Finding Harmony Podcast

What happens when you love a practice but recognize the harm within its structures? In this raw and revelatory conversation, Harmony sits down with Zoe Ward—long-time Ashtanga practitioner, authorized teacher, and the voice behind @unrulyascetic—to explore what it means to dismantle a tradition from within. Zoe spent years immersed in Mysore, studying with lineage teachers, and fully embodying the discipline that defines Ashtanga yoga. But somewhere along the way, she began to see the cracks: the privilege required to practice this way, the power dynamics that mutate devotion into dogma, the loss of autonomy when teachers dictate who you are and what's good for you. This conversation doesn't shy away from the uncomfortable truths—the hierarchy, the gatekeeping, the ways we've normalized abuse while failing to normalize talking about it. But it also offers something essential: a path forward. Zoe shares how she's rebuilding her relationship with practice, helping others reclaim their agency, and creating space for people to trust themselves again. Whether you're a devoted practitioner, a disillusioned teacher, or someone who's quietly stepped away from the mat, this episode offers permission to question, evolve, and find your own unruly path to freedom. Topics Discussed: • The privilege required to practice traditional Ashtanga yoga • Power dynamics and hierarchy in yoga communities • When devotion becomes dogma and disconnection • Confronting harm and accountability in spiritual communities • Reclaiming autonomy and trusting yourself in practice • Finding the intelligence in the system without rigid adherence • Building community that doesn't gatekeep or sort practitioners Lightworker Alignment Call: https://harmonyslater.as.me/quick-clarity Upcoming events: https://harmonyslater.com/events 21 Day Money Magic Manifestation Challenge: https://community-harmonyslater.com/landing/plans/1542444Use PROMO CODE for additional $20 Savings: MANIFESTATIONMAGIC  FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation FIND Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/ JOIN the Finding Harmony Community: https://community-harmonyslater.com/ Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/ Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/ FREE 2 min breathwork practice: https://harmonyslater.com/morning-breathwork-optin Find your Spiritual Entrepreneur Archetype! Take the Quiz! https://harmonyslater.com/spiritual-entrepreneur-archetype-quiz BOOK Your Spinal Energetics Session: https://harmonyslater.as.me/

After more than 25 years of practice and 20 years of teaching, Harmony has found herself in a very different relationship with yoga than the one she started with. In this conversation, she sits down with her friend and co-facilitator, Lindsay Johnson, to talk honestly about what happens when a highly structured, discipline heavy practice stops feeling like home to your body. They trace the arc from Ashtanga and power vinyasa into somatic yoga, nervous system literacy, trauma sensitivity, and embodied energetics, and how those worlds are coming together in their new 100 hour Somatic Yoga and Embodied Energy Teacher Training at Yoga Passage in Calgary.  Harmony shares how the dogma and dualism she experienced in traditional Ashtanga left her feeling traumatized and disconnected from her own body’s wisdom, even as she continued to teach. Lindsay talks about growing up with medical trauma, discovering yoga as her first physical practice, and how chasing discipline, shapes, and handstands eventually gave way to a longing for freedom, expression, and true safety in her body. Together, they explore somatics as “coming home”: feeling instead of performing, building safety before “doing the work,” honouring the nervous system, and allowing movement, sound, and emotion to express in ways that look far less linear and far more like nature. They also speak directly to yoga teachers and long-time practitioners whose bodies are now saying no to old patterns, and how this training is designed as an initiation and a supplement to existing trainings rather than “just another certification.” If your yoga practice has started to feel like a grind, if your nervous system is already at capacity, or if you are curious about weaving subtle energy work, trauma literacy, and somatic language into the way you teach, this episode is an invitation to reimagine what yoga can be. In This Episode, You’ll Hear About When a beloved practice stops working Harmony’s honest reflection on feeling traumatized by the dogma and indoctrination around Ashtanga. What it is like when your body keeps saying “no” every time you get on your mat. Why so many midlife practitioners walk away from yoga entirely when the old way stops feeling safe. Lindsay’s path through discipline into somatics First teacher training at Yoga Passage back in 2005 and years of teaching linear, disciplined styles like power vinyasa and Ashtanga. How a Saturday power class turned into a somatic class the moment she invited everyone to shake, and never went back. The realization that she had been hypervigilant and disconnected from her body for most of her life, and how somatics helped her come home. Discipline, structure and their limits Why highly structured systems can initially feel like safety for nervous systems shaped by trauma, chaos, or disorganized families. How