Embracing the Path of Natural Healing with Toyia Mays

Join Wesley Hamilton and Toyia Mays, co-founder of The Laya Center, as we discuss our personal healing stories and holistic health benefits. Toya shares how her past shaped her and the safe healing space she's created at the Layla Center.

In these challenging times, we touch upon the impact of significant events like the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd's incident, especially on Black and Brown communities. We also explore the Laya Center's cool cryotherapy chamber and how it helps overall well-being. Plus, we discuss how emotional pains from our past might show up as physical pains now.

We also talk about the magic of nature in healing. The Laya Center isn't just a place to get better; it's a place to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Toyia shares the wonders of things like herbal teas in keeping us healthy. One key takeaway? Starting your healing journey helps you take control of your life. 

Listen, get inspired, and join us on this healing journey!

• Guest: Toyia Mays, Co-founder of Laya Center

• Topics Covered:
  • Personal healing stories
  • Advantages of holistic health
  • Societal influences from events like COVID-19 and George Floyd's incident
  • The innovative cryotherapy chamber at the Laya Center
  • The connection between physical and emotional pain.
• Connect with Toya:
  • Laya Center Website
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
• Feedback & Questions: Your feedback matters to us! Please share your comments and pose your questions via our email.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

In a world where success often steals the limelight, the stories that truly inspire, that truly matter, are left behind in the shadows. I'm your host, Wesley Hamilton. Welcome to the Out of the Shadows podcast.

Speaker 3: 0:23

A human and a plant has the same cellular structure. That's why it can heal you like it does. It's a part of you. It's not separate from you, Yo what's up everybody.

Speaker 1: 0:43

This is Wesley Hamilton. Welcome to Out of the Shadows. I'm here with owner and co-founder of the Layla Center, ms Toya Mays. It's an honor Ms Mays is an artist, an herbalist, a crystal therapist and a wellness professional Honestly just honored to have this conversation kind of structured around holistic healing today and just learning more about something that is pretty amazing and profound and is literally making changes in the Kansas City Missouri area and, from what I see, about to be global when it comes to products and things. I'm just going to add that too. Welcome, ms Mays. How are you?

Speaker 3: 1:27

I'm doing well. How are you?

Speaker 1: 1:29

I'm doing good, I'm feeling good, I'm feeling great actually, and just honored to be able to chat with you today.

Speaker 3: 1:38

Me too, absolutely All right.

Speaker 1: 1:40

So, you know, I have this thing where, of course, like I started this show Out of the Shadows because, looking at my life and some of the success that I've made, I've realized that, you know, when it comes to our stories, certain platforms will allow certain pieces to be shared in a light, but then there are other pieces of our stories that are hidden in the shadows, and I believe, at least for a person like me that's passionate about my work, that we have this passion to make sure that we plant seeds in communities that we're from, and normally that's where the shadows are left, right Like that's where the individuals are left when it comes to our stories, and so I'm just honored to be able to share that. So, first and foremost, like I have these icebreakers that I like to do so as an artist, as a wellness professional, can you share with us some type of artwork or creative project that you're particularly proud of, and how does it connect to your passion for healing?

Speaker 3: 2:43

Yeah, actually I did obviously the interior design for the Leia Center and the intention behind a lot of it was to connect people to Indigenous rooms, to connect people to nature, to make them feel like they're enveloped in this natural setting, even though they're in the middle of the city. So I'm super proud of the things that people say when they come in there and they connect with these communities and they allow it to kind of transcend their minds to where they need to be to start that healing journey.

Speaker 1: 3:20

Oh, I love that. I love that and at least again I'm gonna hold myself accountable. I need to roll on into the Leia Center and see the new one. Okay, Just for people to know, I definitely have. You know, took some time and went into the old location, so, but the new location looks beautiful, it's very welcoming and it does seem like it takes people to a different place when they go in there. So what necessarily inspire you to venture into the world of holistic healing and create the Leia Center?

Speaker 3: 3:52

It was a personal journey to start. My husband played in the NFL for eight years. He took massive amount of painkillers I mean they have them available like candy, you know, injections and it's all to stay on the field so that they have a job. But I think around 28 or 29 years old, just a routine check, he went to the doctor. They told him his liver and kidney function was that of like a 50 year old smoker and it was because of all the painkillers and all the other I mean obviously be this body up because he uses it as a weapon. But the painkillers broke down that lining of the stomach and kind of broke down some functions. So I just felt like it was my job to go and see what alternative measures we could take, what lifestyle changes we can make, what I could study because I'm a person that researches things that could help him reverse some of these effects and kind of slow down that aging process of his body.

