Meet Andrea Marisol Bayón | Holistic Support Practitioner, LCSW

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrea Marisol Bayón and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea Marisol, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Most of my adult life I have worked for a large company or organization, and having that experience has been really helpful for me in getting to know how larger systems work. I’ve worked mostly in helping and supportive roles, but didn’t really have the awareness or the tools to keep that a sustainable practice. I was constantly supporting others, but spent very little energy on receiving support myself, so I quickly experienced burn out. The physical symptoms hit me hard, and my body was demanding for a new way to show up in the world. I’ve always been a dreamer, and have big, big visions of how things can be improved, changed for the better, etc. So when I considered opening my own business, I really dove in! That’s sort of in my personality–to sit with an idea, a dream, for a short time and then act quickly without turning back. So I did! I became the founder of Mar y Sol Wellness, a holistic practice that integrates the body, mind, and spirit. Now that I’m almost five years in, I sit in deep gratitude that I took a chance on this dream, because the impact has been tremendous in the lives of those I support, but also in my own life.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Business is the word we know for the package that presents as goods & services we can pay a price for–an exchange. But how I approach my work is really as a practice. It is a practice that supports others wherever they find themselves in life. The very core foundation is rooted in mental health, and what people refer to as therapy. But again, being a practice, and an integrative practice for me means that we can holistically experience healing, a change, or a met goal through 3 components: the body, the mind, and the spirit–and generally in that order. My practice was really birthed from a deeper understanding of our nervous system, and making a pretty complex system understandable and accessible to anyone with a body (which happens to be all those I work with :).

I started out as a mental health private practice, and worked mostly with cognitive modalities, or thought-based, but realized that was only a small piece of the puzzle. As I learned more about somatic (body-centered) mental health, I realized that my clients were experiencing healing on a whole different level. Now we were able to sense stressors, or even experiences of trauma that the body stored internally, and we could actually find a sense of completion in the experience so it could successfully metabolize out of the body. It was WILD! And what I found was that those who held identities that had experienced oppression (BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ primarily) finally had a mechanism to experience deeper healing of their trauma. I found an incredible response taking place in those who were not helped by thinking different thoughts, or other cognitive-based modalities.

A huge benefit was realizing how sustainable this practice was for my own well-being. There was no more “holding space” of someone else’s trauma story or experience, because I was the “expert.” Instead, a gentle invitation for the person to become reaquainted with their own autonomy and sovereignty. Then my role was simply to support them, and in some cases offer guidance towards healing in the way their body was signaling towards. I was no longer overwhelmed with details of explicit trauma, nor did any client become flooded and retraumatized by retelling their story. It was a level of support that inherently had boundaries around the well-being of the client and the clinician. Quite frankly, I was blown away by the impact that clients continued to share with me.

After some time, I realized it was time to take this practice a step further, by incorporating the spirit. Now when people hear about spiritual things, I think we–especially in Los Angeles and the West–think of yoga retreats or meditation or religious practices. And while those can also be helpful practices, how I incorporate our spirit is much more simple. I believe our spirit to be similar to our intuition, or the “gut feeling” we can sense from time to time. Our spirit often reveals meaning or shares something with us after an experience. So integrating our spirit can be just that simple–noticing any meaning that comes forward that we can learn or grow from. For some, integrating the spirit can mean rituals and ceremony as we reconnect and reclaim our identities and ancient practices unique to us. And for others, it can be a simple reflection following trauma reprocessing.

In some ways, this practice has been and continues to be easy. The actual practice of it really doesn’t feel like work in the sense that I dread going back to work on Sunday nights–I absolutely LOVE what I do! But the challenging part of it has been aligning a practice like this with business structures that can sometimes be tricky to navigate. For example, insurance companies that get involved in this type of practice have a very narrow view of what mental health needs to look like, and they often limit the holistic part of the practice and expect a sliver of what I actually have to offer. Another challenge of being a business owner and entrepreneur is the feast/famine cycle. Meaning, sometimes business is really abundant, and other times things feel desolate. It’s not always easy to move through tough times financially, because you begin to question if you’re doing the right thing, or if you make changes, what should those be? To get through hard times, I have a really supportive group of folx that remind me of my intentions, my mission & my purpose. And that energy returns back to me again.

