The Zest – Koya Webb

We sat down with Koya Webb, a health coach, author, speaker, and the founder of Get Loved Up. We learned so much from Koya about determination, strength, and work ethic. Watch the full interview or read the transcript below!

Teju

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Zest! My name is Teju, I’m your host, and I am so thrilled about today’s episode.

Calling this a treat is an understatement. I have Koya Webb, who is an international holistic health coach, an author, a speaker, an around rock star, and the founder of Get Loved Up. 

She’s here to share her infinite wisdom, teachings, and journey with us. I’m just honored and humbled to have Koya on the show today. Welcome, Koya. 

Koya

Thank you so much for having me. You’re such a breath of fresh air. I’m just happy to be able to connect with you.

Running Track, Getting Injured, and Starting Yoga

Teju

Thank you. I just want to dive in because there’s so much for us to talk about. Your journey is incredibly fascinating.

So, I would love to learn a little bit more about how you got to where you are. I know you started off running track, and then you got into yoga and you’ve become this expert and go-to person in the industry.

Walk me through that track injury – how that shifted you into your wellness and holistic health and yoga journey.

Koya

Being a Southern girl from Tennessee, I never thought that I’d be living in California, traveling the world, and teaching wellness for a living.

I thought I would get a job as a nurse or a doctor or do something common that my parents thought I should do to make money. 

And so I started off, and being able to go to college on a full scholarship was a blessing and such a privilege. I’m so grateful because I know a lot of people don’t have that.

And I didn’t really understand how much it meant to me until I lost it. I knew how hard I worked for it, and I knew, like, “All right, this is it. This is the ticket.”

But I didn’t know how devastating it would be to work for something so hard. And then one day without any warning, just be done.

Teju

What happened? I was an athlete in high school, but not at your level at all. I played basketball, soccer, and cross.

And I know you put so much into sports and athletics. What happened? What were your feelings when it first happened?

Koya

Well, I was coming home from class and I just got this sharp pain in my back. And that pain dropped me to the floor. It was very intense. I was just like, “Wow, what was that?”

And I went to the doctor, and they said, “You have a stress fracture.” And they told me I was out for the season. 

And so training that long and then one day being out for the season – I was in denial at first.

And then I was just like, “Well, what am I going to do? Everything that I know has been track and field for the last decade of my life.” 

So I went into depression. I was crying in classes and I just couldn’t keep it together.

And my coach was like, “You’re a great student.” And at the time I was team captain, so they were like, “You can always coach.” But I didn’t know how to take care of myself.

I didn’t know that not sleeping six, eight hours a day was going to catch up with me.

When I found myself in this devastated place, my teacher said, “Hey, I can’t have you with these outbursts of tears during class.”

So he sent me to the counselor. I went to the counselor and the counselor suggested that I try yoga. At that time, again, Southern Baptist girl, I was just like,

“Okay, is yoga a different religion?” I just wasn’t really sure about this yoga thing. 

I didn’t feel like I fit as an athlete. I was like, “I’m a tight athlete. I can’t even touch my toes.”

I felt very out of place. And I felt very intimidated by all those posts that I saw. I was like, “I can’t even sit on the floor without pain. This hurts.” 

And so the teacher came to me and she said, “I just want you to breathe.” And when I took that deep inhale and exhale, I got chills down my body. 

And for me, those chills meant spirit. And I was like, okay, that spirit, that’s when I know I’m in the right place. And so once I felt this, I was like, “Okay, if I can just breathe every day, just breathe more, I’ll be good.”

So I started breathing and sitting and doing as much as I could. And I got stronger and stronger. Then I started swimming and biking. But it did take me a year. It wasn’t overnight.

After a year of really taking care of myself, I returned to the track to win the conference championship and lead Wichita State to their team title.

Teju

Wow. That is amazing. I love that.

I actually got goosebumps when you said “Just breathe” because I think that sometimes, especially as you go into something new, all of the triggers, the imposter syndrome, the fear, the insecurities, all that starts a fire.

And if you can breathe through things and work through things and just surrender to the moment, then it’s all about continuing to do that and showing up and surrendering to the fact that you’ll get better – and sticking with it. 

