Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sonya Montoya. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sonya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

As many often do, I found myself in a place in life working in corporate america, living the life society deems appropriate feeling unsatisfied and out of place. I had started dabbling in herbal and energetic wellness due to ailments my daughter was going through, becoming a certified Crystal healer and taking classes in herbal folk remedies. I was divinely guided to Reiki healing and I felt this could be something that could really help my daughter, being traditional doctors could not narrow down her ailments and in 2021 I proceed to get my level one Reiki cerfitifcation. In 2022 my brother David passed away unexpectedly. If you have not have had to experience the grief of losing someone close to you, consider yourself lucky though at some point this is a fate we all will endure. Having been on a personal healing journey for a couple years prior to his passing I found myself taking the lead in walking my family through the grief and heartache we were carrying. I received my level 2 Reiki certification 2 weeks after his passing and offered this modality to my family members as they released and felt through their grief. While helping my family through their grief I in turn was working through my own. A beautiful yoga teacher told me that sometimes our human has to be distracted (grief) for us to find our purpose. This, this moment of holding space for others as they faced some of the hardest days of their lives, this is my purpose. A few months later I received my Yoga Nidra certification allowing me to not only assist my family but my community through trauma and grief focusing on where the body stores these emotions and working through them in a safe and healthy community enviornment. July of 2023 seeing how much our community needed these services and knowledge in general around death, grief and life legacy I became a certified Death Doula.

Sonya, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello friends. My name is Sonya Montoya-Boncore. I am a certified crystal, Reiki and Yoga Nidra practioner. In addition to my energy work I am also a Certified Death worker (Doula). I am a wife and mother of 3 amazing little humans who challenge me daily in all the ways. To keep my sanity and energy balanced and grounded I have become quite the gardener. I grow many of the herbs my sister and I use for our other business Hippy Latina. I also channel my own personal grief through art making hand painted chimes and pots for planting. I am one of those jack of all trades master of some kinda people. I pride myself on not fitting in the box. I don’t care for life “rules” and I truly live life according to me. I love my slow mornings reading and meditating  and I am a forever student. A true Aquarius.
In 2022 after my sister and I read through some of the journals my brother left behind we were inspired to start a family business a dream he always held on to. We took our knowledge of herbal product making and crystal healing and blended the two making all natural body products with the spiritual element of crystal magic. We currently Sublease a space that allowed us to open our Hippy Latina Boutique in Glendale, AZ filled with all our natural and crystal healing products as well as a space for me to host Yoga Nidra, Reiki, sound healing and many other community offerings.
I am proud to be a part of my communities healing journey as grief is not just in physical loss of a human but loss of self, loss or marriage, life changes, career changes. I am called on from local non profits to offer Art therapy and meditation sessions. Each small move forward is a huge step for our community. I hope soon to dive deeper into the topic of Death. Helping those who are unsure and afraid , to prepare their legacy, their documents and their loved ones for one of the most important moments of our lives, our transition – and maybe, just maybe we can start to see Death as life in its own special way. The way my siblings Deaths have brought me here to this space of love and purpose.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy I have experienced for growing clientele is to put yourself out there. Attend community and networking events. Say yes to the opportunities that come your way, even if you are scared. Support other small business, truly support them. Share their info, work on collaborations, buy from them. Once you put in the hard work of meeting people and building community your work will speak for itself and word of mouth will become your best friend.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Honestly, my best advice would be to do your research on FREE business resources in your area. I can hold space for people through their toughest times, I can move energy and help balance your chakras. I can host and teach a class but I didn’t know a thing about running a business. I was able to take an online zoom business course offered by a local business owner. This course walked us through the basics of business such as applying for an LLC, taxes, marketing, profit and loss, budgeting and funding-FREE. Because I completed that course I was then offered the option to continue and in person business course diving a little deeper into building a successful business. FREE. Having completed the in person course we were given free business mentoring, free help with our websites, free use of the community space to host classes to help build our businesses. FREE. The amount of FREE resources you can find out there is immense. Once you find one they just continue to find YOU. Use them.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @sunshinegreyskies
• Facebook: @sunshinegreyskies
• Linkedin: @sunshinegreyskies
• Other: @hippylatina on all platforms is also the Boutique my sister and I own together where I also hold space for my energy work.

Image Credits
Healing Tree Collective