Speaker 1: 4:54

Wow, oh, that's a lot. You know, I know you just made it sound good real quick, but it was a mouthful. But when I think about, you know medicine and of course you know as we talk about holistic healing, you know you're taking an approach different than most people when it comes to healing or ways that you feel like you know you can get pain relief or any type of mental relief, emotional relief, like most people do go out for the medicine and for me, as a person, have had personal experience behind it. I just know what you're talking about. You know I acquired my spinal cord injury and I remember just being on 14 medications. I had a medic medication for everything that now, at least again personally, food has become the way to help me and you know outdoors and activity has become the way to actually be more of an effective healer than the medicine that I was taking.

Speaker 1: 6:01

I wrote a blog years ago that was like it wasn't depression, it was the medicine, and I think a lot of people don't understand that. But when you look at my life now, you see somebody living free and that's because I'm not on any medicine. And if I had, if I was on medicine, I definitely know that I wouldn't be driven and motivated and clear minded as I am today. You know, before we get more into like the in depth work that you're doing, I think it's important to kind of share a little bit of like your personal background. You know, how did you come up to become an artist? How did you really get invested? I mean, I know, like the holistic human went into like the process of you know being married and your husband being in a field player, but outside of that, like that upbringing, like that story of why is it so important for you to really be who you are, like that identity, where did this identity come from?

Speaker 3: 6:55

So, hmm, first that was a little double whammy.

Speaker 3: 7:00

So I'll first say I'm from Chicago inner city, southside project.

Speaker 3: 7:07

Okay, so I don't come from this at all, and that was another motivating factor. To be available in this way for people that look like us is because, even when I was going out and researching these things for my husband just not too long ago, there's not like this one place that provides what we provide, or even provide space for people that looks like that look like us, to venture into the alternative Right. But at the same time, I can always feel, I have always felt like I was just a different person that can see things and feel things, and like I've always been the type of person that people come up to and in 10 minutes, I know your life story and I'm able to absorb that energy and I'm able to be sensitive to different things that people are going through, you know, and be there for them. So it I felt like there was always a healer inside of me, even though I didn't have the tools or the knowledge to understand what it was then and apply it earlier than I did.

Speaker 1: 8:19

Oh, that's good. I think you know it's more and more people starting to learn is it's never outside of you, has always been inside of you, you've always been a healer, and you know. So, thinking about, like even growing up and I love what you said like you know, this identity that you have now wasn't something that you know it was going to happen where you came from or have been a thought process. Of course, we hear more and more about the lack of representation and things, but you know the lack of representation and actually holistic killing, the amount of trauma that black communities face right. So, like, thinking about that, because I think you know your background put emphasis on why you understood the importance of your work and so, with your work and making sure that you know black and brown faces are able to see this and learn about it, like, what steps do you take to really get this knowledge out to the communities that didn't know about something that has existed for hundreds of thousands of years?

Speaker 3: 9:27

Yeah, I mean, besides the the normal social media and posting things, they kind of resonate with people on a spiritual level. What we've been doing here for the past couple years is going into the community by way of organizations that are already infiltrated into the community, the inner city, the under represented people and creating these partnerships where we're the trusted wellness people for those organizations. So, for instance, right now we have a partnership with Uzazi Village where we're acting as the mental health expansion wellness department for the women that they have coming in pre and post-medal.

Speaker 1: 10:23

Oh I like that, I like that because, yeah, it's so important to get involved in the community outside of just setting up some type of platform or business and saying, hey, come and adore, right. So I think, like that approach is very important because you wanna reach people organically and not make them feel forced to come in. At least I know that's how I do. It is how do I try to educate you or come into places where people are serving and I can serve you freely with this knowledge and allow you to actually come and be authentic when you come in to be served through our work.

Speaker 3: 11:07

Authenticity, natural, providing space for these people. I mean, we toyed with the idea early on that we would come over to Uzazi Village, kind of in their neighborhood, but then you think about it, and when do black women feel like they should be in these types of spaces? So no, bring them over here, let them see what it feels like to be in this type of space and be nurtured and cared for the way that they probably didn't think they could ever be.