Now, how did you make the bridge? So you went back to track and crushed it. And then how did you make the bridge to becoming a yoga instructor? What was that journey like?

Koya

So I said, “Thank you, yoga.” And I went to the track, and that was the end of yoga other than stretching before I did an event.

So I did very well. I was ranked 13th in the nation in the heptathlon when I graduated from college. 

So I moved and I fell in love with the California weather. I was like, “Oh, this sexy weather, the ocean, this saltwater on my face.”

I fell in love. And I said, “As soon as I’ve graduated, I’m moving out.” And that’s what I did. And I moved to San Diego. 

Teju

That was my first stop in California, too. Very cool.

Koya

That was my first stop. And I literally called the coach Ron Sheffield from San Diego. I called him out of the blue.

I was like, “Can you train me? You don’t know me, but I promise I’ll get better every day. I want to go to Olympic Training Center. And I just need a couple more inches, a couple more points.” 

And so he agreed to train me. And so that’s all I needed. All I needed was one person to train me.

Everybody back home was like, “Koya has lost it.” Coach used to always say, “You know, Koya says the most outlandish part to believe things, but then it happens.”

So I’ve always been a person who has to prove my worth and prove my value to people over and over and over again. But that helped me believe in myself. And I was taught faith at a young age. 

I was like, “I have faith in myself. I have faith that if I work hard enough, it’s going to happen.”

And so I moved to California and I trained and I studied Exercise Science in college. I became a personal trainer right away, but I went right into this stressful lifestyle of like, breaking up, and training my clients. 

And for the first half of the day from five to ten, I trained my clients. Then I went on the track and trained myself.

And then I trained my clients again from five to ten in the evening. I was jumping, I was stressed out, and I got injured again.

Teju

Oh, no.

Becoming a Yoga Instructor

Koya 

I went back to yoga. This time I went deeper. This time I just had to get my certification, and that’s how I became a certified yoga instructor. And that’s what really changed my life. 

I realized the mental, spiritual, and physical benefits of yoga. I was like, “You know what? I want everyone to know and understand the gift of yoga because it has blessed my life in more ways than just healing.” 

It has helped me handle stress. It has helped me stay in shape because after college, sometimes you just let it go.

I think at one point I was like 180 pounds. I love food. I’m a foodie. I remember just getting these ice cream sandwiches before I went vegan. I would just eat and eat and eat and eat.

And I ate a lot even when I ran track, but I was also training for four hours a day. So without the training and eating that and more, yeah, 180 pounds was like the most I’ve ever weighed.

It might have been 183. I have to look. But I was a big girl. And I’m also 5’10. 

Koya

And I know that my metabolism and body are so different now than when I was playing a sport.

You just count on the fact that you’re working out all the time and your habits have to shift as your activity levels shift. 

Teju

So that’s amazing that you’ve used yoga to be able to do that and stay consistent throughout your journey.

Koya

Yeah, absolutely. Even now, I appreciate the resilience that I learned from yoga.

Being an athlete is definitely one of those things that teach you resilience.

I remember when I first started getting into yoga, I would look at people practicing yoga and think, “Oh, they look so elegant and it looks so effortless.”

My first yoga class was a complete hot mess. I couldn’t do anything. I was on the struggle bus. 

Teju 

Walk me through your journey of just getting the practice. Yoga is a practice. I don’t think people take the word practice seriously enough in yoga.

The high points, the low points, points where you wanted to give up – walk me through some of that.

Koya

I wanted to give up every day, at least for the first year. Every day was painful. It was so painful. I remember I tried to get into Lotus.

I was like, “Is my foot supposed to feel like this? My foot is going to break off. My brain is going to ooze out of the top of my head. Are you all sure? Because this is not blissful. This is not the bliss I was thinking. I’m not in a happy place right now.”

I was like, “Wait, am I supposed to black out when I stand up?” I just had all these questions like, “Are we sure this is okay?” 

So in school, I did basic yoga. But then when I got my certification, I had to get stronger.

I approached it like an athlete. When the teacher said I needed to do something, I was going to do it. And right, I had to do it to the best of my ability. I wasn’t just chilling out. 

