Ep. 29: Koya Webb – The 3 R’s That Will Help You Speed up the Recovery Process

00:00 – excerpt from the episode
00:51 – intro (listen to discover a little more about your host. Martin will tell you a new lesser-known fact about Dr. Maya)

01:27
Dr. Maya Novak:
For many of us, that split second, when we sustained our injuries, changed everything. But change, even though we many times prefer not to experience it, is not always bad. Sometimes we discover things, get into practices, and start listening to ourselves better because of that moment. And it’s true that the simple things that are the hardest are also most effective. Love and gratitude, as simple as they sound, are often so hard to practice, especially when things aren’t going right. But they make everything better – including recovery, whether it’s from physical injuries, sickness, or any other kind of trauma. Koya Webb was one of the speakers on my summit in 2020 and I really enjoyed our conversation. It’s full of pearls of wisdom and this is the reason why I’m sharing it here on my podcast as well. Please enjoy.

02:32
Dr. Maya Novak:
In this interview, I’m joined by Koya Webb who is a yoga teacher, celebrity holistic health coach, author, speaker, and the founder of Get Loved Up, an international lifestyle community and a yoga school. She was once a competitive track and field athlete training for the Olympics, but she shifted to her focus to yoga when she recognized its physical and mental benefits after a debilitating track injury. And, of course, she went on and combined the work ethic of an athlete with practical holistic health practices that anyone can follow to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Koya, thank you so much for being here.

03:16
Koya Webb:
Thank you so much for having me. It’s beautiful to be on this morning.

01:18
Dr. Maya Novak:
I’m so extremely excited to be talking to you. I briefly mentioned that you were injured and that you were competing, but can you talk a bit about your story and why actually yoga, and why health coaching.

03:19
Koya Webb:
Right. I love track and field. I still love track and field. It’s just so much fun to just get outside, run, and be one with nature. I wasn’t very coordinated growing up; I had a growth spurt, so I was very clumsy and just a tall lanky girl that would run over things. I’d twist my ankle every year. I just felt like I was like a Steve Urkel in a female body! And so, I tried out for the basketball team and didn’t make it. I tried out for cheerleading and didn’t make it. I was so – I was painfully clumsy because I grew so fast and I just didn’t have control of my body. I remember, finally, I heard about track tryouts, and for me, as a country girl – I lived about 15 minutes outside of the city – being part of athletics was a way that I could meet other kids and get away from the house a little bit longer. I was desperate to like get out of the house and do something. So, I went out for track, and so track was the first thing that I could do, and the first team that I could get on. So, I was so grateful because, for me, it was just an outlet to get out frustration and to do something that I could see myself excel at, and then I could I see myself get better over time. So, every time I stepped foot on the track I was just getting faster and faster, and I was dedicated. I was very dedicated. Even though clumsy, I was very like dedicated and I was a hard worker. So, track and field worked out for me. So, fast forward, I did end up getting my skills together and playing basketball later, but I ended up taking a track and field scholarship. The first year, I went to a school, the University of Martin, and I didn’t understand that I couldn’t eat whatever I wanted. At home, my mom made home-cooked meals. We ate out like once or twice a week, and everything was in balance. At school, we had all the foods can eat, buffets, the student card as an athlete – part of the scholarship was like food at an all you can eat buffet. I gained not the freshman 15; I gained the freshman 25 pounds, in probably a span of three months because I was eating everything. Every pizza, every hot dog, every pasta. I mean I love food. I’ve been a vegan for 14 years, and I’m still a foodie, but back then, what I was eating was not healthy. And so, I ate all these things. I gained 25 pounds and, of course, I didn’t know at the time that what I was eating was going to affect my athletics. I just thought like whoa, I’ve got some nice curves! I was excited about my curves, and so I was like yeah. But I couldn’t high jump. I couldn’t get that bootie over the bar! So, it looked great in jeans, but it did not help my athletics whatsoever.
So, a coach saw me struggling and he said, you know what, I want you to come to Wichita State with me, which like Kansas, and which is far, far from home, for me. Martin is like maybe an hour away. So, it was far from home but I knew that, okay, I could lose my scholarship if I don’t get my numbers up, so I’m going to go. So, I went with this coach and we didn’t have food included, thank goodness, and we just got a stipend card. So, I was able to eat a lot healthier and be more mindful about my consumption.
I ended up having a healthier diet and doing better in athletics, so much so that after my first year at Kansas, at Wichita State, I was slated to win the conference in heptathlon, which is seven events. I was on all of the relays, and I was at the top of my game. I was training hard, like easily four to six hours a day. I remember one day I was walking home from class and I got this sharp pain in my back. I mean sharp pain. I dropped to the floor. I’m looking around like did I just get shot? I didn’t know what happened! I was like oh my god, what was that? That’s not good because it was debilitating. And so, I ended up getting taken to the doctor and they were like you have a stress fracture in your back. I’m like, huh? And they were like, yeah, you’re out for the season. I’m like, huh? I was in a daze of this just – I didn’t do anything. I didn’t get injured. I didn’t jump wrong. I did it literally just walking, and I got this injury. If anyone knows about a stress fracture, it’s small. It’s like a paper cut that hurts really bad but you’re like it’s just a cut! So, that’s what happened in my back. But it affects your upper body and it affects your body. It’s right there in the lower back. So, anyone that has a lower back injury or any type of back injury knows it affects everything. And so, it’s hard to sit, it’s hard to stand, and it’s just very painful. So, going from being an athlete, and working my hardest and getting my health together, and excelling. At that time, I had moved up to being team captain and also motivating others on my team to be their best, and all of a sudden, I was taken out. So, I went into depression. I was crying in classes. I couldn’t get myself together. I was like if I don’t have track, what will I do? I put my heart and my soul – everything into this. This is how I wanted to make a difference in the world. So, with that taken away, I just felt like I didn’t know who I was and I was just sad. So, a teacher was like, you know what, Koya, I can’t have you crying in my class. Because I would just burst out crying out of nowhere. And so she sent me to the counselor, and the counselor suggested I try yoga. I’m a southern girl. I’d never heard of yoga before. I saw pictures of Buddha every now and then, and I felt like it was a different religion. I’m like I don’t know. She was like, oh don’t worry, it’s just stretching. So, I went to the class. Meanwhile – I’m a tight athlete. So, I’m looking at people – I can’t touch my toes. I’m looking at people in these poses and I’m like, how long have they been doing this? I felt out of place, and I was like this is not for me. This is not who I am, and I just felt even worse. Like, I’m just like, uh; I just don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be alive. I don’t want to do this. Like it doesn’t make any sense to me. And so the teacher saw me being frustrated, and she came over and she told me to just breathe with her. She took a deep inhale with me and exhaled, and felt this chill come over my body, just a sense of peace. And from that moment, I was like you know what, I think I’m in the right place, and I decided to stay. Because the last time I felt that chill was when I got baptized when I was a young girl, and I connected that all over body chill with spirit. So, I was like okay, I’m going to stay because that feeling doesn’t happen often, and when it does, I feel like it’s a sign that I’m in the right place doing the right thing and saying the right things. So, I stayed and after a year of yoga, and then I also added swimming and biking. I ended up coming back to winning my conference meet, the heptathlon, the high jump, our relays won, and I led my team to its first women’s championship title. So, yoga, like really mentally, spiritually, physically, and just taking care of myself, completely changed my life.

