Meet Adela Bustamante of Mia and Lily Ayurveda in Westchester

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adela Corral-Bustamante.

Adela, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m an Ayurvedic Practitioner and Ayurvedic Wellness Educator. I was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. A city high up in the Andes filled with pre-colonial and colonial history and tradition. My younger brother and I were raised by two very peculiar and remarkable folks; by my dad, a successful self-made filmmaker and by my mom, his fierce, artistic and commanding right hand in a household filled with art, music, and lots of political and intellectual discourse. I was challenged since very early to think outside the box and walk to the beat of my own drum.

I was given so much support and empowerment that by 25, I had already lived in Germany and France, learned to speak French, had gone to film school, married a backpacker, became a flight attendant, moved to the Galapagos Islands, wrote, shot and directed a couple of short films, gave NYC a try for half a second (all of those not necessarily in that order) and came full circle to land in Los Angeles.

I moved to Venice in 2005 when I was 27 to work in the entertainment business, specifically in film marketing and photography under the corporate umbrella of 20th Century Fox. However, after the birth of my second daughter in 2012, I felt compelled to change gears and move towards a more holistic, sustainable and purposeful way of living.

Yoga was my first door towards the Vedic sciences and Ayurveda what would later would unfold as my path or dharma. I had to go through many personal and professional challenges like a difficult divorce and subsequently, the early struggles of forming a new family, to allow myself to truly dig deep and almost blindfolded trust what the next the chapter of my life would look like.

I always felt inclined towards a more holistic perspective to life, even if I was raised an atheist Latina! I felt that the tribal and indigenous cosmology is at the core of what is real and necessary in this world today. I found Ayurveda through friends. I remember taking the typical online dosha questionnaire and like some many, felt charmed by the simple yet profound depth of the basic concepts of this science. Shortly thereafter, I decided to find a reputable University that would offer Ayurvedic studies. I embarked myself with my family’s support and encouragement onto two grueling years of intense studies and clinical practices in order to get the degrees of Ayurvedic Wellness Educator and Ayurvedic Practitioner. – Studies that in India or Europe would take at least four years to complete.

While on this process, a very old and wise friend came knocking at my door, an old friend named Ayahuasca. Through a series of synchronicities, I became reacquainted with a very special plant medicine I had the privileged of experience in my youth, a plant native to Ecuador and the Amazon rainforest called Ayahuasca.

Soon after, the need to create sacred spaces for spiritual, mental and physical healing based on the traditions of the native elders of my country came to me and I decided to partner up with an old shaman friend from Ecuador. I began offering plant medicine retreats as a healing form of therapy in traditional ceremony settings here in Southern California.

That complemented and rounded my holistic approach to the offer I was creating for my clients. Plant medicine has the ability to bring us face to face with deep seated trauma and stored patterns of behavior that are preventing us from reaching our maximum potential and at the same time brings in self-awareness granted that the medicine is taken within a proper ceremonial setting. I decided to offer these two medicinal practices: Ayurveda and Plant Medicine and name my business after my daughters, my inspiration.

Mia and Lily Ayurveda.

Ayurveda completely changed my life and its philosophy and practices became the foundation and template to my life and to the way I’m raising my children in Los Angeles.

I specialize myself in Women’s Health to focus my practice in women’s needs which in fact form the bulk of my clientele.

Covid-19 came into our world early this year and forced me to reconfigure my professional practice and put many of my future plans on the back burner. However resilience, passion and creativity are the qualities that have allowed me to constantly stand up and move forward. I have now my telemedicine practice where I see clients regularly and share the wisdom and healing powers of Ayurveda with people form so many different places. I also run online workshops and classes and I have started to create my own Ayurvedic Formulations.

My love of photography will always remain and my creative juices are always eager to keep expanding, so I still produce photoshoots on the side for major brands, movies and shows in the city!

Has it been a smooth road?
I think a struggle was learning to juggle some personal transitions and finding a rhythm with a new partner in life while forming a new family and attending school. I believe those are generally part of the challenges of those of us that decide to change careers midlife.

However, there is another struggle for all of us Ayurvedic professionals in the US. Under the current legal paradigm Ayurvedic professionals are not always able to legally practice Ayurveda to the full extent it is practiced in so many other countries in the world. Fortunately, ten states have passed health freedom acts that allow considerable latitude for the legal practice of our profession. (California being one).