So I also had to learn compassion for myself. Through yoga, I learned that you don’t have to push it. If you’re being told to pull, but your body is saying don’t pull, then you don’t pull.

So yoga also taught me self-respect and balance and how to find what feels good in my body, how to take it slow and push harder some days.

Detoxing

I remember getting a detox crisis after the first four weeks of my yoga teacher training in Ashtanga. I was sneezing, and see, it’s actually like having the flu because your body is cleansing so fast.

All the movement, all the blood flow and everything. And that was like, “Wow. I’m getting sick? I’m not supposed to get sick. This is supposed to be good for me.” 

But then the teacher explained to me, “No, you’re having a healing crisis. That’s just your body detoxing. It’s totally fine.” 

So here I am. I’m still going to class. My nose is snotty. I got tissues next to me. I’m sneezing, and we’re all just in there. Everyone’s just breathing in all this stuff.

I don’t even know what I’m doing, but heck, it feels like I’m being accepted just the way I am. So I think I’m just going to stay here.

Teju

I love that. I love that. That’s amazing because so many people quit after that point. They’re like, “I’m not feeling good. This is really hard. I’m out.”

What were the mantras or what was that mindset shift that kept you coming back, even though you were having this detox moment? How did you shift your thinking to stick with it?

Koya

Well, I think one, I’m an athlete, so I don’t really give up. I’m also a Leo, so I’m very loyal.

I’m committed to it until I’m not okay. If it’s threatening my life, then that’s usually what it takes for me to stop something that I know is good for me.

So even though I felt like I wanted to give up and quit and not come to class, I just always show up. Even for the women’s stuff, I’m showing up. I’m still there. 

So I was there. I had pretty much perfect attendance. And I think the teacher let me know this is normal, this is okay. It’s okay to have pain. If I couldn’t put my foot on top of my leg, she gave me modifications and things like that. 

I think one, my personality, and two, just having Carolyn Claybell as my teacher, just having a good teacher say, “Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay to not be perfect. It’s okay if you can’t do all the poses other people do.”

She would tell me, “You’re tall.” She was tall, too, luckily. So she’d be like, “This is going to take you a little bit longer to get certain things, and that’s okay.”

So I think having that encouragement helped. And I think a lot of people need to hear that it’s a practice, like you said, and it’s not about the poses. It’s really about commitment. It’s about consistency.

It’s about showing up for yourself every single day because if you show up for yourself, that at the end you’re going to be in a better place.

Teju

Right. I love it. Now, some of our viewers are new to yoga and new to the different types of disciplines and styles of yoga. Walk us through a couple. And then I would love to know, what is your favorite, and why?

Different Parts of Yoga

Koya

That is such a layered question. I think breath is spirit. So my favorite part of yoga is the breath. That’s what really hooked me because I felt that connection to spirit when a teacher told me to breathe and I could feel it in my body.

Even if a person is in a hospital bed and can’t move their limbs, if you can breathe, that’s part of practicing yoga. You have yoga using the breath and then you have yoga moving the body. 

And then you have yoga, another part of yoga, where you’re sitting in meditation. And I know we compartmentalize them sometimes: Breathwork, yoga, and meditation.

But I do them all together. I believe in trinities. And I believe there’s power in the trinity. And so for me, it starts with the breath.

And then the movement, though a lot of people will do the breathwork and they want to do the yoga or meditation, or they do the meditation, but they don’t want to do the movement. The movement is what increases our blood flow.

It releases trauma in the body. It helps us process emotional things that have had a physical resonance in our bodies.

So to me, movement is essential. It’s very important, especially learning through ashtanga. We have different series that are specifically for the nervous system, specifically for different things.

It’s not just about getting into the perfect pose and having the perfect alignment. It’s about when you align your body in this way, it has a healing and cleansing and purifying effect.

It’s not the purification, it’s not the pose. And I’ve never said it like that before.

Teju

I love it. You gave me goosebumps. It is so true. It’s not about the pose. It’s about the purification, it’s about the process, it’s about the brief.

I love that because a lot of times, especially in this modern day, you go on Instagram and people are pose-perfect looking fabulous.