I know I still have so much to learn, but already I intentionally prioritize the importance of showing up authentic to who I am as a person, and the values I hold closely. Intention is my trusty tool, and keeps me grounded in integrity, and being a real person. When people want to work with me, its not because my product suite sounds super fascinating. It’s because they get a sense that I am trustworthy, and care about who they are and how they desire to be whole. I guess there isn’t really a secret in there to my success, and I like that transparency. At the end of the day, there are no smoke and mirrors. Just a person wildly passionate about supporting others in their own process and healing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love when out of town guests come to visit, because I feel so proud of my little part of the greater LA area. And I can sniff out intention from miles away! Those are the places I frequent and brag about to my out of town guests! There are so many incredible restaurants to choose from, but I *always* take friends to Wide Eyes Open Palms in Long Beach. As a person with celiac disease, I have to be very cautious about food that is safe for me to eat, and WEOP has always been a safe place for me. They are a queer woman-owned place for incredible nourishment and absolutely beautiful intention. Sustainable, seasonal, relationship with the earth…its literally all there. And you can taste the intention in your food. Remarkable. One of my favorite plant stores is just around the corner, a place called Plantitas. Also a place with incredible intention, and a display of the wonder and awe that is Creation. I absolutely love Gusto, a panaderia in Long Beach, but my family members get to enjoy their gift and artistry of bread making without me since there is gluten involved. If we’re ready to be active outdoors, there are so many great spots including El Dorado Nature Center where we can slow down from the busy pace of life. I often take friends to the beach, to reconnect with the water and the sand, and really any beach will do. One of my favorite coffee shops to meet up with friends is Honey Greens in Downey. I always feel like I’m home when I walk into that place, and their soft serve alone is worth the drive–guaranteed. When I’m in the mood for tea (which is most of the time), I love going to Hojas in Long Beach. Their house chai is such a treasure, and the chill vibe is always appreciated. Around October/November and Dia de los muertos, I love to go to the celebration that the city of Downey and Whittier organize. And for intentional shopping, Amarte and Fair Trade Long Beach are my go-tos always. For other healers, I like to recommend Heidi Santos of Health is Wealth Healing for the best body-work/massage of your life, and I recently have gotten to know Leslie from Aligned Soul in Bellflower more. I could really fill up pages of all my favorites, and I think that means I love where I live. It feels like home!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that have helped me get to where I am today, and all in different capacities. My abuelita taught me the importance of relationship and what it means to love others selflessly. I miss her daily, but carry her with me in my practice, in how I mother my own children, and what I strive to be like in relationship with others. My mom has been and continues to be a truly powerful woman who has climbed impossible mountains to achieve her success, even in the face of discrimination, and hardship. She loves fiercely, and I’m blessed to have come from someone with such a passionate drive. I’ve also been mothered by some truly beautiful souls–each supporting me, encouraging me, and being in community with me as I learn to receive tenderness in their care and compassion. Sandeigh continues to be my sacred witness, almost as though our souls have always been connected. Liz feels like the sister I never had, and understands me sometimes more than I understand myself. And Carina continues to teach me that my medicine matters, my own healing matters, and that I am destined for incredible things. I have had the honor of knowing two beautiful people who transitioned early in their lives, but who helped me open my eyes to beauty in the world. Germán, you taught me what it was to live life regardless of the season I was in. And Gina, I have never known a person to be so balanced in giving and receiving care. Almost like you knew and lived out reciprocity each of your days. What a gift to be held and seen by all these, and so so many more.

Website: https://marysolwellness.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mar_sol_wellness/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-bay%C3%B3n-lcsw-1831a657/

Image Credits
Kita Zuleta