Health freedom is a concept based on the belief that medicine, as it is practiced here is a narrowly defined modality and that people have the right to seek other forms of health care that may not fall within the definitions and scope of conventional medicine. See Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Homeopathy and so many other Integrative Health Practices.

A challenge along the way is in great proportion educating the population about the great benefits of integrative medicine and the need to decolonize medicine and march towards a more holistic approach.

Ayurveda is a millenary science and one of the oldest if not the oldest known systems of medicine. It originated in India over 5,000 years ago and its scope of practice is as complex and sophisticated as western medicine. However Ayurveda is a holistic system that focuses on the interrelation of mind, body and spirit and it takes basic natural principles as a guideline to maintain homeostasis in the body and prevent illness.

Western medicine tends to focus on taking care of the symptoms and the disease with a one size fits all solution (not necessarily taking care of the person and its own very individual needs) and primarily uses drugs and surgery to rid the body of pathogens.

However, drugs, because of their toxicity, often weaken the body and bring a host of side effects and contraindications. Natural medicine and integrative forms of healing are in the long term more sustainable. The fact that our country has some of the highest cases of obesity, heart disease, cancer, HBP, diabetes, and stress demonstrates that we need to educate the general population to make better nutritional and lifestyle choices.

On a positive end, I do see the profession growing and a number of Ayurvedic herbs and treatments gaining traction and trending in our city. Nowadays, it has become cool to take Ashwagandha or meditate! or to talk about adrenal fatigue and adaptogens. I love it! I do believe that Ayurveda will flourish and has the capacity of becoming just as popular and mainstream as its sister science: Yoga.

So, a main challenge is definitely bringing Ayurveda to the masses. And that’s my main goal.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Mia and Lily Ayurveda was born out of pure passion and love for Ayurveda. It is named after my two daughters, ages 7 and 11.

What sets me apart is the fact that what I do is a family affair built from the ground up with honest effort and integrity. And that I have a personal story behind it.

I offer Ayurveda in my clinical practice and I treat clients with skin conditions; digestive issues; diabetes; hormonal imbalances; neurological conditions; stress, anxiety and depression; autoimmune disorders; and even people that just want to feel better and learn to make better choices to support their health. Based on the individual needs of the person, I create a personalized protocol that includes meals, lifestyle routines, herbal formulations and other therapies.

The uniqueness of my offering is that I am a well-rounded healer. I run retreats where I combine Ayurvedic science and Sacred Plant Medicine. I am known for incorporating and combining ancient healing techniques from two opposite parts of the globe with great success.

And what I do has no other motivation than the fact that I want to help people feel better about themselves.

See, if we can unite and help each other get healthier and live a more fulfilling life, a life with purpose, a life less affected by physical, mental or emotional pain and sorrow, we are directly affecting the future of our planet, of our children! Human beings with a better quality of life, with a more positive outlook, with the tools to manage stress, educated to eat better and make better choices for themselves are by default better parents, better teachers, better community members. It’s a pay it forward kind of thing.

Ayurveda changed my life, my family, and the lives of millions around the globe, my hope is to spread this beautiful knowledge, to make it easy to digest and of practical use in our daily lives. Ayurveda for millennials!

I run my practice in my home on the West side of LA and I have clients from different parts of the country and world via telemedicine.

I specialize on Women’s Health, nutrition, daily routines, digestive issues, stress management and Vedic counseling, which in essence is a combination of Ayurveda, Yoga, Meditation, Vastu (Vedic science of space and directional influences – much like Feng Shui), and Vendanta (Vedic philosophy of self-awareness).

I am most proud of the process of building a practice from scratch, seeing it flourish and creating a safe space for healing. I am also proud to see the small or big changes my clients are implementing in their lives and the joy and satisfaction it brings them to see positive results.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, Los Angeles is a great place to start a holistic healing practice or wellness business.

We are an open-minded, very diverse, very curious and generous city. With a population that is always looking to improve and get healthier.

The soil is prime for Ayurveda in Los Angeles.

Pricing:

• Initial Telemedicine Consultation $90 – 1.5 hrs
• Follow Up Telemedicine $ 50 – 30 min
• Bundle up Initial Consultation and two follow ups $ 160
• Ayahuasca retreat two days $380 – including accommodations, meals. medicine and activities.

Contact Info:

• Address: 6416 W. 84th st
  Los Angeles CA 90045
• Website: www.miaandlily.com
• Phone: 3107453091
• Email: info@miaandlily.com
• Instagram: @lovemiaandlily

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