I know when I go to yoga class, I do not look like that. I think sometimes people feel afraid to really delve into the deepness of the practice because their brain is so concerned about, “I need to look like this.”

Koya

I think that when more people realize that it’s just about the process and it’s going to be painful like any good thing in the beginning, sometimes it could be very painful, but the payoff is really beautiful.

Also that it mirrors life. Life is not always easy. Life can be sad and life can be painful and life can be challenging. But through that challenge, you gain resilience, you gain knowledge, you gain these lessons. 

And that pain does not last always because what you get from going through that is, again, you get wisdom, you get knowledge, you get understanding, and we’re growing and thriving as people. 

And when you look at humanity, we’re going through a huge learning of really learning who we are.

I feel like it’s really important for us to understand it’s going to be exhausting and it’s going to be painful, but it is necessary for us to communicate with one another so that we can understand and we can be gentle and nurture each other where we need to be nurtured so that we can thrive as one.

Teju

It’s so true. And I think that sometimes we forget that there is pain. Sometimes you grow through pain and sometimes it’s a key part of life.

And I think having a mindset that is resilient and expansive allows you to get through those challenges as well as having the discipline to keep you healthy and keep your mindset healthy. 

What are some of your disciplines or daily practices or annual practices that you live and you do in order to live an overall healthy lifestyle, to keep your mindset on point?

You’ve got so many business ventures and team members relying on you. What do you do to keep yourself physically and mentally healthy?

Daily Practices for a Healthy Lifestyle

Koya

Well, I practice at least the breath work every single day. Work, meditation, and journaling.

When I wake up, just to process my emotions, process my feelings, hold it in a lot of space. I go through a lot. I talk to a lot of people on a daily basis.

So it’s really important for me in the morning that I start in a grounded space, that I start connected with spirit because things can go left and right and all type of ways. 

So for me, starting when I’m in bed doing my breathwork, breathing, connecting with spirit, and then I’ll sit in meditation, just sit up in my bed and just enjoy the stillness, enjoy the divine downloads that come through when you give yourself that space and time, and then just journaling, just writing how I feel. 

So I start my day with that. And then I go into my yoga flow. That’s a lot of fun. So I do anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours. It just depends on what I have time for that day.

And then I usually do another meditation, burn some sage, and just connect with my plants. I love to go out in nature after my practice.

And then I get into my work day. And then usually midday, I have a note on my phone that just asks me, “How do you feel and what do you need?”

Because sometimes I just go, go, go and I forget to eat, I forget to drink water, I forget to take care of myself. 

So that alert is really important just to check-in. I’m a 16-year vegan, so eating plant-based nutrition is how I keep myself up. And then at the end of the day, also journaling and practicing breathwork before I go to bed.

Teju

So just a quick question about your meditation. Do you listen to music? Are you just in the stillness? What do you do and what approach do you take for meditation?

Koya

That’s such a great question. And it just depends on how I feel. Recently, I’ve been doing a lot of breathwork and meditation. So that involves me doing a specific breathing practice and then just meditating without any sound. 

Sometimes I do guided meditations because I love hypnotherapy. I love listening to Sephage tunes and Binaero beats that balance the left and right hemispheres of your brain.

So there are just so many ways that I meditate. For me, meditation is like an outfit. I put on different ones depending on how I’m feeling and what I want today.

Teju

I love that. That’s a great tip too, because I think sometimes people think there’s one way to meditate, and this is the way you’re supposed to do it.

But I love the analogy that it’s like an outfit. What do you need and what are you feeling and then stepping into that and following that practice.

Now, you mentioned something else. You’ve been a vegan for 16 years. How did you get into veganism? How did you transition? Was it difficult? Walk me through that journey.

Going Vegan as a Lifestyle

Koya

Yes, it was difficult. I know people are going to say, “It’s so easy!” 

No, it’s hard. I’m coming from the South. I love food. I love to eat. And so for me, it was knowing that this is the best thing for my health. This is the best thing to really combat world hunger. And this is the best thing for the planet, period, point blank. That is why I’ve been vegan for 16 years. 

But I started with it just being good for my health. And first I cut out one thing, then another thing. So I didn’t do it cold turkey overnight. I did it over time. 