Speaker 1: 11:44

I love that. I think it's not emphasized enough on the resources that are out there, but the mental capacity of how these communities, these people with black and brown community, coming from black and brown communities, feel about going into spaces where they weren't welcome or that they feel uncomfortable, and what type of mental and emotional health like trauma does that create? You know, and I always tell people that it's never been an issue of what's been out there, it's the lack of access to it and a lack of understanding. So when you do go into a space, sometimes people's perception of you is what you are introduced to. It's not even the service that's provided within a space. It's already how they viewed you, that you feel right, like in LA. For me, it's like you can feel some energy quick, and once you do that, it creates a level of distrust. And I think that when you think about the black communities and why your work is probably even more important, it's because there's such a distrust when it comes to pharma and it comes to, like, the medical side of things and we're learning more and more about it. We're learning more and more about what you know black women go through when it comes to you know the medical side, as well as black men and even, like for myself, black and disabled individuals, like there's such a level, right. So you go back into your work, you go back into the practice of holistic healing and that's kind of what I'm learning about now, right, just for anybody to know, we joke about this before we got on a call, but I went all the way to LA to heal. I went all the way to LA to really find or gain the knowledge of the things that you know, ms Mays and her husband has actually created in Kansas City and we talked to, like, you know, why did I go all the way to LA? And for me, I guess my answer to that was that I feel more free out here.

Speaker 1: 13:49

As a black man coming from Kansas City, learning about healing is hard when there's so many people within that space that haven't healed, and so, like for me, I wanted to bring my full, complete self. That carries a level of empathy and understanding and I think, like if I had the opportunity to just get out somewhere to breathe. That's just what I did, and now it's like, now that I understand it, now it's like, oh man, when I get back home, this is a space and a stable that you know I will feel comfortable. I have felt comfortable at, but with the understanding that I've gained out here. Especially LA is definitely more into holistic things.

Speaker 1: 14:27

I feel like you see people just meditating when you get to the beaches. It's just random, but it's a beautiful thing to see because you know that even your practice I can become to understand more. Like certain places don't do it as much, right Like, and so let's talk about that real quick. Has it been a struggle or a challenge to really connect to certain communities because of the lack of knowledge and education that's within Kansas City itself? On holistic healing?

Speaker 3: 14:56

Absolutely mid-west period. We've been doing this six and a half years, almost seven years, and we're still in the position where we have to educate as well as sell.

Speaker 3: 15:09

You need this and this is how much it costs, so it's like it's a little hard to be in a position where you're educating people at the same time, but I feel like COVID helped open people's minds to the idea of taking care of themselves. That are, if nothing else, and I also feel like COVID kind of opened up this door for us, for people to look at us and say, oh, they are different and this is why they're different and this is why I need them. So it actually helped us, because people were looking for and not just their physical bodies, but their minds too, to heal.

Speaker 1: 15:54

You know, covid did a lot for, I think, especially for the Black and Brown communities, because I mean, in that same timeframe it was the George Floyd situation. So I think we dealt with the trauma and the grief of seeing something on TV that way and then the doors shut on everybody in a sense like right after that, and you had to sit at home and have to deal with it. You had to sit at home and have to deal with the views of America and other places around the world of how they felt about the situation, good or bad. You had to literally talk to your children and your family and have those conversations, because everybody was at home every day and then we got pulled into a lot of different spaces to have these uncomfortable conversations. So now the world can understand what we go through, right. So I think that it did make a significant impact for all of us because we went through so much. So I think we started to seek that level of healing and start to find it. So I do feel like you guys grew I know that from my work with disabled, but not really.

Speaker 1: 16:57

I think I just became more understanding to what I wanted to do too during the pandemic and seeing how much, even on the healing side, people with disabilities was to me, I felt like was the ones that really had to deal with a lot of barriers, couldn't go to the gym because people thought we wasn't healthy enough. And I remember starting and creating my garage gym because I'm like, oh, but I'm healthy. So you're telling me that I don't think that I'm healthy enough due to how you feel, and so doing that made me start to educate people more, talk about more mental health, because I don't think I understood how much my mental health was being bothered and conflicted by what was happening. And then having a platform and being a voice for communities, right Like, and then you have your own healing to do, you have your own situations to do. So I think it just it did something for us all. So I'm very pleased to hear that it actually helped you guys grow.

Speaker 1: 18:01

And it's crazy to think that the Midwest has such a lack of understanding to healing when you can look at that straight line and see that we are the most violent, from St Louis to Kansas City to Chicago, right Like all of these places where we're literally on this list of violent cities and we lack healing and knowledge to what that looks like.

