Harnessing the Power of Ancestral Remedies to Help Others Heal, Energize and Thrive
By Anabel Marquez
Photos By Rachel Carrillo
Marcela Arrieta was born with a gift.
The mom of two boys with a warm personality and calming presence is the founder of Majestic Bliss Soaps and Vida by Marcela Arrieta. She comes from a lineage of women on her mother’s side who had the ability to bring people to better health through wound, energy and emotional healing, she says.
From a young age, Marcela sensed she shared the same healing power as her elders.
“Ever since I’ve have uso de razón (use of reason), I’ve always had that ability to just tap into a person,” says Marcela. “It’s just something that naturally comes to me.”
It’s no wonder that Marcela, being in tune with her gift of healing, would choose the field of holistic therapy. She took training and, among other things, started practicing meditation.
During her meditation sessions, something started happening to Marcela. Deep within a meditative state, she started getting memories of her mom and grandmother in Los Altos de Jalisco, Mexico, picking herbs and plants from their garden to make remedies for people who were ill.
“I would see them taking natural herbs and plants and crafting them into teas or into pomaditas (salves)…and they heal, they work!”
Those memories and visions of her mom and grandmother inspired her. It was time for Marcela to go inward and launch a business that would reconnect her with ancestral knowledge.
“I realized that we all need a little bit of sunshine in our life, a little bit of bliss, a little bit of relaxation, a little bit of vida in our lives.”
THE LAUNCH OF A WELLNESS BRAND
Using a corner space in her garage, she began making soaps by hand and launched Majestic Bliss Soaps. She wanted to create a product that would not only offer a visual appeal but also help the skin and most importantly, include a healing aromatherapy component.
Soon, customers were reaching out to Marcela to let her know they could feel the good energy in her products.
Her family was involved in the process and her sons would even make suggestions for Marcela to experiment with unique herbal and fragrance combinations.
Her youngest son Daniel, for example, suggested that she make a soap inspired by his favorite snack: chocolate.
“I said, ‘you know what?’ It reminds me of my chocolate calientito de mi abuelita (my grandmother’s hot chocolate),” she told her son.
Then she created a Mexican Hot Chocolate scented soap to add to the collection of carefully crafted products. Other soap fragrances include Nopal & Poppy Seed, Papaya & Turmeric and Harina de Arroz (Rice Flour).
As the word spread about Marcela’s business through her participation in community markets and women’s events, media coverage and word of mouth recommendations, she figured it would soon be time to scale up.
Then grocery retail chain Whole Foods decided to give her products a chance, making her soaps the first Latina-owned brand products available in the wellness section. The partnership demanded a bigger space for Marcela to meet the demands of Whole Foods customers across Southern California, Arizona and Nevada.
“We immediately moved to a warehouse, a manufacturing site. We have automized a lot of things,” she explains. But one of the things we will never sacrifice is making the soap! We still make it by hand because the energy of our crafters is infused into the product and for me, that is very important.”
Most recently, she launched Vida by Marcela, a brand that goes beyond soaps and personal care. According to her website, Vida by Marcela is a “transformative experience that brings the ancient wisdom of Mexican culture into the Modern World.”
“We all need a little bit of sunshine in our lives, a little bit of bliss, a little bit of relaxation, a little bit of vida in our lives.”
Aside from the products she also offers workshops, healing sessions, women’s retreats and meditation classes.
When asked about what she’s learned through the success of her business and the teachings of her mom and grandmother, Marcela smiles and says:
I know I have many purposes in life… but the main purpose is to really empower our Latino community, especially las mamás, las tías, las abuelitas, los tíos, los abuelitos, los papás that holistic therapy, that counseling, that energy healing is perfectly fine.”