11:05
Dr. Maya Novak:
Oh, I love that your yoga teacher that was just like let’s just breathe because breath is so powerful.

11:12
Koya Webb:
Mhm.

11:13
Dr. Maya Novak:
And usually when we are stressed out or frustrated we completely forget about breathing. Just [takes a deep breath] … and just relax a bit, right?

11:21
Koya Webb:
Yeah. Breath is spirit. Like now – I didn’t know how to articulate what was happening then. I was just like thank you yoga, deuces! I was back on a track and I really didn’t understand how it was able to heal me. I was just happy that I was better, I was happy, and I was back on the track. And then I was like all right, I’m moving to California. My marks were almost enough to get me into the Olympic Training Center. My dream was to go to the Olympics, get a gold medal, be on the Wheaties box, and make a difference in the world! Inspire young girls, you know. And so, I was like all right, I’m going for it. I’m so close. I’m going for it. So, I called a coach. I went out to San Diego and did the same thing again. Just running myself into the ground with training, and I was by myself so I ended up getting a job as a personal trainer to supplement my income so I could pay for my apartment. And I ended up getting injured again.

12:22
Dr. Maya Novak:
Mm.

12:22
Koya Webb:
This time I pulled my hamstring. And so this time, I was like well, I know where to go. I went back to yoga, but this time I was like let me get a certification and see more about this yoga thing. And that’s when I realized, no, yoga is my best friend and this is a gift that I feel like all of us deserve.

11:40
Dr. Maya Novak:
Yes, oh beautiful. You had these couple of injuries, so some people describe this as that something happens for a reason. I often see it is a metaphor of life or something that might not be working completely. So, do you think that these injuries were more than just physical injuries? Or just you being so persistent in what you were doing?

13:11
Koya Webb:
I think that things happen in life and they are just part of a co-creation of all things happening together. I do feel like, with these injuries specifically in my life, they were a wakeup call for me to slow down. When the first one happened, I was in College. I was training. I wasn’t getting enough sleep because at night I was studying and trying to have my 3.8 GPA, which I was so proud of. And so, I wasn’t giving my body enough time to recover. And that’s the biggest thing that I tell my clients today whether my client is an athlete or a celebrity or an entrepreneur, it’s like yes, go hard, but also go hard with your self-care. Get six to eight hours of sleep a night. Make sure that you’re recovering your muscles. Use a foam roller. Use a wheel. Do the therapeutics because those things are going to help you recover even faster. Take the herbs that you need. Eat the foods that are going to help regenerate your body. All of this self-care is a part of your healing, and I feel like if it’s not a part of your regime, something like an injury, will happen. And then you’ll get an opportunity to look a little deeper and say, okay how can I rest – I think is number one. I have my three R’s of recovery, and one is to rest because the body needs sleep. A lot of us, when you’re going hard for your mission, we miss out on sleep. And then the second one is really reflect. Reflect on why this happened. Both of my instances happened because I was pushing myself too hard. I was pushing myself and not giving myself enough rest and not enough self-care. And the third one is reassess. So, reassess how you want to move forward. And so, after the second injury, it was like okay, I need to move forward. One, making yoga a part of my everyday practice because it connects me with spirit. It also helps my joints and my ligaments be supple enough to support my muscles that are going so fast. So, I think injuries are a wakeup call. Anything that happens in life is a wakeup call of how we can move more mindfully in life.

