We recently connected with Marisa Hall and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Marisa, thanks for joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
I moved to Montpelier, VT in 2017 and it was as fresh of a start as one could hope for – not only a new town, but an entirely new state (I had lived in various parts of NY for most of my life) and a brand new practice, freshly launched in April of that same year. Vermont has supported holistic + alternative practitioners for decades, and unlike other areas of the country, I felt like my Ayurvedic offerings could really take off here. My people felt present.
Around this time, I was teaching yoga in VT and NY, getting situated to birth what was to become MJH Ayurvedic Botanicals (my line of Ayurvedic topical products), working constantly to create + book Ayurvedic workshops with local businesses + studios, and still somehow was able to dedicate time to my personal studies + professional development. Life was rich and busy and all over the place. In hindsight, a bit too all-over-the-place for this Vata-prone individual (ie prone to anxiety, depletion, overwhelm due to the predominance of Air + Space in my constitution). I was craving a home, craving consistency. Craving for less breadth and more depth. All in due time, I reminded myself, everyone knows the first 5 years of a business are the most grueling. Though I had never in my life felt drawn to the entrepreneurial lifestyle, I knew that the only way forward was to rely on myself, my knowledge + my work ethic. A one-woman micro business ~ could I see this big endeavor through?
In the Summer of 2017, Blossom Ayurveda opened in Montpelier only a few blocks from my small 3rd floor apartment. In the same breath I remember feeling total excitement and utter sadness. Excited, because are you kidding me, there’s an Ayurvedic bodywork studio in Montpelier, run by two incredible women?? Sad, because I knew they weren’t looking for a third partner. Seeing this beautiful little studio serve with such humility + reverence for the practice brought me hope and also a deep longing for a partnership. All in due time, all in due time…
In 2018 I landed a receptionist job at a local spa. Not exactly where I wanted to be, but I felt like I was starting to spiral in on my ultimate goal, which at that time was more of an abstract yearning in my heart than a clear picture of “my future career.” This spa offered Ayurvedic bodywork services, and I was told that once I “put my time in,” I’d be allowed to join in on the bodywork trainings that the spa offered on a somewhat-consistent basis. I worked there for a year before I realized this really was going nowhere. Aside from a separate Marma (Ayurvedic acupressure) training that I completed in late 2018, which was unaffiliated with spa, the trainings that I had been promised weren’t happening and likely never would.
I left that job in the Spring of 2019, once again on my own. Surprisingly I wasn’t feeling dejected. I remember cluing into this spidey sense that this was the path I needed to be on. In leaving a stable job based on false promises, I was advocating for myself and the work I was meant to share while I’m here. And as luck/ fate/ fortune etc would have it, I didn’t have to wait too long to have my intuition confirmed. In April of 2019, while grabbing a quick cup of tea (and likely a sweet treat) from Montpelier’s legendary tea shop, The North Branch Cafe, I ran into one of the founders of Blossom Ayurveda, Joanie Begin-Morin. The human embodiment of a sparkle, Joanie excitedly called me over to catch up with her. I can’t believe she even remembers me, I recall thinking. She filled me in on the changes at Blossom – the other founder had left the business and Joanie had spent the past year, give or take, blissfully running Blossom’s single-room studio on her own. Easy breezy as things were, though, she was looking for someone to join the practice. “Do you still practice Ayurvedic Health Counseling? Would you want to partner up with me here?”
The answer was yes, and yes. I had been seeing a handful of Health Counseling clients over the past year, thanks to some wonderful connections I had made at one of the yoga studios where I taught, and had even started seeing a few Marma clients over the Winter as well. Is she really offering me a home? And am I really about to be so presumptuous as to blurt out this next question –
“I would love to! And if you ever are looking for a bodywork apprentice, I’m so down.”
I wanted to shove my foot in my mouth, appalled that I would ask for more on top of her incredibly generous offer. What surprised me even more was her immediate reply, accompanied by this glimmer in her eye that I’ve come to recognize oh so well as a sign that Joanie is in the zone, connected to source, and following her bliss – “That sounds amazing.”
I’d like to pause and make it clear that these opportunities to learn Ayurvedic bodywork (or any traditional healing modality) in a one-on-one apprenticeship setting is so rare. To find this opportunity in the town where one lives is unheard of. And yet here I was. I spent Spring of 2019 to Winter of 2020 studying alongside Joanie, learning the art of ritually oiling the body. She graciously guided me through the practical techniques of how to seamlessly pour + anoint the oil, how to drape the sheets, how to conduct a client intake, etc and coaxed my tentative, newbie self to trust that my hands and heart knew what to do. In Sanskrit, the ancient language that represents the foundation of Ayurveda, the word “sneha” translates as both oil and love. I felt so held by sneha.
