Inspiring Conversations with Mara Fling of Sacred Roots Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mara Fling. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
From a young age, I have always realized the healing properties of physical touch. Growing up with an autoimmune disease I struggled with getting sick a lot, heavy fatigue, and never feeling 100%. As I got older and was able to do my own research, I realized that the feelings I had been dealing with for years were some depression and anxiety brought on by my thyroid disorder. My aunt growing up was a Massage Therapist and Reiki Healer and every time we would visit her out of town my siblings and I always would beg her to massage us. She would work on our shoulders, neck, head and manipulate the energy around those areas as well. I always remember being shocked at how wonderful I would feel even when she wouldn’t have hands directly on us. I started to become curious about the affects these natural treatments had on me and wondered how I could incorporate these things into my life to help heal these issues I had been dealing with. I soon became obsessed with the power of touch, massage, and energy; having a sour taste in my mouth (quite literally) about prescription drugs and treatments drove my want and need to get to the root of my issues and not take the “slap a band-aid on it” plan that most western medicine pushes us towards. This is when the seed for Sacred Roots Wellness was planted. My desire to heal and help others heal naturally and holistically after being told there are no other options was stronger than anything I had ever felt in my life thus far. After high school, I traveled, explored, and experienced my first taste of independence. After a few months, I enrolled in Massage School with 100% certainty that this is what I wanted to do with my life. After graduating I worked in many different types of roles as a massage therapist from Spas and small clinics to medical and chiropractic offices. Today I have 8 years of experience under my belt and am the proud Owner and Operator of Sacred Roots Wellness; currently a one-woman, body working clinic. I offer a massive variety of body and energy work therapies that focus on getting to the root of an issue and using sacred techniques and modalities to help heal from the inside out. I am extremely passionate about the work I do and what it stands for and I encourage everyone who walks through my doors to take healing into their own hands. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
To be completely transparent, no. It has been a very rough road getting to where I am now. Although I am beyond grateful for the training I received in school, there is a HUGE disconnect from the real world of massage; Especially if you plan on owning and running your own business. In school I knew that was what I saw as my dream, owning my own practice and growing that into a large wellness center. But when you jump out of school and straight into a job in massage, you are essentially going in blind. I had no idea about how to market myself, track my expenses, pay quarterly tax, or how to curve burnout. Burn Out. A common yet not talked about enough issue in the Health & Wellness industry. There were tons of days I thought I could not do another minute of massage because my body was going to crack in half, or thought the IRS was going to come after my because I was trying to do something I had no idea about, or that I would never have a solid book of business. That anxiety I had as a child was creating a home inside me once again; but I refused to let it stay. I had to sit down with myself and get serious about my goals and how to achieve them. Again, research led me to self-teach and observe my mentors on how to succeed. Just like healing, I had to take it into own hands. 

As you know, we’re big fans of Sacred Roots Wellness. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Sacred Roots Wellness was born in 2017 and established an independent business location in October of 2021. I started this business with the belief that our mind, body & soul is the most sacred gift we are given from the human experience. That in order to really heal ourselves we have to find and start, from the root of the problem; and that wellness is a different path for everybody. My bodywork consists of Massage Therapy, Hot Stone Therapy, Cold Stone Therapy, Cupping Therapy, Reiki Energy Healing, and Sound Frequency Healing… along with so much more. People come to me because I can give them the relaxing almost “spa-like” environment but using deep therapeutic massage techniques to really work on issues within the body- thus creating the perfect marriage. That I see them as a friend, and seeker of answers and not just another person with dollar signs over their heads. I create lasting relationships with my clients that you don’t get just anywhere. My office is a space to come and relax, for mom or dad to have an hour to themselves away from the kiddos, for someone who is hurting to come and honor those feelings and have a relief they have been longing for. A place for connection. 

That is what I am most proud of with Sacred Roots Wellness. Being that place for anyone who needs it. 

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I would say my well-being and the well-being of my clients matters most to me. I believe that this is key to having a successful business and clientele. In order for me to give my best to my clients, I have to be at my best. Taking care of me. If I am not 100%, I cannot give 100% to my clients. So, in order to help heal their well-being I have to make sure that I am taking care of my own. This also shows my clients that I am committed to what I do. I take my own advice, do the homework I give my clients and see results. Hearing that a client just had the best massage of their life, or is still feeling wonderful days after a reiki session makes me proud to know that the work, I am doing for myself is allowing me to give this experience to my amazing clients. 

Contact Info:

• Email: sacredroots.w@gmail.com
• Website: www.sacredrw.com
• Instagram: sacredroots_wellness
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sacredrw