Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonia Moreno.
Hi Sonia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My love for helping other goes back as far as I can remember. I started my career as a home health aid assisting the elderly I learned so many valuable lessons from the wise men and women I worked for. That led me to become a certified nurse aid and I landed my first role working at memorial Hermann hospital in the cardiac unit.i stayed there for about 4 years until I knew it was time to move on and I found myself working for Texas children’s in the pulmonary unit. I absolutely loved what i did but when 2020 came around it took a toll on my mental health as well as most of the population during that time. I knew I needed something else where I can work for myself and set my own schedule. I was always a bit bossy in my life and I have always been type A so I knew starting a business was definitely in my future. I saw an opening for a tour at a school called Avalon school of massage and thought it was be a pretty awesome career and continuing my love for helping people. During our business corse of school they gave us 30 min to come up with a business name, how much our prices were going to be and where we would be located. I, being type a knew 30 min was not enough so I just threw together a presentation that would get me a good grade. I could not come up with a name! So I decided to call out to my daughter Mia and that’s when I came to me, Miari . My daughters name is Mia and my sons name is Ari. I had said it was just a spur of the moment name but to my surprise I stuck around. Miari is also one of my babies and I take care of my business with lots of love. Every move every client every intake form I put specific intention into. I’ve built the most loyal and fun clientele. I find most of my customers telling me “ its not just massage therapy it’s also talk therapy” for me to have that safe space available for them gives me the boost to keep growing. From therapeutic , sports, lymphatic and prenatal every session has a unique impact on the body. Miari massage accepts all bodies of all ages and I can say with certainty that I will leave an impression on every BODY I work on.
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?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Most of my struggles have been the deeper routes of business like creating an LLC, a website, filing your first tax return as a business owner. I find myself learning knew permits and licenses I have to apply for yearly. None of this was taught in school so it’s a learning process that never ends.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My massage menu is pretty broad but my most popular session is therapeutic. Most people think of relaxing massages and it being an end all of pain in the body. Therapeutic massages focus on the main issue and using modalities to help get range of motion back into the body. Sports massage is also very fun to practice it requires a lot of more passive movement and you can physically feel and see then tension melting away in their body. I’m most proud of my signature routine I’ve created that’s called the miari massage total reset it’s a mix of lymphatic, Swedish and therapeutic it’s perfect for those who have never experienced a massage and also for those who having issues regulating their nervous system. I recently discovered how to answer the question “ what sets you apart from others” I can say without a doubt it’s my empathy I have for everyone. I can feel and see emotions in everyone who steps into my room and while I understand not everyone can afford massage I always find ways to get people on my table even if it’s a IOU when they get back on their feet.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
In 2022 I knew my time in working bedside had come to an end and I walked into work one day and knew that would be the last day I step foot in the hospital. I sent an email to my manager and explained I was not coming back to work. I was terrified, I had never quit a job in my life. I instantly regretted it and was mad at myself for taking that leap. Thanks to my husband he held down the fort for a while to allow me to go to massage school. I know they saying “I’ll figure it out” is a little overused but honestly I just had to figure it out along the way. I never gave up there was days I though to myself “ that’s it I have to go back to a 9-5 and quit massage school what am I doing I have 2 kids to support” but when I would calm down I would tell myself “ all these roads have been opening for a reason we will figure it out. 4 years later it’s definitely figured out and as scary and as dark as some of those tribulations got I made it here to this point in life.
Pricing:
- Therapeutic massage: starting at $120
- Sports massage: starting at $120
- Deep tissue massage: starting at $140
- Prenatal massage: starting at $130
- Stretch therapy sessions: $30 for 30 min
Contact Info:
- Website: https://miarimassagespa.as.me/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miari_massage
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EN6dcVv3E/