Fast forward to today, 4.5 years since I began that apprenticeship, and it still truly blows my mind how this all has worked out. I offer Abhyanga, Vishesh, Swedana, Shirodhara, Nasya, Marma, 4-Handed Abhyanga, Garshana + Ayurvedic Health Counseling services to my clients 4 days per week. Blossom Wellness Center, as it is now known, encompasses 5 treatment rooms + 2 movement studios, and supports the work of 8 therapists. And wait there’s more. In an effort to help the apothecary aspect of my business grow, Joanie and her partner Andreas built an apothecary space for me at Blossom. “Game changer” doesn’t really speak to the gravity of this gesture. “Life changer” gets us closer. MJH Ayurvedic Botanicals supports 19 unique, hand-crafted, small-batch blends of body oils, facial care, massage salves + other ritual elixirs. I’m so proud of this little line. On many occasions, folks experience their first taste of “sneha” through using MJH blends, which to me points to the heart of my work – to be a conduit for Ayurvedic wisdom to come through. To help folks remember what their minds may have forgotten but their hearts may never have lost touch with.
Looking at all this on paper, it’s just like… wow. I’m the one who gets to ritually oil bodies all day? I’m the one who gets to explore herbs + oils and present their unique alchemy to the world? I can trust + rely on my own self-sufficiency * and also * be held + supported by my community? I’m allowed to live this way? For years this felt like a far-fetched, far-off dream. I feel so fortunate, and I’m so grateful you’ve allowed me the space to share this experience, part poetry, part folly, and entirely a mystery.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I feel like some of this was covered in the previous prompt, but to sum it all up…
MJH Ayurveda is a wellness practice that is devoted to the art + science of Ayurveda. For those who may be unfamiliar, Ayurveda is the holistic healing modality native to India, known as the oldest form of medicine that is still practiced today. That word, Ayurveda, translates as “the knowledge of self” or the “truth of life,” which I’m sure sounds like a very big, vague concept, but in fact Ayurveda is elegant, precise + endearingly poetic. Don’t let the poetry fool you though ~ this practice is backed by 5000 years of clinical + spiritual study. Ayurveda, like our brilliant human bodies and the mystery of nature that supports our physiology, is both science and art.
My work represents my devotion in action, and clients have a few ways they can work with me and explore Ayurveda depending on their needs and intentions. The bulk of my work revolves around Ayurvedic Bodywork, intelligently designed treatments that serve to balance the doshas, or energetic complexes in the body, In Ayurveda, you’ll repeatedly hear “like increases like and opposites balance” and we use this simple (and yet deeply profound) framework to inform your time on the table. If you’re presenting qualities such as dryness, anxiety, and/or coldness, we might opt for a slow, grounding Abhyanga with warm sesame oil to balance those qualities. Similarly, if you’re sensing stagnation, heaviness and/or dampness in your physiology, we might opt for a detoxifying Vishesh or Swedana treatment. There is so much nuance to these treatments, from the oils we incorporate to the massage techniques to the time of day/ year that we’re working with; you really can’t go wrong. I feel in my power, in my element in the treatment room. From a very young age I had an affinity for the healing arts, developing “spa sanctuaries” for my friends instead of, you know, the normal things a 9 or 10 y/o would do. Funny backstory – I was all lined up to transfer straight from undergrad to a doctorate program in Physical Therapy, made it 2/3 of the way through that process and felt a *strong no, * and after a whole decade finally landed in this role, which to me feels like such a clear progression. The clue was right in front of my eyes, I just needed the right context to bring it into focus. I’m beyond thrilled and humbled to share this work with my clients, and if what my clients say is true, that love is palpable.
MJH Ayurvedic Botanicals is my original line of small-batch Ayurvedic topical products. I studied biology + chemistry in undergrad, and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before I was tinkering in the lab again, though this time around, things arguably smell + feel a whole lot more pleasant. Rooted in Ayurvedic traditional therapies and inspired by the rich herbal offerings of the Northeast, MJH Ayurvedic Botanicals aims to offer nuanced support for all seasons and all bodies.I hand-craft all-purpose body oils, massage salves, facial serums + moisturizers and other ritual elixirs, and the aim of these blends is to bring Ayurveda to life through their intelligent, subtle + careful formulations. I’m so fortunate to live in Vermont where there are acres upon acres of organic herb farms, and subsequently, many of these native plants make their way into my blends. Of course, there are just some traditional Ayurvedic herbs that I hold in such high regard and cannot be locally sourced, for instance shatavari, guduchi + arjuma, but for the most part it feels really crucial that I focus on regional plants, both to mitigate my carbon footprint and also to commune with plants with whom I share this Northeast biome.
