Today we’d like to introduce you to Naima Ayo.
Naima, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
There comes a time when you get tired of being tired. You get tired of being a victim, of sharing trauma, of hiding behind fears. I started Ritual+Vibe at a time when I needed it most. I combined everything I knew about caring for the mind, body, & spirit and began creating products that I knew worked to uplift, heal, and support those areas.
I grew up practicing a traditional African religion, and always had an affinity with one of the deities in this religion named Oshun. So, I created my first spiritual self-care product in ode to Oshun – a ritual kit called OSHUNITA that helps promote self-love and appreciation. Because Oshun is the goddess of abundance, love, and self-admiration, the ritual is formulated with ingredients that tap into & honor our inner-Oshun that we often abandon because we’ve deemed ourselves unworthy due to someone else’s dictation.
After OSHUNITA, I began sharing more of the plant-based foods I was cooking on social media. Intentionally prepared food is just as spiritual as prayer. Intentionally prepared – meaning the herbs, the spices, the ingredients, the work, and the muscle are all working together to lift, heal, and support. I began working on ways to make my favorite foods both delicious and plant-based, and released a cookbook with the support of my awesome & fellow foodlovers on my Instagram page.
Today, I am still creating more mind, body, and spirit experiences that stimulate each of the senses. Whether it’s through hearing and touch like in the OSHUNITA Ritual Kits or through taste, smell, and sight like in my many Plant Based Good Recipes, my mission is to give people the tools they need to lift and heal themselves.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I am a life long learner and student, so even though I am actively teaching, I am still learning. And when you learn, you make mistakes. I think my biggest obstacles have been realizing I don’t have to do it all by myself, whether it’s investing into my own company or juggling multiple important parts of my businesses myself. Asking for support instead of giving up turn’s “challenges” into opportunities.
Challenges are actually how we strengthen our selves, sharpen our intellect, and fight through fear. Financial challenges breeds creativity. Emotional challenges encourage recalibration. Mental challenges spark independent research & study. The road is meant to be coarse – that is how we expand.
Ritual+Vibe – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Ritual+Vibe is a spiritual self-care company that focuses on healing the mind, body, and spirit through the 5 senses. We create a variety of spiritual tools & techniques that people can use in a variety of ways. The nonstop news that ignites emotional unrest in all of us slows down our natural frequencies, leaving us feel stuck, out of place, anxious, fearful, and ready to run.
My approach on stimulating each of the five senses is unique because sensory work helps raise our stunted frequencies. Encouraging these sensory experiences like warm spiritual baths and home-prepared meals helps more people feel at home in their bodies. We all can reclaim our own frequencies again.
Our standout products are the BOOK OF BATHS herbal bath book, OSHUNITA ritual kit & my PLANT TASTE digital cookbook. Newer products like herbal smoke blends, incense blends, seamoss pills, and herbal supplements are growing in popularity as well. Along with that, I also help small businesses that focus on health and wellbeing set up e-commerce websites so they can sell products or services online.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I had plans on creating local, multisensory experiences & gatherings in the East Atlanta area. Due to COVID-19, some of those plans got sent back to the drawing board for re-imagination. Until then, I will keep focusing on sharing ways online people can create beautiful multisensory experiences themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: ritualandvibe.com
- Email: naima@ritualandvibe.com
- Instagram: naimalovesplants
- Twitter: ritualandvibe
- Other: ayonaima.com
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