And I think that’s really what helped me stick to it. In the beginning, I wasn’t perfect at it. I started off being vegetarian. I was still eating fish and eggs for a little while.

And then I met someone who was actually vegan and they were healthy and fit. I was like, “Oh, okay, you can be healthy and fit as a vegan.” Because at first I saw people who didn’t look so healthy, and I was concerned. 

I’m not trying to disappear. I was concerned if I was going to have enough nourishment to be healthy. But then when I met a very healthy vegan, I was like, “Oh, okay, this is good. This is possible.” 

When I started trying it, I started having more energy. I started to feel better and have more mental clarity. Everything became a lot clearer for me, and I felt better. 

And people said, “Oh, my goodness, you glow.” 

So the compliments that I would get and the way that I was feeling had me sold for my health.

And then when I started reading the documentaries, I was just like, “You know what? People need to know that one, this plant-based lifestyle is possible. And then two, it is the best thing for animals, for the planet, and for solving world hunger.” 

We don’t have to use so many resources to make meat that we don’t even need. We don’t even need to eat it. And that’s my thing. If I don’t need to eat it, why do I eat it?

And if eating it is costing us all of these resources, and we’re being marketed to eat more and more and more and more, this is not sustainable. So for me, that’s what makes me 100% vegan – not just in my food, but also in my clothes and furniture.

I was just able to buy a Tesla after not having a car for seven years. I was concerned because I would rent cars, and different cars are made of different things.

Again, I do the best I can, but I was riding on planes and in cars that have leather and stuff like that. So those things were harder. I tell people I’m very non-judgmental, and I’m very compassionate. I’m willing to answer questions that people need to know. 

But I mostly tell people, “Do the best you can, notice how you feel, and also know your ‘why’”.

Know that this is not only impacting your health, but it’s also impacting the health of others and it’s making the world a healthy place. And that usually helps people become more mindful of what they’re eating.

Teju

Right. I love that approach of taking it in steps. A lot of times people think it’s an all-or-nothing proposition. So then they get overwhelmed. And it can be steps.

You can find those things like, hey, I was actually doing another interview today and we were talking about being a flexitarian. So saying, “Okay, I’m going to first choose five days where I’m vegan or vegetarian and then eat meat two times.” 

And that’s what this person is doing. And that works for them. And then they’re slowly transitioning into becoming vegan. And that’s awesome because it’s sustainable.

It can help you get those quick wins so that you stick with it and build and shift your life over time, which is incredible. 

Now, I want to transition because you are a rockstar entrepreneur. You’ve done so much. I want to talk about Get Loved Up for a little bit. So walk me through that – how you built it, some of the programs, the community that’s a part of it, the app. There’s just a ton of richness there.

Entrepreneurship

Koya 

Absolutely. Well, Get Loved Up was birthed because I wanted to love others and pour into others and help, but I would often find myself exhausted. And so one time, one of my mentors said, “You can’t love others to the detriment of yourself.” 

I was like, “I know. I know. I got to get loved up. I got to take care of myself.”

And then I developed the mantra later on: “Love yourself, love others, love the planet because you have to love yourself first and most in order to pour into others.

And then when you pour into others and their collectives working together, then you’re making an impact on the planet.” 

And so Get Loved Up really birthed off my personal need to practice self-care and self-love.

And then it enabled me to love and provide for others more. And then that enabled me to make a big impact by building a community. Not only is my life impacting a better, healthier planet, but with the community of Get Loved Up, we are all part of that.

And anyone and everyone who’s choosing to live more mindfully, I feel like every time you take a step to cause less harm to others and animals on the planet, that’s a beautiful thing.

Teju

Love it. And you mentioned self-care. I feel like self-care is really becoming a thing. Would love your thoughts.

What does self-care mean to you? What practices, what mindset, what discipline? Some people think it’s like, oh, taking a bubble bath is self-care. Is that really self-care? What is the spectrum and what does that mean to you?

What is Self-Care, Really?

Koya

Taking a bubble bath absolutely is self-care. But so is having healthy boundaries, preserving your peace, knowing when to say no, and knowing how to communicate your feelings.