Speaker 1: 18:27

And it's just, it's the state of mind, right, like everybody always talk about a certain state of mind and I always say, like it's definitely in the Midwest, it's a state of mind it doesn't matter from here or St Louis or Chicago, it's a state of mind that we all carry. And so now let's shift a little bit and go right into some of your work. Outside you have the education piece, you guys have the physical healing piece, and so what are things that kind of go under? That Like when you bring people in and they're just sore and dealing with pain, like what are some of the ways that you try to serve them? That's kind of different than what they would go to if they went to like the doctor or therapy, in a sense.

Speaker 3: 19:08

You know what Our cryotherapy chamber is, that number one piece. If somebody comes in and they have pain, information, or even if they can't sleep at night or get headaches, the cryotherapy chamber is that instant gratification, like you only could feel it some different than when you walked in. And so when you feel something different, just know we got you.

Speaker 1: 19:34

After that, I love that you know what, but that's the big buzzword out there for you guys. I think anytime I hear someone or mention that's the first thing they bring up. You know and so like, what are the overall benefits or some of the benefits that you could just share so people can understand what that is and maybe what's the process of it Like? Because you know cryo like there, but no one knows it. Isn't it like cold chamber?

Speaker 3: 20:05

It's a cold chamber, it's down to negative 154 degrees and people are always like, what? Like I can go in there. It's like it's such a short amount of time three minutes that yeah, you can go in there. But the process that happens is, once you go in there, your body tries to keep you warm, naturally, so it automatically pulls all of your blood to the core of your body and speeds up your metabolism. So your metabolism is speeding up to try to keep you warm.

Speaker 3: 20:37

And Right at that two minute two and a half minute mark, you do reach where your body shifted into hypothermia. But that's when the magic happens, right. So you're shifting into into hypothermia, but you're only in there in 30 seconds, a minute or whatever, and then you come out. So when you come out, the blood that went to your core we disperses throughout your whole body. So it's like a recalibration, like a reset. You get blood flow in places you probably never had or haven't had it in a really long time Brain, head included, and so it just awakens all of the sense, the systems, and the central nervous system releases toxins inflammation, pain, headaches. You burn calories because that metabolism shot up. So 800 calories, it's like the icing on a cake. So we tell people at the end, still mulling it over whether they want to get in there. We like 800 calories. They're like yeah.

Speaker 3: 21:52

Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what gets a lot of people. They're like, yeah, yeah that's good to know.

Speaker 1: 22:03

Like, I highly recommend anybody that wants you know To heal and go through this process.

Speaker 2: 22:09

I don't want to say like just going into burn 800 calories, but that's what I wanted to say. That's what I wanted to say.

Speaker 1: 22:15

Come on in in a minute and it was 800.

Speaker 3: 22:18

That's right.

Speaker 1: 22:21

So I like that because I think you know, at least for me, I always have an issue with blood flow and things, and so to learn that process see, that's that education piece and that's that piece that a lot of people don't understand that your body needs to reset and there's certain things and methods to kind of help amplify that.

Speaker 1: 22:43

I share experience. I was in Canada last October and I went to a place called the Scandinavis spot and it was a no technology zone, so put your phone up, like it, and we were filming something. So of course I got to have my phone but they were like like they had to open up in 30 minutes and like, when that 30 minutes hit, you can't have nothing. We don't care who you are, what you're doing, like it's private and I didn't understand it. So one of the processes they put me through was to get into a hot tub and then they did a cold, cold plunge and of course, like you know, I have to spine the court injury, so I can't feel so much below my waist, but I did feel the overall level of like my breath was kind of being renewed, like my body had felt like replenished in a lot of ways and I might've been in that cold water a little longer because they helped me get out of there.

Speaker 2: 23:46

I feel bad for the guy who had on shorts that had to go in there. Just act like it wasn't cold.

Speaker 1: 23:51

Cause, I don't know, but it was, you know, not so much of like the same thing, but I understand the similarity because that was a practice that they focused on out there was to be able to get into one place and get your body familiar with this and then jumping into something different and then having your body kind of adjust and adapt to that. That's the entryway. You got to get in there, you got to do the cry it's gonna change your life. And then so have you found, when people do that and they get that overall, that instant gratification as a sense right, Like, are they more willing to explore other things that you guys provide at that point?

Speaker 3: 24:33

Yeah, it's like an awakening, because even if they had doubts about anything when they came in there, we get them into that chamber at negative 154 and they make it out alive and they feel better for it than they're listening right. So that's why we start most people off and it does so much you can. If you come in there and say, no, I ain't on the wrong with me, you still gonna feel better when you get out of the crowd there, jenner still. So it's the first thing that we recommend when people are introduced to what we do. Okay, okay.

