About your guide
Hello, I'm Maria Mayes,
Founder of Take 5, LLC — a Fresno-based wellness company dedicated to stress management, mindfulness, and workplace well-being. As a Chopra-Certified Well-Being Coach, Meditation & Yoga Teacher, and Breath Coach, I help busy professionals take their power back from anxiety.
My story
With over two decades leading high-performing teams in the fast-paced tech industry, I know firsthand the toll of back-to-back meetings, constant deadlines, and the pressure to stay "on" — all while juggling caregiving for both children and aging parents.
Like so many, I coped by numbing with food, wine, and overworking, until burnout forced me to reevaluate everything.
Real Life Experience
My journey
My journey back to inner peace began with small, intentional pauses. I discovered that just five mindful minutes could shift my attitude, energy, and anxiety — and over time, transform my life. Breathwork, meditation, yoga, and intentionality became steady practices that anchored me in peace and helped me find freedom from the grip of generalized anxiety disorder.
That’s why I started Take 5: to give individuals, teams, and organizations practical tools to regulate the nervous system, process emotions, and build resilience.
​
I first began sharing these practices informally with the teams I led back in 2017. After going through my second layoff in 2020 — an upheaval so many people are navigating right now — I knew it was time to fully step into this work and founded Take 5.
I know how profoundly life’s disruptions can affect us, and I’m driven to help people develop the resilience and unshakeable inner peace that keep them steady, no matter what challenges arise.
My Approach
My approach weaves together corporate acumen, clinical experience, ancient wisdom, and intuitive insight.
Whether I’m leading a mindful tasting, teaching a micro-practice for stress relief, or designing a custom workplace wellness program, my mission is simple:
My Mission
To help people find their calm, clear center so they can release fear, live from presence, and light the way for others.
From Self-Medicating to Meditating
My Wine Story
A few weeks into my first job out of college working for a Fortune 500 company, I quickly learned that while the contract got signed at the conference table, the deal really got done at the cocktail table. That’s where I first fell in love with wine.
​
As life grew more complicated—with workplace trauma, relationship chaos, and caretaking demands— what started as innocent social lubricant evolved into numbing my then-undiagnosed anxiety. Lots of wine.
​
Fast forward a few decades, a few losses, and a few spiritual breakthroughs later, and after a necessary breakup with wine, I came back to it with mindful adoration and presence. I developed the Take 5 Mindful Tasting process by blending my experience educating guests in a boutique winery tasting room with my Ayurvedic training, and self-awareness cultivated through my daily meditation practices.
​
The liberation I felt—to enjoy something I love like wine with intention instead of unconscious numbing—was so profound, I knew I had to share it. That’s why I created the Chakras & Chardonnay podcast and offer Mindful Tasting Experiences. I love crafting unique wine and food pairings using intuition and fresh whole foods, herbs, and edible flowers from my garden.
​
​This work isn’t just about wine. It’s about reclaiming joy, tuning into your senses, and regulating your nervous system—skills that ripple into how we show up at work and in life. By bringing mindfulness into everyday pleasures, we cultivate presence, reduce stress, and create more meaningful connections, both around the table and in the boardroom.
Collaborative Team of Experts
I personally lead most of the instruction, drawing on my experience as a meditation and yoga teacher, coach, and corporate wellness educator.
I also collaborate with a trusted team of experts to bring specialized and diverse, high-quality classes and experiences to your organization.
