almost a full year (to open), but I felt so welcomed,” Saint-Buzon continued. “(Fellow business owners) just spread my name and, even though I couldn’t work right away (because of New York state re-licensing requirements), that catapulted my business once I was able to be legal … and I don’t think I’ve been slow since. Everywhere I go, they know me as a massage therapist and a mom and I’m an advocate for massage. When I came on board, people were so thirsty for it; I had no idea. Now, I’ve got my feet here … and I want to be an advocate for healthy touch.”
Saint-Buzon said she hopes to continue expanding offerings and accessibility.
“My goal for this year is to start cultivating woodchip walking paths to make it all accessible,” she said, noting that, in summer, part of the experience includes garden walk-throughs. “My office is all ADA accessible, as well as the restroom, but I would like to have full walking paths and have a post-relaxation station. And I would love to start doing classes on infant massage. There’s a touch for every situation. Hopefully, in 20 years, I’m not the one doing the physical work, but I think I will always be physically engaged with massage, because it’s a connector and that’s what my hands are made for.”
Saint-Buzon is accepting new clients and Mountain’s Bounty is open from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For more information or to book a session, visit mountainsbounty.com, find “Mountain’s Bounty” on Facebook or follow @mountainsbounty on Instagram.