Speaker 1: 25:18

So all right. So now we take away a little bit, let's emphasize and say that's for the pain side, right, like an entry way to be awakened to the other thing. So, like right now I'm going through yoga and meditation practices out here, but I'm working more on breath work and it's a little bit different than the actual, like physical aspect, because I'm not going into like positions and things that we're literally just working on the breath and ways that I can breathe differently. Kind of talk about more of now the mental and emotional side of like the work that you do and the practices, because, yeah, you can get into this tank, right, and it awakens you and it gives you that clarity.

Speaker 1: 26:04

But now that you have this thought process of healing, you might find a way to kind of I don't know, like for me, I really have my trauma at times and I go through a lot in a day, and so what is the practices that you guys kind of teach when it comes to like that mental health, how to find that everyday clarity? And then, the same way is emotional, because I see, like the crystal therapy on here, like I know that you guys do more organic type of supplements and things when it comes to different areas but mental health, like where is that at with the lay list center and your work, and like what are some of the programs or things that you do around that?

Speaker 3: 26:47

Yeah, so the way that I implement sort of mental health and those things is through spirituality and then tapping into what did our ancestors do? How do they connect these things? How does the physical manifestation of an imbalance or pain even connect to a childhood thing that has somehow created this blockage in a certain body part that manifested now into something that you physically feel right? So there are I'm not sure if you're familiar with, like the chakra system. That's the easiest way I can connect. Okay, so root chakra very basic one is connected to and my practice is connected to fear, those first couple years of life and the experiences that you had during that time. So, and then they will manifest into things like elimination issues. So people who have issues with we're gonna get real on here constipation, things like that can connect that to the root.

Speaker 3: 28:10

And I mean it's the energy center, it's the same area and probably something fearful that happened, even if it was ungroundedness. They moved all the time. Mom or dad was an alcoholic and said they stayed in fear all the time as a child and then moving up. The sacral is connected to creativity, but it's also the women's reproductive system. The physical manifestation of an imbalance would be something like fibroid issues that a lot of women go through but can be connected energetically to sexual assault, and in energy session with me we're gonna talk about some of those things. Sometimes people open up, sometimes they don't. Sometimes you can fill the energy in different centers and work through blockages that way and then later they open up. But it's all about trying to connect that physical imbalance and chronic condition with something that probably was a blockage from age three.

Speaker 1: 29:12

Oh, that was so good. It's allowing people to think sometimes, at least for me, that's what I got from that. It's like I could be physically feeling some type of pain right now and the root of it could be something that I've blocked out from my past but still is there. Wow, ooh, you know, they say a lot of things bear weight, right, and sometimes people are out here every day with a lot of weight heavy on them, like tearing them down because they haven't found a way to release and they're imbalanced and oh, that is so I like. So I'm gonna kind of go back a little bit.

Speaker 1: 29:58

When you mentioned, like, do what your ancestors did, right, and so I had a conversation last week and this is my transparency, because we were talking about history and I had to be honest and say that I don't know mine, right, and so, as we were talking about ancestors and where did I come from, what's my lineage, and I mean it definitely brought me into a place of depression for a second. I did feel that overwhelmed because I mean, for probably a lot of black people we don't know so much outside of, like our parents' parents, and if that's who we were able to meet, and if you're lucky, you might know a little bit more, but for me I just didn't have that, and so I've been going through some things to set intentions on learning more and kind of opening up that door for my ancestors to speak to me so that I can, because when I look at my features, there's so much that I see, but that's not what's written down for me. And when I think about my life and I think about the things that I've been able to overcome and do, like that, just like you said earlier, like it's in me, right. And so if this is in me, that it has to be something that I'm tied to. And I've learned that when we understand our history and we understand where our ancestors come from, we can also start to figure out that trauma that we've probably been holding on, especially if it comes from generations, right.

Speaker 1: 31:33

And so I just wanted to put some just emphasize on that because, yeah, like, do what your ancestors do, and if you don't know what they did, it's probably time to start to figure out who they were and go through some practices to learn that, because once you start to learn your history, you can also find more clarity into, like, your path and your passion and what you're destined to do. So do you know your ancestors? Have you done the practice to like go that far, or at least start to understand that? Or were you already kind of brought into having those ties Like just curious eggs?

Speaker 3: 32:14

No, I didn't have those ties. You know what. I just feel connection, like I said, like it's always been in me. Once I had the tools to listen, I just draw to what feels right and then I'm a little bit of a conspiracy theorist. But so I don't want to get him my DNA. I want to get him my DNA Like I was like. I was like what do you think?

