Mother's Touch: Giving deaf people employment
People with physical impairment oftentimes do not receive the same employment opportunities as normal workers do.
But, in most cases, they are actually the ones who are most passionate to work.
This is a fact proved by 46-year-old Myrna Cabrera Ybiernaz, who employs at least 17 deaf people for her massage business called Mother's Touch located in Ayala Center Cebu.
While she considers herself as new in the business, Myrna sees the big potential of her massage enterprise as she's most motivated to expand it in the future to be able to help more deaf people get employed and be productive.
"I have always been a fan of massage especially the traditional Filipino 'hilot'," Myrna, who is a massage enthusiast herself, shared in an interview, saying that when she still used to work as a real estate broker, she usually went for massage 2-3 times a week to destress.
Not until this year when she finally thought of putting up her own massage business inside the mall to cater to those people who want an instant escape from stress brought by the increasing demanding city life.
"So I decided to go into massage and make it a business," she said.
The business is also inspired by a bond of a mother-child relationship, said Myrna, who is a mother of three.
"When a special person lovingly holds or touches any part of our body, we respond positively and we longingly cling to connect with that person," the Cebuana entrepreneur said.
Using the money she earned from her previous job as a real estate broker, Myrna invested over P1 million to put up Mother's Touch which opened in September this year, offering the traditional Filipino "hilot".
Hilot is an ancient Filipino healing method practiced for thousands of years. It is characterized by slow and deliberate strokes with a little pressure to remove blockages in the muscles known locally as "panuhot".
Claiming to be a pioneer in the express massage in Cebu, Mother's Touch caters to the onthe-go businessmen and professionals, athletes, the elderly, tourists, and anyone who are in need of instant relaxation.
"We want to bring back the authentic Hilot Massage that originated in the Cordillera Mountains," said Myrna, who used to work as an advertising assistant for a local newspaper for 13 years and later became a real estate broker for several years.
Seeing its business potential and the need to help more deaf people get a source of income, Myrna intends to expand her massage enterprise next year.
The lady entrepreneur said she's most happy being able to help deaf people earn an income for their families. Her deaf therapists earn through a commission basis and tips from their customers.
She is eyeing SM City Cebu as the next location of her business.
As more and more Filipinos discover the spa lifestyle, there has been a clamor for a plethora of delightful massage therapies that wellness centers could offer in their menu of services.
True health and wellness in the fullest sense not only includes knowledge that can heal the mind, the body, and the spirit, it must also be complemented with the correct methods and techniques, Myrna said.
Mother's Touch boasts time-honored indigenous Filipino massage, a healing practice that has been professionalized today.
Her massage center also offers a foot therapy that is a unique blending of popular Eastern traditions such as the Thai element, the Chinese reflexology, the Shiatsu, and its very own "dagdagay" method, which uses two wooden sticks rubbed, tapped, and pressed to a particular area of the foot.
This therapy releases tension from the foot and enhances the function of vital organs in the body since a particular area in the foot corresponds to a specific organ such as the heart.
Mother's Touch also offers the so-called express massage, a first-of-its-kind service that gives people who are always on the go an opportunity for a relaxing massage. It is a 15-minute massage targeting tired and painful muscles of the head, neck, back, shoulder, arms, and legs.
Myrna employs trained deaf therapists, whom she described as very passionate in their work.
Massage centers like Mother's Touch put utmost importance on gentle, precise strokes and loving touch to soothe tired muscles as a result of strenuous activities, to rejuvenate and regain lost energy, and to boost a person's immune system to slow down the progression of disease.
"We want our spa services to tailor to the customers' needs to provide utmost comfort and satisfaction," she said.