There are so many things that we don’t think about as self-care, especially us as women. 

It’s important to know how to communicate, know how to set healthy boundaries, and know our limits.

Those are the biggest parts of self-care that are overlooked that cause a lot of trauma in our lives because we are looked to be the nurturers and looked to take care of everybody. But when you do that continuously, you will burn out if you don’t pour into yourself. 

I would say the biggest part of self-care is knowing where you are energetically and knowing what things to bring into your space and what things to keep out of your space. 

And I think that’s really important right now.

Are you taking some time to meditate and read books and pour into your own growth and evolution?

And the more that you’re pouring into yourself, your growth and evolution, if that’s not at least 50% of your time, unfortunately, you’re going to experience being overwhelmed by everything else – even if it’s a good cause.

Even if you’re doing these things to move the world forward, you could still get exhausted. 

I’ve seen so many people crash, burn, and have mental health crises. They are amazing people, but they don’t have the balance because they’re reaching so far out without pouring back in.

Teju

That pouring back in is so critical. I do want to make sure we get to eye yoga because I am endlessly fascinated by it. But I would love to learn how you’ve developed healthy boundaries.

What are some of the processes that you use in order to keep those boundaries in place?

Setting Healthy Boundaries

Koya

Let me tell you, I’m a yes girl, but I really have to have time when my phone is almost never on. The only time I turn on the ringer on my phone is if someone’s coming to my house and I don’t want to miss them. 

Otherwise, I don’t have any rings or dings or alerts or anything that I hear coming from my phone most of the day.

I can go days and weeks without turning my ringer on unless I’m going to have a house guest and I feel like I need to.

I think that’s one way I practice healthy boundaries. And another thing is I’m an entrepreneur, so I will work from 6 AM until I go to bed at 10 or 12 AM, and that’s not healthy.

So I have two to four hours in the morning which is my spiritual time where I do my rituals and my journaling and my breathwork and my yoga because I’m a yoga teacher.

But at one point I could go a whole week or two weeks without even doing a full practice.

I wasn’t getting my daily practice and I felt different. And so for me, it was about creating some time, and even putting buffers between my meetings because I would have meetings back to back to back.

And it’s like, “No, I need a 15-minute break so I can use the bathroom or get a drink.” 

Teju

I love that. That’s such a great idea. I need to do that, by the way. I think that especially now where we’re in Zoom meetings all day, it’s so easy to go five, eight hours and never get a break or that time to reframe your mindset. It’s amazing.

Writing a Book and Growing a Wellness Community

Koya

In my book, Let Your Fears Make You Fierce, I give an example of my schedule and I show people how you can create a schedule for yourself and different rituals and breathwork and things you can practice each day.

I really think it’s important to just create a schedule for yourself and set up a time in the morning, in the evening, maybe even in the middle of the day where you can just find your peace.

Teju

You mentioned your book. I’m so excited about it. Walk us through your book and anything else that you’ve got coming up and going on. You’re such a creator.

You always have new things, new programs, retreats. And I love seeing all the richness on your website. Walk us through some of the things that you’ve got coming up.

Koya

Well, absolutely. The book, Let Your Fears Make Your Fierce is all about turning common obstacles into seeds for growth. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow. And I share the tools that I use. I share about the chakras.

People love that. That’s everyone’s favorite part of the book where I really explain and have you take a quiz on how your spiritual energy centers are resonating right now.

And then after you take the quiz, I have tips at the end on how you can get some of the ones that are either over or underproductive. You can actually balance them out.

And then I share meditation tips, I share affirmations. And I also share a lot of personal stories and how I got through some of the most challenging times in my life. 

So that’s a really good tool. And if anyone’s interested in learning more about yoga, I have a holistic health and yoga school. It’s online. It’s Yoga Alliance certified, and you can do 100 hours. And it’s not about teaching.

It’s just about knowing more about yoga, breathwork, and meditation. And then the 200 hours, 300 hours, and 500 hours is where you go deeper and deeper and deeper into learning the modalities so that you can actually share and teach others.

Teju

Love it. And we’ll link up to all of this in the episode notes so that everyone can go to your website and look at all the programs and your book.