Speaker 2: 32:39

one I love that.

Speaker 3: 32:46

I'm a big one, no, but I just feel close to the practices that I do and I allow, I think, for ancestors to speak through me in what I do, and that's to say I mean because for them it was, you know, there was no labeling anything, it was just get up and do what we are used to doing, and so I just feel like I get up and I do the things that they did.

Speaker 1: 33:19

Yeah, yeah, no, I feel the same way. It definitely comes to my mind that my routine and the way that I carry myself every day is the way that was like a routine for people before me, the generations before me, you know, and I believe that. So we have so many people that have watched this and I think it's just important. As we talk about these things and we talk about healing, a lot of people are like you know. Most people do get healing, most people can go to therapy, but then you think about our communities we come from and that's not true. And if you don't know so much of your history and what you do realize is that the generation is probably right, before you didn't go through healing the way that you're trying to seek it now, you know, and so we are looking at those individuals that actually help us probably don't get a lot of service. Like I always say, like I'm always, I believe that I'm helping my mom and my dad actually find a better way of healing, letting things go, processing and even finding their passions at this age of life. I always talk about the light that I saw in my grandmother's eyes as I started to really become who I'm supposed to be and that even was something that really spoke to me of, like man. All right, yeah, it was that energy. I feel energy, I'm tied to things and, as you mentioned, like if ancestors speaking to you, I think that's, yeah, I think that's why I live life the way I do.

Speaker 1: 34:56

I'm in LA. I learned in my journey of finding ancestry that I had history in LA. My grandparents were out in LA. I learned that maybe about a year ago, and so I always wondered why I was drawn here once I came out here in 2016. And so that has literally had me intrigued here to figure out what roots do I have here?

Speaker 1: 35:18

Because I do find peace here, and that's just rare, coming from Kansas City and not really ever living somewhere else. Right, like, I was a product of my environment for a long time and now I'm in an environment that I feel like I belong in or that I find some peace here, and why? Right, so that's good, and I love that. We had that talk about that. So now, emotional health, right, like, of course, we have all of these things. And maybe speaking more emphasizing on women too I know that you do a lot of work with women and trying to educate. When it comes to the feminine side, I have a friend that kind of did some practices with like steam or something. I don't know what that whole practice was.

Speaker 3: 36:01

Only steam. I think you knew the word, yeah.

Speaker 2: 36:09

I try to steer away from things I don't have a lot of knowledge about. You know, like it was interesting, but I'm like, oh, you did what with what. And then it came with a little egg, like I don't know, like, but I don't know.

Speaker 1: 36:24

Like so what is that? Is that more of like a cleansing practice that you guys do when it comes to women? I think that a lot of. If there's women watching this, I think it's important for them to hear that part. At least, for me, I thought it was important.

Speaker 3: 36:38

Yeah, we've been doing it from the start too, ever since we opened, doing those Yoni's themes, and I think that, for women, we're a lot disconnected from, like, true sexuality and like, of course, we do the acts of sex and we procreate in all of those things. But, like, what does creating mean? And how do you connect to the sacral energy center and how do you feel your divine feminism? And through that practice which, again, our ancestors did for multiple reasons, some of which was healing after having a baby or even tightening, and then the other one is fertility. So we have all these different herb blends that help you to connect through, I feel like, through nature, the herbs, they kind of take care of you, the plants take care of you, so they're choosing. Like, which experience do I want? But all in all, it's connecting to sacred feminism, knowing that you're doing something for yourself in that way and doing the practices that our ancestors did for many, many years ago. It's reconnecting in that way.

Speaker 1: 37:56

That's good. I just you know, if we talk about like all the work that you guys do, cause it is a holistic I don't want to get it wrong but like it's definitely a center around a lot of different holistic practices and just, yeah, I want people to know that it's not just about going in and getting a cryo, getting in a cryo tank. If you're a woman and you know you have certain things that are making you distant or even want to learn more about yourself, this is a place that you can go and I just learned that from a friend that went there and their excitement of what they got from it and their journey of their own healing. So I think that, yeah, women new women need to know that it's a service for everybody, especially when it gets to that level, cause you don't have a lot of people that talk about that.

