We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sonja Lilljeberg. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sonja below.
Sonja, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I lived in Chicago for 16 years post college. I had a great life, I have amazing friends that are still to this day my closest of people. I enjoyed the city and the life it afforded me but it was not enough. I find challenge to be part of my best company and I need some in my life to encourage passion. I left my good life in Chicago and moved to NYC for work. It was probably one of the boldest of moves on my part, biggest city, biggest energy, very few friends and no idea what I was getting myself into. It was a grand adventure that almost ate me alive! NYC is aggressive and always wants more from you even when you do well. I lived a thriving life in NYC, grand freinds, great adventures and a wonderful list of clients. My life was what it needed to be in NYC. I was making more money as a massage therapist than I ever had in my career at that stage. But I as again not content with the direction my life was taking. So while my business was thriving beyond my wildest of dreams, I decided I needed more than what NYC could offer me. I had been living in big cities for nearly 20 years and my need for nature, more harmony in my lifestyle and less hustle. I up and left, moved to Denver to be where I had wanted to be for so many years of my life. It was the greatest risk I had taken in my adult life. I left everything I loved, everyone I deeply cared for, my clients that had become friends and more money than I could have thought of. I left it all to start over, to build my business anew in a way that I had been wanting for years. I left it all to have all the parts of my life that felt as if they had yet to be the best part of my life. Denver was the biggest risk I had taken. I haven’t regretted any part of it. My life here has given me the nature and fresh air I had been craving. I found the best wellness community to launch my new business and programs. Colorado suits me and I am quite content and happy here!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Sometimes I look back at my road to getting to where I am and I wonder how I got so lucky with my path. My friends always tease me asking if there is not anything I have not done in my life. But the reality of it all is, that I have an education in Biomechanics and practicing in physical therapy. I have always loved helping others in their physical journey with wellness. With that my bodywork portion of my services is very functionally based, I truly love to understand the dysfunction of the human body and how to help it. The best part of the story comes when I learned about energy work. I was working in a beauty school, attended a weekend wellness retreat on behalf of the school and encountered some of the most amazing people. They gave me a very basic introduction to energy work and how intuition plays such a big part of how we function. I came back from that understanding very little of intuition and energy but endeavored to work it. I was working one night in the retail shop and was placing some product on a customer’s hand, and had this crazy overwhelming feeling that I knew a secret about her. This voice kept telling me she was pregnant. I thought I was nuts but had to ask her and her husband. They were floored, told me they found out 2 days prior that they were 7 weeks along but hadn’t told anyone. I knew then I had some gift that I had to cultivate. Over time I searched for energy work as a career, I came upon Reiki. It was exactly what I would have wished to find. Now after 8 plus years I combine all my skills: Reiki, Massage and Intuition to heal and nurture others. I am an Intuitive Healer, Licensed Massage Therapist and Reiki Master. I started my journey in Chicago, moved to NYC and have landed in Denver. My passion for helping those in both physical and spiritual spain led me to where I am today. With a degree in Movement & Sport Sciences and a background in physical therapy, my need to understand how the body functions and moves only makes my skills more polished. While in the transition of career paths many years ago, I studied the foundations of Ayurvedic traditions and learned about energy work. This led to my passion for Reiki and using energy to soothe the soul. Today I now combine Reiki with massage to attune the body and restore it to balance and harmony. As a Reiki Master and bodyworker, I use intuition to guide the healing process as I create balance, relieve stress and support mental clarity. My massages and body work sessions will leave you refreshed, restored and renewed. With a mix of Swedish, Deep Tissue, Myofascial, Neuromuscular and the healing powers of Reiki, your session will be unique and complimentary to your body’s needs. Intuitive Healing and Energy Balancing is a natural progression of Reiki. When the mind is in distress we do not perform our daily tasks to the best of our abilities. I am goaled with listening to the spirit guides to give you clarity into where you need to be right here and now. Have you ever experienced a trauma or severe emotional distress that just will not release?I can help you move through these issues and live your best life!
Lately I’ve added coaching and mentoring to my availability. I have created two diverse programs that assist people in finding their passion, their best self, reconstituting their self trust and learning to cultivate their own intuition. These programs are both in person and done online as needed. The purpose of both is for alignment to be sought. We constantly fall out of alignment and achieving it is the best possible outcome in life. Let’s learn how to manifest, who your spirit guides are and how this all helps you to stay curious about your own life!
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
I think for me outside of my physical massage & reiki training the most helpful thing to succeeding in my buisness has both been to build a supportive community and loyal client base. My community of other healers and practictioners has been one of my greatests of strengths. They refer me clients. They help to support me when I am in need of instruction as a business owner. They are great referrals for me as well. When I am unable to assist my clients’ full needs, it’s a great comfort to have other healers to help heal them. They are a great benefit to me. And knowing that I can help my clients in ways that are out of my scope of practice, it creates a client loyalty. My clients know that I have their best interests in mind when I care for them. But when I am unable to fully ease their dysfunction, a referral to an acupuncturist or chiropractor will insure I have their health in my best interest. I rarely have ever seen one of my clients not thrive when we can match them with an additional practictioner that helps them move forward. When my clients heal in a way that benefits us both, they become life long clients. They refer me their friends and family. That kind of loyalty is worth it’s weight in gold.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
I will always be a healer of some sort. I have always wanted to help, heal and change the lives of others. In the very beginning of my choices of career I wanted to either be a veternarian or physical therapist. These careers both are about assisting the well-being of others. I was an athlete in my schooling so I ended up with the physical therapy side. As I furthered my education I became a Reiki Master/Teacher then a Massage Therapist. With both of these educational pieces I have created a life as an Intuitive Healer and I couldn’t be better suited for my passion and curiosity in life. There’s little I would change about my path!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lotusloungehealingcenter.com
- Instagram: @sonjarae8
- Facebook: Sonja Lilljeberg
- Linkedin: Sonja Lilljeberg