discipline taught them to cue, hold space, and show up, yet eventually began to feel like a cage rather than support. The shift from “I need to fix myself and prove my worthiness” to “I am already whole, and the practice is about remembering that.” Somatic yoga as nervous system literacy What it means to teach from a felt sense instead of from performance or achievement. Using pendulation, “islands of safety,” and choice to guide students in and out of sensation. Why learning to relax and feel ease is a prerequisite for true regulation and resilience. Trauma sensitivity and language in class How somatic language differs from traditional cueing, especially around choice and autonomy. Giving students sovereignty instead of pushing them into “no pain, no gain” territory. Letting go of rigid bilateral rules and allowing asymmetry, ease, and curiosity to lead. Feminine energy, Kundalini and non-linear movement Reframing vinyasa and “flow” as something guided by breath and sensation, not just choreography. How Kundalini and Shakti express through spirals, oscillations, and organic movement rather than straight lines. The role of self-touch, oxytocin, and nurturing practices in regulating women’s nervous systems. Embodied energetics and the subtle body Seeing the body as the densest part of the energetic field, not just a physical object. Working with the chakras, nadis, fascia, and spinal energetics as an integrated map. How teachers can sense the field, notice shifts, and differentiate between “my energy” and “the room.” The 100 Hour Somatic Yoga & Embodied Energy Teacher Training Who it is for: yoga teachers, healers, and coaches with a foundational training who want to go deeper. What it includes: somatic practices, nervous system education, subtle body mapping, trauma sensitive space-holding, and embodied leadership. How the in-person format at Yoga Passage in Calgary supports community, co-regulation, and live practice. About Our Guest: Lindsay Johnson Lindsay Johnson is a yoga teacher, somatic healing practitioner, and trauma-informed facilitator based in Calgary, Alberta. She has been practicing yoga for nearly 20 years and began teaching after her first training at Yoga Passage in 2005. Over the years, she has studied with teachers such as Shiva Rea and Baron Baptiste, taught power vinyasa and Ashtanga, owned her own studio, and eventually returned to Yoga Passage after major life changes in 2020.  Lindsay now focuses on somatic yoga, movement-based therapy, and nervous system literacy, helping students and clients reconnect with their bodies after trauma, burnout, and years of living in their heads. At Yoga Passage, she is listed as a practitioner offering somatic healing in their wellness program and teaches classes, workshops, full moon events, and her signature Soma Movement sessions.  Her work centres on sovereignty, choice, and collective healing. Through shaking practices, floor-based somatic sequences, and careful, choice-based language, Lindsay creates spaces where people can safely feel, express, and integrate their full emotional spectrum. You can find her teaching in person at Yoga Passage and sharing her work online at @lj_heals on Instagram.  Links From This Episode Somatic Yoga & Embodied Energy 100 Hour Teacher Training Hosted at Yoga Passage in Calgary, Alberta Check Yoga Passage’s Teacher Training and Workshops pages for details and registration: https://yogapassage.ca Yoga Passage (studio) Website: https://yogapassage.ca Instagram: @yoga.passage Connect with Lindsay Instagram: @lj_heals  Somatic healing offerings at Yoga Passage: Somatic Healing listing on the Therapists page Upcoming events: https://harmonyslater.com/events 21 Day Money Magic Manifestation Challenge: https://community-harmonyslater.com/landing/plans/1542444Use PROMO CODE for additional $20 Savings: MANIFESTATIONMAGIC  FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation FIND Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/ JOIN the Finding Harmony Community: https://community-harmonyslater.com/ Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/ Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/ FREE 2 min breathwork practice: https://harmonyslater.com/morning-breathwork-optin Find your Spiritual Entrepreneur Archetype! Take the Quiz! https://harmonyslater.com/spiritual-entrepreneur-archetype-quiz BOOK Your Spinal Energetics Session: https://harmonyslater.as.me/

In this mind-bending, heart-opening conversation, Harmony and Russell welcome back author, former Benedictine monk, financial advisor, and Enneagram educator Doug Lynam. What begins as a discussion about money and spirituality quickly expands into psychedelics, ego structures, ancient Christian history, mystical experiences, and why our deepest personal wounds shape both our financial lives and our spiritual paths. Doug unpacks how his monastic vows, his monastery’s bankruptcy, and years of guiding others through financial distress led him to explore the emotional and psychological roots of money. He explains why money acts as “stored energy,” why it absorbs our intention, and why integrating spirituality with finance is essential for living a whole, aligned life. From there, the episode rolls into the psychedelic origins of the Enneagram, how different types experience altered states, and why Doug believes psychedelic journeys can reveal the deepest architecture of the