Speaker 1: 38:50

We normally just hear about the disconnect when it comes to fertility and, like you said, like sexual abuse or something like. You always hear about those things, but you never hear about someone taking ownership back into that. And what does that practice looks like? And you know this is what out of the shadows is is that most people are going to the wrong person to be served in the right way. And there are, you know, places like the Layla Center and individuals like Ms Mays right here that are literally educating you, not just giving you something, but educating you on a way to do this you know forever and actually take care of yourself more. So, when it comes to, like you know, that education piece, what is the most important thing that you want people to take away?

Speaker 3: 39:35

I think it's that you can really use nature to take care of yourself, to reverse some effects of medications, of physical manifestation, of blockages, and that it's a full body connection thing. It's not like I have pain in my elbow so I'm going to the elbow doctor. It's what's going on in my whole body, you know at the same time, and what's going on in my mind and what am I consuming on a nutritional level, on an energetic level, on a mental level, like what people are around, what am I watching, what am I listening to all of the things? So it's about connecting back to nature, getting your feet on the ground and understanding that your whole body needs that full holistic Health journey.

Speaker 1: 40:37

No, I like that. I like that Nature, nature. I think a lot of people stray away from understanding that the things that we need most, things that we can get in, the value that we can get from life, is literally going outside your door, you know, soaking up sun, getting into fresh water if you can, grounding yourself in the ground and the soil, getting your feet just to touch the grass, like the connections, learning more about the foods, allowing you know how food can become medicine, what foods can help with inflammation. I know if anyone's watched some of these episodes, I say with tea. I didn't start drinking tea till maybe last July, on a consistent basis. At first it was just coffee and I wasn't even a coffee fan until I got into like entrepreneurship, right. But then it was like, oh, I get coffee, coffee. And then after a while I was like but I don't have the energy, or maybe my body is dealing with, you know, inflammation and coffee's not going to help that. But there can be a herbal tea that can actually give me some benefits. You know, how can I be more natural with my energy? Well, it's probably going to come from something that's more natural, you know, and so being able to emphasize that. You know, nature can really cure us. All is important.

Speaker 1: 41:55

And I went when I was in Canada, like I got to meet some of the first nations out there and they took me in a forest, we did a forest walk and they literally taught me all the different plants and trees that they create everything, and that was the way that they did healing from plants, like lichen and like all of it was like. And then I learned about the cedar tree and like all the things that were made out of that. Like I learned. It was just so many things that I learned that, you know, frankly, I felt like I should just have a garden with all of these things around me so that I could be like, oh, this is going to help with wounds, oh, this is going to help with this, oh, this is going to help with that.

Speaker 1: 42:32

Because what I found is some of the products that we get in medicine have the natural things in it, additionally with chemicals. Right, like I've learned that too. Like people know what's going to actually cure you, but they add some things on top of it to make sure that you come back Right, like, and so, before we even like in everything, it's like that part, right, like so that part of plants and medicine and nature and what it does. Could you provide people with some practices when it comes to like just some everyday practices you can do? That can help you with overall wellness.

Speaker 3: 43:13

Definitely get now in grounding. I used to when I was going through little issues, emotional issues, I literally would lay back against the tree for hours at a time, connecting with every part of your body, doing a body scan, especially in nature too, where if your body is on the ground, the ground will soak that negativity or pain or anything out of you, right? So if you're scanning your body, checking in every step of the way head, your eyes, your throat, your heart, your stomach and you're doing this body scan and you're making note of what you feel and being present in that moment, while connecting to like whatever it is and acknowledging it, while in nature allowing the elements to help heal you and take away some of those things, it's a really, really enlightening experience and it's something that everybody can do just right out in your backyard. So learning what native medicinal plants grow right in your backyard, in the cracks of the street, on a downtown busy road, there could be some medicine.

Speaker 3: 44:44

So learning what's native and what you can go and, year after year after year, find in your backyard to take care of you. I have a story. So we had a property in Leigh Summit where there was all these different native plants on the property. But one year my husband broke his foot and we had Arnica came out of nowhere. Arnica came and I know it was out of nowhere because it was right outside the front door. I walked past it for years and one year Arnica grew in our front yard.

Speaker 3: 45:29

Wow and so they'll find you too.

Speaker 1: 45:33

There you go, there you go, they'll find you too. That's how much we should be connected with this earth, because it's definitely rooted in everything. It's its own ecosystem, it has its own nervous system, like it's everything, and once you get connected to it, it brings everything to you.

Speaker 3: 45:57

You are part of it. A human and a plant has the same cellular structure. That's why it can heal you like it does. That's why it takes care of you like it does. It's a part of you.

Speaker 1: 46:08

It's not separate from you that's a word that to me is healing in itself and again, the knowledge to understand.

