At 26, Maya radiates enthusiasm from every joyous cell in her body. She has presence, especially in the heels she favors, and her beautiful body is curvaceous—none of your underfed post-adolescent model going on here. A buoyant crop of curls (sometimes blonde, currently brunette) frames her enormous light eyes and peachy cheeks. Her rosy lips curve upward in a perpetual smile. She wears minimal makeup; a face like hers needs no artificial enhancement. A born and raised New Yorker now based in L.A., she has a lightness of spirit that makes the urban black outfits she inhabits as cheerful as a pink polka-dotted tutu. I’ve known Maya, the daughter of a close friend, her entire life. She was an ebullient, physical kid, if a bit accident-prone, what with all her bouncing up and down on sofas and climbing on jungle gyms. It’s because of my love for this extraordinarily genuine woman that I’ve decided to explore what has become her livelihood, teaching people how to OM. Believe me, I had my doubts.