15:31
Dr. Maya Novak:
Oh, absolutely. With injuries and especially serious injuries, there is a lot. It is not just like oh, let me just wait for a week or two. There are a lot of emotions come up - frustration, and sadness, and anxiety, and fear of what if I’m not going to heal. So, what do you usually say to your clients in these tough situations? How do you help them to get over that emotional turmoil?

16:03
Koya Webb:
I think the most important thing, especially when it’s very serious injuries, is to remind people they are not their bodies, they are a spirit and we’re spiritual beings having a human experience. When we do have an injury, it’s up for us to get that will – like connect with our spirit again so that we can heal, and get and get past the physical. The mind is miraculous. I watched DeVon Franklin’s movie, Breakthrough, where this person had no use of their limbs. There are so many videos out there on YouTube. So, I go find those videos of people overcoming. Because people need to see other people succeeding for them to see it’s possible for themselves. So, seeing videos of other people who have gotten through very traumatic situations. Even seeing videos of people that have gotten through, but they still might be in a situation where they’re different in society. They might be missing a limb or something like. And just giving them videos to look at these people speaking around the world, and just because you’re injured, does not mean your life is over. There are still possibilities no matter what happens to you. I think that’s the most motivating when you’re injured, is to let them know like your life matters and you matter, and the sooner that you can realize that you are not your injury. You are not your past. You didn’t do anything wrong, even though you’re reflecting on what you can do better. We are just doing the best we can. So, I try to keep from beating themselves up, like oh I should have studied, and I’m so stupid. It’s easy to beat yourself up. But I try to keep clients away from that because we all are doing the very best that we can. And me going so hard was me just trying to be my best. And so, just try to keep them inspired with music. I love music. I have my book, Let Your Fears Make You Fierce. I share my playlists. I also tell them to feel their love bank. So, doing things that make you feel better. Your love bank, you can actually have it as a physical bank where you tear up pieces of paper and write down things that you love. Like, I like walking in nature. I like going to the movies. I like playing with animals. I like playing with small children. So, I’ll put those on strips of paper and put them in my love bank, and if I’m not feeling so great that day I’ll pick one out and I’ll do that thing. That also can help you lift your spirits when you’re not able to do the things that you use to do, and I think that’s the biggest thing is not being able to move like you used to move. You’re grabbing for something and now you can’t reach it, and it can just start this flood of emotion. But you listen to your favorite inspirational song, your Lizzo, your Beyoncé, or whatever it is, and you’re like you know what? I’m going to get through this! I think motivation and inspiration are the most important things when some has an injury.

18:53
Dr. Maya Novak:
Absolutely. But sometimes things are really, really tough and it happens that people that start losing hope about their healing. So, what would you say to someone – yes, being motivated is very important, but what if someone is already losing hope? What would say to someone in that type of situation?

19:15
Koya Webb:
I’d tell the people just take it one day at a time. What do you have today that you can be grateful for? You really have to come back to gratitude because every time, you can just rattle off all the bad things, and if you’re injured you’re in a state of fear that you won’t get better. So, the most important thing is to help shift them to a state of love and you have to try everything in the toolbox. I had a friend – my friend Nate, I call him Nate the Great, and he has stage four cancer. He’s in the hospital bed. They’re telling him he’s going to die. What do you do when someone’s on their deathbed? Well, I got in the bed with him! And I just told him how amazing he was, and I prayed with him. You really have to be their spiritual helper. You really just have to love them. People, again, if they’re in a fear state of they’re never going to better or they’re never going to heal; they just need to be loved up. My company is Get Loved Up – love yourself, love others, and love the world. And so, the main way to love a person is just be there for them. Get their favorite drink. Get their favorite food. Every day, just spend time with them. They need to have people around them so that they don’t feel like they’re alone in their situation. They need to be reminded, like what do you still have to be grateful for? Sometimes, the only thing they have is I’m still alive. If you have no use of your limbs and you can only blink your eyes, they might not even be able to talk back. But the fact that you can say thank god you’re still alive, thank god, you’re still here. I’m here with you. I love you. Remind them of how amazing they are. Remind them of the good times because they could be lost in the bad times or the things that they did wrong. When you’re that reminder of like how much you’re grateful for their life and how much they mean to you, I think that can really get people out of a dark place.

20:03
Dr. Maya Novak:
Mm. This is so, so true. What I love that you mentioned is that you do not try to do this alone. So, find someone who can actually support you because if you are just trying to do things on your own completely alone, it’s going to be harder.

21:23
Koya Webb:
Absolutely. We’re meant to love each other. We’re not meant to do life alone. Like even if you’re single and you feel like you’re separated from your family, find someone – and many people, not just one person. I think it’s important to have a community around you. That’s one thing that I did with Nate because I had a lot of friends, but I was his main friend and so through his sickness – like there was a nurse that came to see him when I couldn’t. Because I did not like the chemotherapy sessions. It was like an execution watching that, and seeing someone getting pumped full of these chemicals. I was like I love you and I … And so, everyone is going to have a capacity where they can come and love. So, finding other people in their church, in their community that can go and just spend time and share their gifts. It just gives people hope, and it also lets them know that their life matters and that they are loved. So, if anyone’s listening – whether it’s you or whether it’s someone you love, just surround yourself with people. A lot of people are like, oh I don’t want anyone to see me like this - like I’m drooling, I’m hooked up, or whatever. It’s like if people can love you at your worst, you know they can love at your best. In order to see who your true friends are – sometimes these injuries where you can’t go to all the parties or when you can’t do all the things, they will show you – your family members that come see and send you letters and cards, and people that come by. It’ll show you who your true friends are. And so I know when I have to move, those people that show up, those are my true friends! I think in every moment looking at an opportunity to be grateful for the people that are in your life is really important.

