# S1E20 – GETTING TO THE (BREATH) WORK — Maryam Ajayi on finding her calling through energy healing + breathwork

Published August 17, 2020

THIS WEEK ON WHAT’S THE JUICE PODCAST

Today I’m finally sharing this conversation with energy healer and breathwork connoisseur, Maryam Ajayi. Maryam and I recorded this back in October when we captured the bulk of our season one episodes, and even though she was quite literally catching a flight that day, she took the time to come sit with us and share not only her work but her story and experience as a Black woman in the wellness industry and the world in general. She is an incredible, multifaceted entrepreneur and we’re extremely grateful to share this interview with you all.

Maryam is the founder of DiveInWell, an organization dedicated to fostering diversity in the wellness industry by bringing together thought leaders, influencers, and educators who have the power to create deep change through examining how they can show up in their business in terms of accessibility and inclusion. She is also just extremely down to earth, genuinely wants the best for others, and isn’t afraid to stand in her power not only as a healer, but as a businesswoman and human who is figuring life out one day at a time.

So without further ado…

LET’S GET JUICY

As I mentioned before, Maryam is an energy healer. She’s a certified reiki practitioner and breathwork teacher, but she’s also a business strategist and activist. Her website says she’s “half healer, half business woman—all in for changing the world”, and I couldn’t say it better myself.

Meet Maryam

Much like my own personal revelations about wellness lead me directly down the path to creating Organic Olivia, Maryam’s journey to becoming a healer is anything but linear. 

Maryam gives us all the juicy details in the pod, but here’s a quick sparknotes version: When her aspirations of becoming a young, Black, female Republican lobbyist  stopped resonating, Maryam uprooted her life and moved from D.C. to NYC. One day, the universe truly had her back when she decided to splurge on a massage in hopes it would relieve her chronic pain… come to find out, that seemingly innocent decision completely changed her life.

Instead of booking your typical deep tissue or therapeutic massage, Maryam wound up at a yoga studio and spontaneously chose to add on reiki and a spiritual ceremony.

The (BREATH)WORK

Sometimes all of the woo woo talk that surrounds energy healing can create the impression that it’s all feel-good, hippie dippy stuff. And, sure, I get it. The point of this process IS to wind up in a place of freedom and expansiveness, but getting there can be TOUGH.

Just like I have had to work on repairing my relationship with my mother AND address the trauma that was passed down to her from her mother, Maryam had generations of intense ancestral healing to do. As a Black woman with roots in American slavery AND colonization in Nigeria, her lineage is full of oppression, and the ripples of that oppression were affecting her sense of power in her work and personal life. Her work is now dedicated to lifting the voices of oppressed people everywhere, and the path that got her here fully equipped her to step into that role in the most powerful way.

Maryam broke the cycle by starting her own company and fully committing to her spiritual healing. She put in work to heal her mother wound, find compassion for her inner child, and learn life-changing tools she could pass on to others.

Maryam’s practice for achieving the life you want:

1. Give yourself some space and time to sit down with a notebook and pencil.
2.  Invite your ancestors to be with you and support you.
3. Ask yourself “Where am I at?” Write about it.
4. Ask yourself, “Where do I want to be?” Write about it.
5. Write down 3 things you can do today, 3 things you can do in the next 3 weeks, and 3 things you can do in the next 3 months.
6. Write down all the resources you have and the things you still need.
7. Make a plan for how you can get the things you still need.
8. Set up 3 meetings with people who may be able to help.
9. Allow the universe to co-create with you!

Maryam’s stress-relieving breathwork practice:

1. Lay on your back.
2. Put an object on your belly. Your hand, a book, etc.
3. Take a deep inhale into your belly so the object rises.
4. Repeat 3, 5, 10 times… As many times as you need to feel calm.

I hope this conversation inspires you to find your own freedom and do everything you can to help other people find theirs. Remember: We are all in this together and every one of us has the power to make a difference.