ENTREPRENEURSHIP Massage kiosk sees chance in mall crowds

A former newspaper worker and real estate broker is banking on stressed professionals for her newest venture, and she has employed the hearing-impaired to help physically drained, on-thego individuals relax.

Myrna Cabrera Ybiernas has opened Mother’s Touch Hilot Massage, a massage kiosk located in the new wing of the Ayala Center Cebu.

Launched last Sept. 29 this year, the kiosk employs 21 deaf professionals, some of whom are education and IT graduates from the Cebu Technological University (CTU). Among its offers are a back massage at P120; bundled with a foot massage, the rate is P200.

“I found that there was no decent place for an on-the-go massage, even inside malls. The therapist usually pulls a chair and does the massage in one corner,” she said in Cebuano.

As a massage enthusiast herself, Ybiernas said she thought of professionalizing the on-thego massage and spa service with Mother’s Touch.

“As more and more Filipinos have discovered the spa lifestyle, there was a clamor for delightful massage therapies that wellness centers could offer in their menu of services... We want to bring back the authentic hilot massage that originated in the Cordillera mountains,” the 46-year-old entrepreneur said.

Hilot

Having worked as an advertising executive for 13 years for SunStar Cebu and then as a real estate broker for a decade, Ybiernas said she found massage as her “destressing” activity.

Growing up, she was used to her aunt giving traditional Filipino massage or “hilot” when one of the family members was sick. Hilot is characterized by slow and deliberate strokes, with a little pressure to remove blockages in the muscles known locally as “panuhot.”

As a mother of three, she found massage, too, as one of the means to help her children re- cuperate from sickness or some muscle soreness.

“Healing touch therapy is real and soothing,” she added.

Ybiernas said she invested in specially fabricated massage chairs from Thailand and designed the massage kiosk in such a way that it feels clean and comfortable, with some level of privacy for the clients.

Having deaf people on board also helped elevate the quality of the service.

“The deaf people are the very hardworking ones and I see their dedication to their job,” she said. Ybiernas also encouraged fellow entrepreneurs to consider hiring differently-abled employees.

At Mother’s Touch, therapists offer a blend of popular Eastern traditions such as the Thai massage, Chinese reflexology, shiatsu, and the local “dagayday” method, which uses two wooden sticks that are rubbed, tapped, and pressed against a particular area of the foot.

This therapy is said to release tension from the foot and enhance the functioning of vital organs since a particular area in the foot corresponds to a specific organ, Ybiernas said.

By 2018, she said she is slated to open another branch in SM City Cebu. She also intends to build her own massage center and spa.