23:06
Dr. Maya Novak:
And sometimes it’s also a wakeup call to see who, perhaps, is not someone to keep in your life and let them go. If before it was yeah, we’re super close friends but then all of a sudden they disappear when you are injured.

23:19
Koya Webb:
Mhm.

23:19
Dr. Maya Novak:
I’ve heard so many stories like that. I thought that we were such great friends and now they are not around when I’m in bed, not being able to do anything. So, perhaps, it could be also an invitation to change people who you’re spending your life and time with.

23:39
Koya Webb:
Absolutely. Through this journey, I’ve seen so much transition with friendships.

23:48
Dr. Maya Novak:
We'll continue in just a moment. I wanted to quickly jump in for two things. First, thank you for tuning in. And second, I’m sure you have at least one friend, colleague, or family member who would very much appreciate this episode. So share it with them and help us spread the word. Now let’s continue…
24:09
Koya Webb:
I have those friendships that we’ve friends for eight, 10, 12 years. And I have friends where because of whatever, growth or whatever little thing, we’re not friends. It’s just like you want people in your life that consistent and that are going to be there, and when you go through darkness, and when you go through light times. They’re going to sit with you whether you’re perfect or not. We all are doing the best we can. So, if someone leaves you or gets upset with you because you can’t hang out with them, that’s not a real friend. If someone leaves you or gets upset with you because you guys have a disagreement, that’s not a true friend. I think that so many times that we’re holding onto relationships –personal relationships and friendships, not romantic relationships, where we know, okay, this person might not be the person for me. They’re showing me that when I really need them or when I really want to talk about something deep, like they’re not there for me. And I do think people are doing the best they can, so I do think communicating your feelings is important. Some people, when people get sick, they don’t know what to do and they do the wrong thing, and they’re like oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what to do. You might say, oh I don’t want company, so they don’t give you company. Then you’re kind of mad because they just didn’t do it anyway! People aren’t mind readers, and it’s really a tricky situation. Especially when you tell someone one thing and you want something different, right?

25:32
Dr. Maya Novak:
Yes.

25:32
Koya Webb:
Or you’re expecting them to be like oh, okay, and they’re going to do what you say, even if they’re a real friend. If you say like, oh don’t come to see me but really want them to come to see you, you should say, you know what, I would love it if you stopped by, just whatever little time, maybe just for 30 minutes, and allow yourself to be loved. Now, I am one person who – I used to be able to love others a lot, but I didn’t know how to receive love when it came to people loving me. I’d be like oh no, no, no, I don’t want anything or I don’t want to burden anyone. That’s what you feel – especially when you’re injured – you feel like you don’t want to burden anyone. But it’s not burdening them it’s allowing them to love you. So, let people love you. I actually think that’s usually more of the case than people just not showing up that really love you.

26:14
Dr. Maya Novak:
Oh. Can we talk a bit more about this? Because this is something that I’m also seeing a lot with, with clients but also in general with injured. Especially women but also sometimes men, being open to receive and then just bathe in that receiving mode. So, how did you actually allow yourself to receive? Even though it was like at first no, I don’t want to be a burden. How did you open up?

26:46
Koya Webb:
I think everyone’s different. For me, it was a spiritual journey. So, I’m an introverted extrovert and I’m very – even in Kansas, I was very far from my family. Going through my injury, I allowed myself to be taken care of by physical therapists and teams and stuff like that. I was just the kind of person, like I don’t necessarily – especially at that time, maybe now I would be different, I would let my friends come around. But in that moment, just to be honest, like I just took that moment to reflect spiritually, and just go on my own journey inward, and I actually didn’t reach out a lot. I honestly didn’t want people to come to see me in that state. A lot of times when you’re an athlete, you don’t want people to see you not at your best, so. But I also didn’t get upset at anyone for not being there. So, everyone’s different. You have to think about what you need. Is that time for you to be with you? And again, being around people – maybe that’s what I needed because I was around people all the time like doing for people, and doing for myself, being a team caption, and maybe I needed that time to go in. So, every case is different. It’s not a one size fits all solution. You have to reflect, and in that reflection, decide okay, what is it that I need? And, for me, I needed to go within spiritually and connect and reflect on how can I serve my team and breathe into my gifts and talents but not take myself out. How can I balance my sleep and my nutrition and everything that I need to be the best version of myself? So, I need that inward reflection. I think people should look at that. Sometimes they need some time to go inward and then sometimes they need some time to connect with their community.

28:36
Dr. Maya Novak:
Yes. I can so relate to you and how you describe this because I’m the same. I need to first realize some things inside of me, do this work, and then I can go out. Also, because I’m very much protective of my energy, I don’t want to have any unnecessary questions that I know can affect me. It’s so true that you have to also realize what is important for you, for your healing, and listen to your intuition. Not just oh, I should do this because that person said that I should be doing this.

