Instagram phenomenon Koya Webb opens up about how the social media site helped catapult her career on this week’s episode of new series Yoga Girls.
The yoga teacher, who is also a health and fitness coach and vegan nutrition specialist, has more than 350,000 followers on the picture-sharing website, and another 115,000 on Twitter.
On this week’s Yoga Girls — a new Z Living series following the leading yoga instructors on Los Angeles’ Westside — she talks about how it was only when she began using Instagram that things really began to take off for her.
We also get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of her photos being taken, and she reveals how she decided to become a yoga teacher after getting so many life benefits out of it herself.
She says in our exclusive sneak peek below: “I fell in love with yoga — it was my best friend and my healer, and the reason that I teach yoga now is I want to help people find the gift of yoga for themselves.”
One of the main focus points of Yoga Girls is the divide between yoga teachers like Koya, the “Insta-girls” who are big on social media and building brands, and the “traditionalists” — who stay away from it. But for Koya, she knows the path she has chosen is right for her.
Talking about how much social media has helped her, she says: “It wasn’t until Instagram that really catapulted my yoga career. As far as the Instagram yogis…we’re using this beautiful platform of social media to get contracts, big sponsors, big jobs. That’s a really beautiful thing.”
The other “Insta-girls” taking part in the series are Caley Joyner, Elise Joan, Jackie Smyth and Sophie Jaffe. The “traditionalists” are Calvin Corzine, Jesse Schein, and Vytas Baskauskas. There’s also one “wild card” — Sadie Nardini, who has a pioneering app and is currently making a rock album with a yoga message.
Yoga Girls airs Sundays at 8pm ET/PT on Z Living.