Outside of bodywork and apothecary witchery, I work with clients to support their goals for health + well being through Ayurvedic Health Counseling and co-faciliating Guided Ayurvedic Cleanses with my amazing colleague, Merin Perretta. These offerings are intended for folks who are looking to shift some deep-seated habits or imbalances through slow, methodical work over the course of several months to a year. I don’t adhere to the idea that anything about you needs to be fixed or changed. For instance, my sensitive Vata constitution, that’s prone to anxiety, dryness and overwhelm, is never going to change. However, I’ve learned over time and through extensive trial-and-error what works for me to a) avoid aggravating these qualities, and b) simple strategies I can employ to help regain balance + traction if these qualities have gotten out of hand. That’s the same mindset I approach my clients with. I offer broad-strokes, big picture concepts of Ayurvedic philosophy + physiology,, allow you to try them on for size and * experience for yourself * what it feels like to apply this living science to your life. I don’t aim to tell my clients what is “right” and what is “wrong,” I only offer the insights through the lens of the Ayurvedic gunas, or qualities, and invite you to explore, without judgment, how you respond to these qualities within your body and mind. Making mistakes is part of the process, if not encouraged – we need to know what decisions + habits lead us to feel out of alignment, uncomfortable + unhealthy in order to really appreciate and experience what vitality, balance + “you-ness” feels like. Over time, the recommendations may become more refined + specific, incorporating herbal formulas, breathing techniques, yoga postures/ sequences, and instructions for dinacharya, or daily routine, practices.
I am nothing if not deeply methodical and thorough, if you couldn’t already tell from these length, verbose responses. I take this same care with my clients and my blends, and pretty much with everything that I do (I may or may not have some work to do on perfectionism). There are some things that I just won’t compromise – I will allow to luxuriate in that long, slow breath (or 3) before moving my hands from that vital marma point behind your ear, even if I’m running behind on time, because it makes a difference. I will take the time to light a beeswax taper and outwardly speak words of praise to my blend as its gently heating in the double boiler… because it makes a difference.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
“Coach other people to slow and rest, but don’t actually rest yourself.”
To this day, I still struggle with this. It’s such a deeply ingrained thought pattern. I was a high-achiever at a young age, always balancing a full course load with a demanding dance training schedule, never settling for anything less than the highest marks. My work ethic and seeming inability to procrastinate or “just wait until tomorrow” has rewarded me in some ways – I”m organized as heck, my clients + colleagues feel supported by my reliable nature, I get s%&$ done – but I know in the long -run, this is not a sustainable way to exist. Sometimes I find it difficult to unwind, relax and really feel present during “non-work” hours. My energy can feel really diffuse, untenable. I find myself doom scrolling, even when my phone isn’t nearby. My menstrual cycle really let’s me know, under no uncertain terms, when I’ve been burning the candle at both ends.
As a small business owner, it can just feel like the weight of your livelihood rests entirely on your shoulders. And in many ways it does, because if you don’t do the work of filing the taxes, stocking the inventory, doing the massage, shipping the order, there’s no one else there who will do it for you. But over the past few years since my business has grown, I’ve gotten more adept at putting things into perspective, which can take on any number of scenarios. Is forcing myself to draft this Instagram post at midnight even though I need to be up at 6a really going to make or break my business? Is it more important to rattle off these emails right this minute, or make the nourishing dinner? Is this client actually judging me for not responding within 24 hours, or am I projecting?
It’s these little decisions that add up. After years of prioritizing “the business” at the expense of my well being, I feel more fortified than ever to just put the hammer down and choose sustainability over productivity on a more consistent basis. I was mistaking “the business” ie capitalism, scarcity mindset, etc for “my business.” MJH Ayurveda, she is loving. She is here for the long, slow burn. My business asks for me to tend to myself, to rest and feed myself, and reminds me that my needs are met.\
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
This feels almost cliche, but I just genuinely care. About my clients, about doing right by the ancient and enduring lineage of Ayurveda, about honoring the wisdom of the plants, about the people who support me and make this whole dream of a career possible. I care because this is all so fleeting and so divinely timed. I’m not blind to the fact that my work has survived the pandemic and the massive flooding of Montpelier from this past summer that destroyed so many businesses and homes, and it floors me. I’m so held and supported that it breaks my heart. That love pours out and you experience it on the table or you massage it into your skin with one of my blends. My care is felt – I think that’s what folks pick up on when they experience my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mjhayurveda.com
- Instagram: @mjhyogaveda
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mjhyogaveda
Image Credits
Personal photo, images 1 – 4, 7 + 8: Kayla Chetney Images 5 + 6: Natalie Davey