29:14
Koya Webb:
Absolutely. I think it’s the best time to connect with spirit and go within to work things out and find out what do I need most. What’s going to make me feel the best in the moment, and be true to that?

29:28
Dr. Maya Novak:
Exactly.

29:28
Koya Webb:
I think if you do that, you’re going to be going in the right direction.

29:32
Dr. Maya Novak:
Exactly. Koya, one of the reasons why I invited you here to join me is because you have a very holistic approach to healing. It’s about physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, and it’s very much the same as how I approach healing from injuries. So, my question here is because, with injuries, many times people focus mostly on one aspect, and this is mostly physical. So, going to the physical therapist, or osteopath, or chiropractor, or whoever. Then the rest is a bit on a sidetrack. How do you explain to someone why it is important to look into every aspect and take care of everything, not just the physical part or perhaps not just the emotional part, but everything together?

30:29
Koya Webb:
Absolutely. I think that’s such a great topic to bring up because one thing that I do now that I didn’t know then but in a way, I was doing it by taking some time for inner reflection – but I teach people about their spiritual energy centers, which are the chakras. Your root chakra, it’s about security and feeling secure and feeling safe. So, a lot of times when I’m traveling or moving, like that sense of security is shaken, and sometimes when that’s shaken, you might not be at your best. Then your second chakra is your sacral chakra. Your sacral chakra is about creativity and expression. Sometimes we get into jobs, relationships, even times in athletics when we’re not fully expressing ourselves. We’re just doing whatever someone tells us. We don’t have the opportunity to creatively express and that affects us in a negative way, right. And it can make us timid. It can make us upset. We can feel like we’re in a funk and we don’t know why. So, really attuning to all of these energy centers at least – I do it daily – but at least once a week will help you in any situation and make sure that you’re balanced. Then your middle, your third chakra, is the solar plexus. This is about standing in your power. Are you in a situation, a relationship, a job, or a situation where you’re not able to stand in your power? You’re not able to speak up for yourself. You’re not able to speak up. And it could be your view of like not being able to or it could be because you try to and someone’s not allowing you to. But that has to be addressed because if that’s not addressed, there’s going to be a mental, physical, or spiritual sickness or emotional breakdown. That’s just the universe trying to shift you out of specific situations. Then the fourth chakra is the heart. It’s about giving and receiving love. A lot of times if you’re a giver, you give, give, give, like I was but not knowing how to receive, and that can only go on for so long until resentment starts to fester and other things start to fest. So, checking in. Am I giving and receiving? Do I feel energetically balanced in most of my relationships, in my job, and things like that? It’s so important. And then you go through the throat chakra, and that’s all about am I expressing myself? Am I speaking my truth? Is everything that I’m saying in alignment with what I truly believe? And if that’s not true - I’ve had times where I’ve been situations where I haven’t spoken up, and I completely lose my voice. That’s a good time to like, Koya, what do you need to say? What are you not telling someone? What are you not … and I’ll check in with myself and I’ll come to a realization, okay, this is a place I’m not speaking up. Then your third eye, and that’s all about following your intuition. We get these signs, these gut feelings to do something and we don’t do it. It’ll be like you know what, I knew I should of, you know…

33:19
Dr. Maya Novak:
Yes.

33:19
Koya Webb:
And that, if you’re tuned into that, you will have less of those, man, I knew I should of, and like yep, I felt that and I did it, and now I’m better. I feel that happening so much more now that I’m aligning my chakras every day. It’s like I get the inclination to do something. I’ll do it and I’m like oh, thank goodness. I’ll have more the thank goodness, than the I knew I should of. And then your crown chakra is where you receive divine guidance. Meditation every day, working on your chakra, doing this work with yoga, and meditation. And also, now I’ve just got certified in breathwork. All of that clears trauma from your body, and we’re all experiencing trauma. We have trauma in our DNA from our parents. We have trauma from the world, from TV, from media, and it’s just part of the human experience. But we’ve got to rid of that. It’s like when you work out. You have lactic acid in your body, you’ve got to rest, recover, and get rid of that, and you come back stronger. Well, spiritually, we get toxins in our body, limiting beliefs, things that are telling us we’re not good enough, we’re not beautiful enough, all these things. Energetically, you’ve got to relieve that and you’ve got to rest, recover, and relieve those things or else you’re going to be affected by it. So, what I teach is that aligning the chakra and working with the breathwork, the yoga, and the meditation, is going to help you mentally, spiritually, and physically be in alignment with love. That’s why, again, my company is Get Loved Up. It’s because it’s all about really working on yourself first and most because when you are healthy you can help others. And then when you help others, it makes a healthier world. But it starts with you. A lot of people try to go outside but they haven’t really taken care of home. Or they’re not consistently taking care of their home space and making sure they’re healthy.

35:00
Dr. Maya Novak:
Mhm. Oh, I have so many follow-up questions with that! So, can we talk a bit about releasing trauma through breathwork? Do you have any suggestions or tips for how a person can start doing this? Or is there a specific type of breathwork? Can you talk about this?