Speaker 1: 46:18

And so, first of all, you know we have a few more minutes, but I appreciate you like sharing all of this knowledge because it helps me even know that there's something in my backyard that I can go and be a part of and it's serving me the same way as I came out here to get served. Of course, I want people to know how they can find you, how they can learn more about your services. But kind of shifting into just the supplement, the brand that you have also created, I kind of just wanted you to share a little bit about that, because, of course, we're going through all these other practices, but you know, I figured that you guys have found a way to get these natural herbs into some type of level of supplements to provide. I'll let you talk about it, but that's what I want, like let's share a little bit about that. And why do you feel that that's important and what's the passion behind that? To get it out more.

Speaker 3: 47:14

So I'll first say that, again, covid forced some things upon us. Now, while I'm a trained herbalist, I've been making medicine. We've always incorporated it into our spa treatments, our wellness treatments at the center. We didn't have a real line until COVID hit and we couldn't touch anybody anymore. We made five products around that time and people will come and pick up their orders and we helped a lot of people find COVID. So it grew from five products to about 85 products in three years Wow.

Speaker 3: 48:01

But the basis of it all is really nutrient dense, medicinal herbs, supplements completely clean and skincare. We launched skincare last year and it's all about. I mean, the skin is the largest organ on the body, so if you're going to put something on it, make sure you're still lending to that healing journey. We have teas. We have one of our best sellers people really love is our hot chocolate and we call it Seven Kings because it's seven mushrooms, and the African chocolate and it's sweetened with a low glycemic sweetener called Jaggery that even diabetic skin take and it's good. Okay, we just keep evolving, adding things to our T-bar menu. We're doing food and it's all herb infused and it's always a benefit to it. It's always nutrient dense and just helping people take some of the bad out of there every day.

Speaker 1: 49:07

Oh, I love that. Oh, all right.

Speaker 3: 49:10

I know which. I need to send you some tea since you're gonna die. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 49:15

No, I need it, I need it all. We're gonna definitely kind of look at the whole menu and check it out.

Speaker 1: 49:20

Yeah, so you know how can people find you. You know when it comes to the Layla Center, as well as the supplement brand, and then are there anything that you would like to leave people with as well? So we'll start with where they can find you.

Speaker 3: 49:36

So our wellness center and you know the full scope brand umbrella is the Layla Center and we're the Layla Center on Instagram and Facebook and that's our website, laya Center. And then our supplement and skincare company is urbanbrandcom. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook as well.

Speaker 1: 49:59

Urban. You know what I love it, it's urban.

Speaker 3: 50:04

I mean, I come from, I love it. It's urban, but it's spelled H-E-R-B-A-N, so urban.

Speaker 1: 50:13

Ooh, there you go, All right. So then, what would you want to leave the people you know, any and everybody? What's one thing that you would want them to always know about you? Your story, rather, if it ever becomes hidden in the shadows.

Speaker 3: 50:36

Vision and the will to succeed, the goals all those things. They happen in the mind first. And it doesn't matter where you are in the world, it doesn't matter how you came up. I came into projects. We were ducking bullets every single day. We didn't even run in the house anymore. It was just part of life, right. But I've always been this sort of I guess you can say dreamer. So if you can dream it and you can see it in your head, that's where it starts and it's attainable Any and everything.

Speaker 1: 51:10

Oh, I love it. I love it. Yes, if you can believe it, you can achieve it Right. If you believe it's something, it starts up here, you believe it up here and have faith in your own vision, same way as Ms Mays and her husband has done with the Layla Center and their work with just really empowering these unrepresented communities that lack the knowledge of how they can organically heal themselves and become a better version of themselves, actually become who they already are inside.

Speaker 3: 51:43

There you go. Thank you, just a little bit.

Speaker 1: 51:51

Just a little bit. So, no, thank you for sharing this time and allowing everyone to know your story and your passion behind your work, and I'm just looking forward to building a better relationship with you guys. Myself and you know learning and educating, because we can all learn every day.

Speaker 3: 52:10

So thank you.

Speaker 1: 52:12

No problem. And as we conclude another inspiring episode, I want to remind you that success isn't just about the spotlight. It's also about the shadows. It's about the struggles we conquer, the unseen battles we fight and the silent victories we claim. I'm Wesley Hamilton and you've been listening to Out of the Shadows, where we illuminate the stories often left untold. Join me next week as I venture back into the shadows and bring another amazing individual into the light. Until then, remember, no story is too small to inspire. Keep fighting, Keep winning and stay out of the shadows.