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The Coba Crystals Story

Hi. I’m Katy May.

 


And I’m obsessed with morning routines.
Well, in my case, the kinds of morning routines that can stretch out till 4pm, and then turn into evening routines! So let's just call them daily practices. Those little habits and tools that make each day a better one, no matter the starting point. And I'm also fascinated by how things are made.

 

I feel like my life came together when these two passions found each other: Practice + Process

 I developed my daily practice after a wicked case of burnout in the startup world in NYC. I'd done the things I felt like I was expected to do. I followed my father and grandfather into running nonprofit organizations, got an MBA, and was finally working at what looked like the perfect job on paper: A social impact company where my values totally aligned with the mission of the company!

 

I was full of 'Purpose!'

 

But, behind the scenes, I was also caring for an aging family member in my early mornings and late nights, I wasn't creating things anymore, and I wasn't happy...and realized one day I realized that I'd parked my own dreams, and my health, at the bottom of my priority list.
So I dismantled that big city life and rebuilt it, one building block at a time. This included living in a tent in the Costa Rican jungle for 3 weeks, studying with teachers and masters of healing arts, traveling through Central and South America, and finally moving to Portland, Oregon in December 2019.

 

The foundation to my life and health is now my daily practice.

 

I use breathwork practices, meditation, journaling and yoga.
Sometimes I'll add in a quick watercolor sketch or a kundalini set, and since I stopped drinking coffee, there is always a cup of good cacao to start my day!
As I started my journey, I was so anxious over the fact that my "morning practice" stretched out until 4pm! (Don’t worry, it’s a lot shorter now.) As I sat there one morning, trying to calm my nervous mind and regain a semblance of the peace I felt in a meditation once years ago, I looked at the tools in front me:
    • I saw a cup of fairtrade, shade-grown, single-origin coffee from a farmer's cooperative.
    • I saw a 100% post-consumer recycled journal.
    • And then I saw my crystals.  

 And I wondered:

Where exactly are these beauties from? And what was their journey from the earth to my morning practice? 

 
I knew they grew somehow and that they were mined, that was it. And all I knew about the mining industry was that it was rife with environmental and human rights violations. Was child labor, economic slavery and environmental pollution a part of my crystals' paths too?

 So I started asking. And researching. And eventually visiting the mines themselves. Thankfully, there are loads of great miners and mines and sources around the world. Ones with earth repatriation programs that turn the soil moved back into beautiful areas planted with native flora. Ones that pay fair wages and have safe working conditions. Miners who are vastly knowledgeable about crystals and truly love what they do, and will happily regale you with stories of amazing things they've uncovered. I'd love to take you on my journey to meet them. You can see a a few of their stories on our Partners page here.

 

Sourcing crystals and leading meditations is a far cry from what I thought I’d be doing when I came out of Oxford business school a few years ago! But I’m so delighted to share with you these crystals, the miners' stories and the beautiful meditation practices I’ve found so far.
 
I hope one of these brings you a moment of peace and joy in your world today.
 
With love,
Katy May
Check out Resources We Love here

 

 

Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that the Coba Crystals Studio is on stolen land that was traditionally stewarded by the Molalla people, who are today part of the Warm Springs and the Grand Ronde nations. Molalla has been interpreted as, "People of the Berry," which reflects the bountiful abundance of this land and the relationship the Molalla have with the huckleberry, blackberry, salmonberry, salal berry, watermelon berry, thimbleberry that grow here. In this vast and old second-growth forest, there are trees on this land that are estimated to be at least 500 years old. It is a gift to learn the intimacies of life directly from them.
We recognize and honor the Molalla and the many other Indigenous communities in our region today, extend our deepest gratitude to those who have stewarded this land, and offer our respect to their elders past, present and future.