35:23
Koya Webb:
Absolutely. I just got my certification through Jon Crimi. We both were on the Heal Summit with Hay House. Jon Paul Crimi is an amazing instructor. I haven’t met him in person yet, but I’m looking forward to it. I met him through our Heal Summit, then I took his online certification, and then I started doing breathwork every single day. Like I love it. When I get something and it’s great, I dive in headfirst and I go hard at it. And so, just like before – but now I have a little balance, right! So, that’s just my personality. And then I took the breathwork home to my family just recently for Thanksgiving, and it’s finally the thing that they’re able to do. My sisters are in tears, my brothers are in tears, they’re feeling spirit, and they’re feeling the connection. I’m like oh my god, thank you so much. Because that’s the thing I feel like we all want. We all want to be able to help our family. Especially if you’re like me, you’re southern, and maybe you grew up a certain way and now you have these spiritual ways that you can heal which didn’t necessarily learn in the church, it’s more of like really following spirit and being guided through all of the different plethora of methods that we can align ourselves spiritually. I took the breathwork and it was something that was active enough. I think I tried meditation before and they would say but it’s like, oh, this is uncomfortable. This is boring. Okay, I’m thinking about my happy place. All right, let’s eat! But the breathwork is so active and I what’s called circle breathing. So, it’s like breath into the belly, into the chest, and then release, and then you just keep on doing that. I have the music on and I love music, and so I’ll have the playlists. I love Jon Paul Crimi as a coach because he’s very fun and active, and stuff like that. I feel like that it just resonated with me as a way that I – again, the reason I signed up for it in the first place was because someone wanted me to promote their breathwork course, and I was like I’ve taken a couple of classes but I don’t know breathwork outside of yoga. In yoga, we do breath of fire which is great for digestion, and we do different breaths in kundalini yoga, and we do alternate nostril breathing, and they’re all great. But this – and I consider it a breakthrough. I call it a breakthrough – breathwork - because it calms your parasympathetic nervous system. It really calms you and is able to reach a deeper level of healing on, I think, a mental, spiritual, and physical level. And it’s so active the entire way through, I feel like it’s great for people who are really not into yoga or into meditation because it’s a lot of - we’re an on the go society, so I feel like it’s something that mainstream people can do. So, I’m actually really excited. I’ve been also doing it in my yoga teaching training that I’m currently doing and great feedback across the board. So, I’m actually excited to do my first public class started in January in Miami. But it is amazing, and like I said, the proof is in how people feel after, what they see, mental clarity, people releasing, crying, letting things out that they didn’t even know were there. So many breakthroughs have happened already and it’s only been like a month for me actually practicing outside of myself.

38:50
Dr. Maya Novak:
Would it be possible that you guide us briefly though some breathwork so that someone who is listening to this can take something really tangible and work on that? Or is this a really long process and we would need another half an hour or one hour to go through?

39:11
Koya Webb:
Yes, it would take a little bit longer.

39:13
Dr. Maya Novak:
Okay.

39:13
Koya Webb:
But I can do like a three-part breath. Actually, we can do a four-part breath that I like to do. This can just help calm you down before the breathwork session. It’s a lot of prep and it’s like saying, okay, let’s go run a marathon, you know. Sometimes you have to prep mentally, spiritually, and physically. You have to prep for emotion that’s going to come up. You have to prep for physical things that will happen in the body. Sometimes the hands cramp up or the jaw cramps up because it’s very powerful the way we’re breathing. It’s like powerful breath. So, it’s not possible to happen right now. If you go on YouTube, there are some videos that are usually 20 to 30 minutes long that can really take you through everything. But they have to do an explanation first, and then the breathwork, and then there’s a meditation at the end. So, we don’t have time today. But I would love to take people through like the four-part breath that I feel like can calm you down and kind of get you ready when you’re ready to take your first breathwork session.

40:10
Dr. Maya Novak:
Yes, that would be lovely.

40:12
Koya Webb:
Okay. So, the four-part breath, we’re going to inhale, we’re going to hold the breath, we’re going to exhale, and then hold the breath. We’re going to do it for four seconds. So, four seconds inhale, four seconds hold, four seconds exhale, four-second hold, okay. We’re going to start now. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Hold. And relax. Let’s do that one more time, but this time let’s take it five seconds. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Hold. And relax. All right. So, I’m counting like one-one thousand, two-one thousand there. You do that, and I feel – oh, I just feel so much relaxation. Again, breath is spirit and when you move spirit through your body in a very energetic way – that’s a very calming breath but it can be calm, it can be energetic – you’re going to move out some toxins and you’re going to move out some frustrations. You’re going to move out some pent up emotions. Some of the nicest people in the world, they just take all these negative emotions. They store them inside and store them in themselves and they wonder, oh my god, why do I have cancer and why do I have these things going on with me physically. But a lot of times they haven’t realized you’ve been stuffing emotions, you’ve been stuffing drama inside. And the fact that you didn’t write it or express it or say and express it, it’s in your body. And unless you get it out through singing, through breathwork, you can also get it out through dancing, writing – there’s so many ways that you can express and get negative emotions out. But, unfortunately, if you don’t then it still sits in your body. That’s what I believe.

42:25
Dr. Maya Novak:
Oh, this is so true. Sometimes some complications with healing can potentially be connected to that as well. Not that something is completely physically wrong with a person, but it might be that, as you mentioned, emotions have been stuck in the body and not being able to express ourselves. And then this manifests in a different kind of way and there can be some complications as well. This is how I also see healing. So, you talked a bit before about chakras and you talked about aligning chakras every day, that you’re doing this work, and every week. With chakras, I’ve come across so much different information. One is that you are doing meditation, the other is just thinking about things, then it’s journaling. How did you do this? Is there a best approach? What is it about healing chakras and aligning them so that the energy can flow?

