March 20, 2017

Meet Maria Weston of Certified Massage Therapist in Long Beach

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Weston.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
About 10 years ago, I was at crossroads in my life; major life changes with a looming divorce. At that time, I had been out of the workforce for over a decade as a stay-at-home mother. So looking forward, I knew I needed to recreate myself in a new career, yet still maintain control of my schedule and eventually be able to support myself and my child.

Massage and bodywork fit the bill for me in that it was career where all my years as a nurturer would not go to waste but rather, fit seamlessly with my personality and play to my strengths. One of the things I quickly learned in this field is that to really succeed and to build a clientele, one must have, of course, the massage skills, but also the passion to help people. Massage therapy is a vocation, not just a job to me. I base my success on my ability to really listen to my client’s concerns and I do my best to bring them the relief they seek.

Because of my passion, word of mouth and selective self-promotion, I keep a busy schedule!

Great, 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?
In the LA area, and Long Beach, massage therapists are restricted to certain work environments. For instance we are required to work within the following types of settings: gym, salon/barber shop, or chiropractor office. We may rent a space, or more typically, we are paid commission per session as an independent contractor and rarely paid anything for nonproductive time, even if the salon requires our presence for a particular shift. There are some business models that hire MTs as employees, but this is not the norm.

This is not to say that working in these situations is a bad thing, but we are subjected to, most times, less than ideal management styles. I’ve worked in salon settings and in a chiropractor’s office earlier in my career. In each setting the owners/managers did not know how to effectively market their businesses. This is when I realized I really needed to market myself to bring in clients.

Learning to market myself effectively was a bit hit and miss initially. What I found that works best, is networking in person. Massage and bodywork is personal and potential clients respond better to one-on-one conversations as opposed to a print ad. Of course accumulating positive reviews over time, makes self-promotion an easier task.

Please tell us about Maria Weston – Certified Massage Therapist.
I like to think of myself as supporting member of my client’s wellness team. The majority of my practice centers around therapeutic massage, where I customize each session to the needs of the client. Therapeutic massage can include deep tissue to relieve chronic muscle tension, back pain and the like. In addition to bodywork, I recommend specific exercises to clients that will address their particular issues. I have been in practice since 2006.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also perform lymphatic massage which is a very light touch massage that addresses the lymph system. This is a beneficial modality for clients who are post-surgery (typically cosmetic surgeries) to help reduce swelling and speed healing. I oftentimes see a disconnect between the doctors and their patients when it comes to post-surgical care. So, when clients find me, they are very glad they did.

In addition to massage and bodywork, I offer energy healing in the form of Reiki. (Reiki is a Japanese technique that channels “Universal Life Energy”. Everything is energy, our thoughts, emotions, our body has an energy field. When we are traumatized, ill or whatever is causing disease, that disruption is part of our energy field. Reiki, in a sense, hits the reset button inducing deep relaxation, pain relief, and promoting the body’s own healing power.) People from all walks of life for a myriad of reasons come to me for Reiki and leave feeling grounded and with a deep sense of well-being.

Sometimes it’s hard to put your finger on what exactly sets you apart from others. In my field of work, feedback from the client is what determines if we are good at what we do. So, all I can point to is what my clients say about me and that is: I listen, I truly care, and I can get to the heart of the pain problem and bring relief. That’s what I most proud of, that fact that I can help people in a real and immediate way.

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