And you’ve got so much richness and you’re such a beacon of wisdom. One of the other things I do admire, I want to make sure I talk about is the way you lead your team and some of the programs that you’ve got in place, like the One Mile A Day.

Tell us about this, because this is something I think every company should adopt.

Koya

Absolutely. And I’m going to give you a link for your community to join me on a 28-day challenge. This is 28 days of holistic health. One of the rituals that we practice is A Mile A Day. So it’s just walking a Mile A Day, getting out of nature.

If you can’t go outside, you could do it on the treadmill gym, or you can just dance for 30 minutes to your favorite playlist. 

And I actually link playlists in my book, like my favorite songs and things. So it’s just about getting some movement in. And then we have a smoothie a day, which is having a superfood smoothie in the morning with berries and bananas.

Because it’s important to have five fruits and five vegetables a day, five servings. 

So that’s a good way to get it. And then we have a juice a day. So basically that’s really teaching people the importance of green juices and how important that is to have every single day.

And then we also have dance daily, which is about just moving. If you’re not into yoga, then you can just dance every single day.

And even if you are into yoga, I find dancing just makes me feel good. It makes me laugh. So those are just some of the hashtags we have for people to just tag in their stories so they could feel like they’re part of a community.

Teju

I love that. We’ll link up to all of that. And yes, people who are watching this, please use those hashtags and take some of these practices.

I think it’s about instilling the practices in order to make your day as rich and abundant as possible. I’m a big juice smoothie person. It’s like a practice and a ritual that nourishes my body.

But then too, it helps me shift into, “Okay, now I’m going to have a high-performance day because I’ve fueled myself with high-performance nutrients.” 

Eye Yoga for Eye Strain Relief

So love all of that. I could talk with you forever. You have so much amazingness to share. I do want to make sure we talk about eye yoga before you go.

Lead us through. If someone wants to practice eye yoga, what is something they can do?

Koya

Absolutely. Eye yoga is so important right now because we’re spending over five to seven hours a day in front of our phones and our computers.

So the blue light that we’re getting and the strain that we’re causing on our eyes is real. 

A lot of people are just reporting headaches and blurry vision and things like that. So just practicing eye yoga when you’ve been in front of your phone or your TV for more than 30 minutes can help relieve some of that stress and strain. 

So I’m going to take you all through it. Take a deep inhale and exhale. I invite you to close your eyes or gaze gently at the floor and then just look down as far as you can with your eyes closed, keeping your head still. Then look to the right as far as you can.

You’re going to feel the tension releasing from the eyes. Then look up as far as you can. Then look to the left as far as you can. Then look down as far as you can.

Then create big circles going clockwise, massaging the eyes on the back of the eyelids, and then counterclockwise.

Then zigzag – look left and right, right and left, going all the way to the bottom and then all the way to the top.

Then gently rub your hands together and then place your fingertips very gently on your eyelids and just gently massage any place that you feel needs a little more love. Then slowly release. All right, that’s eye yoga.

Teju

That was amazing. I feel like the tension… I feel like I was holding tension here, and I feel like it was released. That’s amazing.

How would you recommend someone incorporates that into their day? How often should they do it? Are there optimal times to do it as well?

Koya

Absolutely. If you’ve been on your phone or your computer for more than 30 minutes, do it. That means depending on how much you use your devices.

We’ve been on here for over 30 minutes, so we just did the eye echo. Perfect. So after every Zoom call, you can do it. After you’ve been on your phone, just do it throughout your day and make it your regular thing.

And you’ll notice if you haven’t done it all day and then you do it, you’ll be like, “I really needed that.”

Teju

I’m still feeling like it’s almost this tension just released through here. I love it. Thank you so much. Where can we find you online?

Koya

Thank you so much for having me. You can find me at koyawebb.com.

Teju

I am just blessed and grateful to have had you on today, Koya. Thanks for teaching us and being with us. 

Connect with Koya Webb

Website: Koyawebb.com

Yoga school: Online Yoga Teacher Training

Book: Let Your Fears Make You Fierce

Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok: @koyawebb

Pinterest: @getlovedup

Facebook: @koyawebbonline