ego. Harmony and Russell share their own recent experiences with 5-MeO-DMT, exploring consciousness, connection, lineage healing, and the dissolution of the self. This is one of the most surprising, expansive, and spiritually charged conversations ever recorded for the Finding Harmony podcast. In this episode: Setting the Stage: Who Is Doug Lynam Today? Harmony introduces Doug as a “monk, a money manager, and a mystic” wrapped into one. Doug’s backstory: 20 years as a Benedictine monk, vow of poverty, monastery bankruptcy. How reconciling money and spirituality became his life’s work. Money as Spiritual Energy Doug reframes money as “stored work energy.” Why separating spirituality and money leads to fragmentation. Russell shares his discomfort about mixing spirituality and money, prompting a rich dialogue about cultural conditioning and internal conflict. Psychedelics in Early Christianity Doug shares research from The Immortality Key. Evidence of psychedelic sacraments in early Christian rituals. Greek, Roman, and pagan traditions that shaped early Christianity. Understanding the Enneagram from a Psychological Lens Doug explains the Enneagram as nine ego-structures shaped by childhood stressors. The three emotional roots: anger, sadness, fear. Russell identifies strongly with Type Nine. How the Enneagram predicts emotional triggers and core wounds. Psychedelics and the Enneagram Doug’s theory: psychedelic experiences mirror your type’s greatest fear and greatest hope. Anger-triad types often benefit from dissociatives like ketamine. Shame-triad types often benefit from MDMA. Fear-triad types often resonate with psilocybin or LSD. The Untold Psychedelic History of the Enneagram The Enneagram’s modern lineage through Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo. Naranjo’s psychedelic clinic and collaborations with Alexander Shulgin. How psychedelic history was stripped out when the Enneagram entered Christian communities. Five-MeO-DMT, Ego Dissolution, and the Mystical Experience Doug outlines safe, trauma-informed approaches to 5-MeO facilitation. Why slow, intentional dosing may be safer than single “breakthrough” hits. How the Enneagram enriches psychedelic integration. Harmony and Russell share their own recent journeys, including lineage healing and somatic release. Trauma, Healing, and Union with the Divine Doug shares his own intense 5-MeO experience involving collective suffering and infinite love. Philosophical reflections on consciousness, non-duality, pain, and interconnectedness. A powerful closing on how expanded states reveal the architecture of the ego and the nature of reality. Guest Bio: Doug Lynam Doug Lynam is a former Benedictine monk turned financial advisor, author, and expert on the intersection of money, psychology, and spirituality. After spending two decades in monastic life, Doug unexpectedly became responsible for navigating his monastery through bankruptcy. This launched his mission to help others heal their relationship with money. He’s a partner at a New Mexico investment firm, an Enneagram specialist, and the author of From Monk to Money Manager and Taming Your Money Monster. Doug also integrates his deep interest in psychedelics, consciousness, and emotional transformation into his work. Relevant Links Taming Your Money Monster by Doug Lynam: https://www.thomasnelson.com/p/taming-your-money-monster/ Clarity Session with Harmony: https://harmonyslater.as.me/Clarity-Session Call to Action If this episode stretched your mind, cracked open your heart, or made you rethink your relationship with money and spirituality, share it with someone who loves exploring consciousness. And make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes where we keep expanding what’s possible. Upcoming events: https://harmonyslater.com/events 21 Day Money Magic Manifestation Challenge: https://community-harmonyslater.com/landing/plans/1542444Use PROMO CODE for additional $20 Savings: MANIFESTATIONMAGIC  FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation FIND Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/ JOIN the Finding Harmony Community: https://community-harmonyslater.com/ Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/ Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/ FREE 2 min breathwork practice: https://harmonyslater.com/morning-breathwork-optin Find your Spiritual Entrepreneur Archetype! Take the Quiz! https://harmonyslater.com/spiritual-entrepreneur-archetype-quiz BOOK Your Spinal Energetics Session: https://harmonyslater.as.me/

This special Black Friday solo episode of the Finding Harmony Podcast invites you to step out of the frenzy of sales and into a much quieter revolution: transforming your relationship with money from the inside out. Host Harmony Slater reframes money as energy, a living current that wants to circulate, not stagnate. Drawing on her own history of growing up in a household marked by financial fear and scarcity, she shares three key insights that can help you reset your money frequency as the holidays, year-end reflections, and new intentions all converge. You will explore how gratitude shifts your nervous system out of threat mode, why energy must come before strategy when it comes to money and business, and how true generosity springs from a sense of inner enoughness rather than obligation or pressure. Harmony closes by inviting you into her 21 Day Money