In Conversation with Maryam Ajayi
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Half healer, half business woman, Maryam Ajayi is an Energy Healer who practices the Akashic Records, Breathwork and Reiki, as well as Entrepreneur, who is the founder of both Indagba and Dive in Well. Based in LA, she is passionate about de-stigmatizing the wellness industry, advocating for inclusive spaces for marginalized communities, and using her voice to empower and uplift others around the world.
What's your current theme song? If you have a reason, please share.
“Try Jesus” by Tobe Nwigwe and Jabari Johnson. There’s a lot of love and light in wellness -- a lot of spiritual bypassing. I am 100% rooted in the belief that we are all walking each other home to one universal truth, which is love. However, in my pursuit to liberate my people, I will literally throw [spiritual] hands if I have to because people are dying.
What are you working on?
Dive in Well, which I am the CEO & Founder of, which cultivates space, community, conversations, and change for a more equity and accessibility in wellness. 2020 has really unveiled the disparities and barriers for marginalized communities when it comes to access to well-being. We are relentless in our purpose to provide the resources and community to co-create an industry that tells us that we all have a right to be well. I am also working on providing a safer space for like-minded folx to breathe and grow with one another through a digital membership.
Tell me about your journey to now. What impactful moments led you to your work?
After recovering from the life of a wannabe Republican lobbyist, I made a commitment to paving a new path—one that would allow me to make meaningful change in the world. So I left politics and moved to NYC to work for a global impact start-up. Years later, I was moving closer and closer “having it all.” I had changed in my life, set short and long term goals, and I was well on my way to achieving them. Yet, I still found myself disconnected from… well, myself. And it was, appropriately, one of the times I was feeling most myself—pizza in one hand, champagne in the other—that I stumbled into the world of healing. Deepening my yoga practice helped ground me and led me to meditation. That led me to alternative medicine. Then, I discovered two of the most powerful modalities I’ve used: Reiki and Breathwork. Before I knew it, I was practicing both and fulfilling my life’s purpose—helping others harness their energy and live their best lives in order to fulfill theirs. In 2018, I realized that now more than ever there needs to be more healing in business and more business in healing and in early 2019 I launched my first company Indagba and then soon after Dive in Well. Through this work, I am committed to empowering the disadvantaged, fighting racism, toppling the patriarchy, and generally leaving things better than I found them.
Who and/or what motivates your passion each day?
My ancestors and the future generations of liberated people to come after me.
How do you define Radical Self Care?
Knowing that being well is your sovereignty and having the freedom to seek it.
What rituals do you have to help maintain homeostasis of mind, body, and spirit?
Breathwork, Reiki, the Akashic Records, seeking pleasure, reading, buying flowers, baths, singing, did I say food?
How do you incorporate plants into your well being routine? How is the cannabis (THC, CBD, CBN, etc) a part of your plant ritual?
I mindfully use CBD to manage my stress, anxiety and chronic pain.
Who would you like to experience an altered state (dream elevation + discussion) with and how would you achieve this flow state?
Michelle Obama through Breathwork.
Love the phrase "slow down to speed up", what does that mean to you personally and within the present global pause?
It's so important to stop and reflect in order for you to gain clarity and with clarity our paths forward can come with more ease.
What is the gift you bring community?
Motivation, the power to connect people and drive movements
What has been the most challenging for you during this time?
Staying rooted in my why though all the ups and downs. It's easy to lose sight and I may have a day or two when I just want to say "fuck it," but I come back to the tools I have an re-root in my mission on this earth.