43:33
Koya Webb:
Mm, that’s such a good question. Balancing your chakras – you can be overactive in one area or underactive. You could be so secure and safe that you never venture out. Or you could be adventuring out as a nomad and you need some more security. So, each chakra can be overactive or underactive. In my book Let Your Fears Make You Fierce, I go through each chakra and what it looks like if it’s overactive, and what it looks like if it’s underactive, and then five tips for each chakra, and how to balance them. You can balance them by wearing different colors. You can balance by aromatherapy. You can balance by music. You can also use crystals. There’s so many different ways. I suggest you can spend time in nature, writing – depending on the chakra. There’s tips that I give that you can do with each one. My suggestion is a person try each one. See which one gives you the best release and the best feeling, and stick with that one. Or maybe do it for a while and just switch it up and try different things. But you have to listen to your body and we’re all beautifully made differently. I think some things are going to resonate. If you’re more of a writer, writing might feel better. If you’re more of a singer, singing might be a better way of expression. If you’re dancing, some people might like to tango. Someone else might like to twerk! So, it’s really just like finding what can fill your love bank, what can make you feel the best. And sticking with those things when you find different things out of balance.

45:04
Dr. Maya Novak:
Yes. Oh, this is beautifully put. It’s all about personalization. So, listen to your body. Listen to your intuition. Test and then you will find. It’s not like you need to this, otherwise, you’re not going to heal. Or you need to do this, otherwise, things are not going to work out for you.

45:23
Koya Webb:
Right.

45:23
Dr. Maya Novak:
It’s just testing and seeing what actually works for you.

45:27
Koya Webb:
And always being willing to try something new. So, like on my website I have people sign up for the newsletter, and I’m always sending them new things to try. This week we are taking a five love languages quiz. What is your love language? What is the love language of people around you? How can you love them? Like we were talking about earlier with the injury, you have to let people know how to love you. Some people might like you to bring them a gift. Some people might like you just to sit with them. That’s what worked for my friend Nate. His love language is quality time. So, me just coming and getting in the hospital bed with him was my best way I could show him I loved him instead of just being where I was and sending him gifts every single day. He wouldn’t have felt as loved as me actually physically coming. And then some people, they might like words of affirmation. So we go through all these things. I always am looking for different things out there in the world that are helping people come back to love and stay out of fear and doubt and worry and depression. Because of being a sensitive person, I am prone to those extreme emotions. Like I can feel extremely happy and this joy and connection, but I can also feel the darkness and I can also feel real depression and really low. Not only for myself, but for humanity and society when things really tragic happen. I feel it on a physical level. So, being able to go to my love bank and pull out things when I’m feeling it for myself or for humanity has been really, really just integral in me staying in a vibration of love.

47:00
Dr. Maya Novak:
Mm, yes. I love that you mentioned your love bank again because it’s very similar. I usually say to my clients to write a list of things that help them when they feel good. Because when we feel down, it’s very hard to be inspired and like oh, what is actually helping me. So, do you suggest also for someone to write these down when they are in a good mood? When they feel good so that they can pull that out when they feel down?

47:33
Koya Webb:
Right, absolutely. I suggest writing, freewriting, how you feel when it’s good, when it’s down, anything. Write down everything. So, when you do need a pick me up, you can go back well, now how did I feel when I was feeling really good? It can give you gratitude for that moment and that can pull you out of feeling down and feeling not good. But I suggest writing every day. Writing a list, even if it’s just a list of the things that you’re grateful for every single day. That will start your day in a beautiful place. All of these tools, the writing, the music, the playlists, also in my book I talk about writing down your limiting beliefs. Do you think you’re not old enough or you’re too old? Do you feel like you’re not beautiful enough? Do you feel like you’re not the right size or shape? All of these can affect you on a physical level if you feel like you have something limiting you from love, limiting you from expression. And so, I have people write down those down and we turn those limiting beliefs into liberating affirmations. How can you say I am beautiful as I am? I am unique and I am special. Giving people these liberating affirmations, it really helps them get through that self-doubt and that self-judgment.

48:43
Dr. Maya Novak:
Oh, it’s so true that at first, we become aware of what is actually happening, and then turning this around into something positive. Because a positive environment is where we actually thrive and miracles happen if you will.

48:58
Koya Webb:
Absolutely.

48:59
Dr. Maya Novak:
So, what is your number one advice that you would give someone who is recovering from an injury right now?

49:07
Koya Webb:
My best advice is to get loved up! Love yourself and find how you like to be loved. Make sure that you are getting your rest. Also, reflect on is there anything in your life that you want to pay more attention to at this time? You have this beautiful time to really reflect on what you’ve done in the past and how you want to move forward in the future. So, use this time as a beautiful time to reflect and plan, and once you do get healthy, and once you do get over your injury, plan how you’re going to move in the world even more mindfully.

49:45
Dr. Maya Novak:
Beautiful. You mentioned before that you have quite a big toolbox of many different things that you are using yourself or with your clients. What are your three – two or three go-to healing tools, and why?

50:05
Koya Webb:
My number one go-to healing tool is balancing the chakras via meditation. So, I love working on, okay, where am I feeling like I’m not fully expressing myself or what chakra needs help. And then I would say number two is the breathwork. Doing the breathwork is a recent addition to my toolkit. Like that’s a little even deeper than the breathwork in the pranayama I was doing before. So, I would say that. And number three, again, gratitude. Just having gratitude for all of the beautiful things in your life. And also forgiveness because sometimes we can, like I said, beat ourselves up and forgiving yourself or if something happened – like you’re in an accident, it wasn’t even your fault. Forgiveness, like forgiving yourself, forgiving if someone else has hurt you or harmed you. Sometimes if you hold onto that energy, you can get even sicker and it can stunt your healing progress. So, I think forgiveness and knowing that, hey, this person, hopefully, didn’t mean to me. Or if they are hurting and they’re just in toxicity, just realizing and having compassion for them and praying for them and hoping that they get out of that toxic state that they actually harmed you in. I think this is important, especially with the state of America and what we’re going through. Like I pray every day that we as a government wake up and realize that this is not sustainable – what we’re doing, how we’re living, how we’re treating people. It’s not right and it’s not sustainable. And so, you have to just live every day in that vibration of gratitude, and also forgiveness, and also compassion. I could go on, and on! I probably gave you like four things!

51:48
Dr. Maya Novak:
No, no, no. That’s perfect. Because there are so many things that are actually very important and necessary for healing. It’s not just going to the doctor, then wait, and hope. There are so many things. I love that you mentioned forgiveness because forgiveness is so healing, and especially as you mentioned. So, forgiving yourself and forgiving others. Forgiving, perhaps, some past trauma that also happened. It’s so extremely healing. So, I love that you mentioned that.

52:23
Koya Webb:
Thank you.

52:24
Dr. Maya Novak:
Koya, I could be talking to you for hours. I loved this conversation. I do have one last question for you that I ask every single speaker. It’s a bit more of a fun question. This is if you imagine that you are injured right now and you know that the recovery is going to take you a bit longer, perhaps even a year or more, and it’s not going to be very easy all the time. So, in this moment you can actually choose one of two gifts. Gift number one is that you through your recovery. You do all the work, all the necessary work to heal in the best possible way, and then at the end, you are going to receive this gift of preventing any further injuries. Or gift number two is that you can go back in time and prevent this accident, and prevent this injury. But then you also take chances, so you don’t know if another injury will happen the very next day. So, my question is which gift would you take, and why?

53:36
Koya Webb:
I would definitely, if it’s possible, which I don’t really think it is, to say oh if I go through this healing then I’ll never be injured again. I don’t that’s actually realistic, but if that was like, hey, you get a genie in a bottle and it is what it is, then yes, I would definitely go with number one and go through the healing and never ever have to worry about anything happening again! But I just don’t think that’s the way life is. Like we have challenges in life, mentally, spiritually, and physically because we’re not living in this life alone. I believe if one person is hurting, we are all hurting in some way. So, we’re all in a constant state of healing. The more that heal our self on a daily basis, the more we’re healing as a community. So, I just think it’s part of life and I don’t think that it’s realistic to try to escape because, like I said, even if you don’t have an injury, there’s a place where you can be going to visit someone who has an injury. And if someone has an injury, you technically have an injury, and we all have to love on each other. So, I just think the human experience – I wish it was that easy – but if I had to pick, I would pick number one for everyone, that we are not even ever having to have an injury ever in life. I think that would be great. But I do think if we can all remember that we are one and that the more that we can constantly work on our own self-growth and healing and help those others around us, the more we’re going to live in a beautiful world.

55:04
Dr. Maya Novak:
Oh, I so agree with you. The reason why I ask this question is because so many times, especially right after the accident, so many people say oh, if I could go back in time and prevent this. Me, going through my recovery of a terribly fractured ankle, I also know what an incredible gift I got out of this. So, this is the reason why I’m asking, and I know that it’s not possible to be completely injury free for life, but yeah, just to pick your brain, and see what your perspective is on this.

55:42
Koya Webb:
Awesome, thank you.

55:44
Dr. Maya Novak:
Thank you. So, Koya, where can people find more about you?

55:48
Koya Webb:
You can find more about me at koyawebb.com and @koyawebb on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, all of the places. I’m most active on Instagram; I’m posting videos every day. Sign up for my newsletter at koyawebb.com so you always get the latest content of when I’m having events, where I’m traveling. I have a retreat coming up in Bali, a New Year’s Manifestation Retreat, where I’m teaching people how to align the chakras, and how to practice gratitude and forgiveness so that you are living a life in alignment with your dreams. So, I’m really excited. And hopefully, people pick up the book, Let Your Fears Make Your Fierce. It’s a beautiful tool that you can use right in the comfort of your own home. It’s on audio, it’s an e-book, and you can get a physical copy, and it’s available on Amazon.

56:39
Dr. Maya Novak:
Fabulous. Koya, thank you so much for being here, and for sharing all the love and all the knowledge.

56:47
Koya Webb:
Thank you so much for having me.

56:50
Dr. Maya Novak:
Thank you for tuning into today’s episode with Koya Webb. If you haven’t done it yet, subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you’re using to tune in, and share it with your loved ones – yes, I’m thanking you in advance with a cherry on top. To access show notes, links, and transcript of today’s episode go to mayanovak.com/podcast. To learn more about The Mindful Injury Recovery Method visit my website mayanovak.com and find my book Heal Beyond Expectations on Amazon. Until next time – keep evolving, blooming, and healing.