Magic and Manifestation Challenge, a structured container to rewire your money beliefs, calm your nervous system, and expand your capacity to receive. This is a beautiful listen for anyone who feels anxious about holiday spending, income, or “where you should be by now” and is ready to create a more grounded, spiritual, and truly abundant relationship with wealth. In this episode, Harmony explores: Money as circulating energy Why she chooses to talk about circulating money rather than spending it over Black Friday weekend How seeing money as energy, currency, and flow changes the way you relate to it Insight 1: Gratitude as a nervous system reset How childhood scarcity imprints connect money with stress, fear, and conflict A simple gratitude practice you can use right now to move from “surviving” into a sense of thriving and sufficiency How gratitude shifts your brain chemistry toward safety and receptivity Insight 2: Energy before strategy Why budgeting, hustling, or “doing more” rarely work when the underlying energy is fear The difference between a “strategy problem” and an energetic mismatch A somatic check-in to ask: “Does my body feel safe to receive more?” How breath, mantra, visualization, and nervous system calibration prepare you to take aligned action Insight 3: Generosity as a gateway to overflow The difference between reckless spending and aligned generosity A real-life story of making a scary, values-aligned investment in her first coaching program Why investing energy in what is truly aligned with who you are becoming tends to multiply Practical micro-practices from the 21 Day Money Magic and Manifestation Challenge Daily prompts, breathwork, visualization, and nervous system practices Repatterning your subconscious beliefs about money, safety, and worthiness Learning to become a channel for abundance in all forms: finances, health, love, opportunities, and community About Your Host: Harmony Slater Harmony Slater is a Certified Life Coach, Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, and long-time practitioner who has spent more than twenty years exploring how ancient spiritual technologies can support our modern lives. Through in-depth conversations, solo teachings, and practical tools, Harmony helps you bring yoga, meditation, and subtle body practices into everyday life so that you feel more resourced, clear, and connected. You can learn more about Harmony, her programs, and upcoming retreats at harmonyslater.com. Resources And Links Mentioned Somatic Selling: A Spinal Energetics Workshop to Release Sales Fear + Embody Overflow https://harmonyslater.kit.com/somatic-bf25 For coaches, healers, and yoga teachers ready to release sales resistance, expand their capacity to receive, and confidently share their gifts with the world. 21 Day Money Magic and Manifestation Challenge https://community-harmonyslater.com/landing/plans/1542444 Use PROMO CODE: MONEYMAGIC60 for an additional $60 Savings You can jump into this challenge for only $48 - available ONLY for a limited time!  21 days of daily audio messages, journal prompts, and micro-practices\ Designed to uncover subconscious money blocks, recalibrate your nervous system, and align your energy with abundance On Black Friday special for three days Use promo code: MoneyMagic60 at checkout Call To Action If this episode helped you feel more grounded and hopeful about money during the holiday season: Join the 21 Day Money Magic and Manifestation Challenge Use the code MoneyMagic60 for the limited Black Friday offer Share this episode with a friend who feels anxious about finances, holiday spending, or “not being far enough along” in life. Subscribe and leave a review for the Finding Harmony Podcast so more people can find these conversations about spirituality, yoga, and everyday life. Come say hello on Instagram at @harmonyslaterofficial and @findingharmonypodcast and let Harmony know your biggest takeaway from this Black Friday episode. Upcoming events: https://harmonyslater.com/events 21 Day Money Magic Manifestation Challenge: https://community-harmonyslater.com/landing/plans/1542444Use PROMO CODE for additional $20 Savings: MANIFESTATIONMAGIC  FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation FIND Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/ JOIN the Finding Harmony Community: https://community-harmonyslater.com/ Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/ Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/ FREE 2 min breathwork practice: https://harmonyslater.com/morning-breathwork-optin Find your Spiritual Entrepreneur Archetype! Take the Quiz! https://harmonyslater.com/spiritual-entrepreneur-archetype-quiz BOOK Your Spinal Energetics Session: https://harmonyslater.as.me/

In this episode of the Finding Harmony Podcast, Harmony and Russell sit down with longtime Ashtanga practitioner and certified financial planner Kathy Reisfeld to talk about money, dharma and what it really means to be wealthy. Kathy’s story moves from physics and finance in New York City, through the shock of 9/11, to decades of Ashtanga practice and the creation of a Mysore shala in a renovated barn in the Berkshires. Along the way she has guided clients through multiple market crashes, bear markets and bubbles, all while keeping one eye on their portfolios and the other on what truly matters to them. Together, Harmony, Russell and Kathy explore money as energy, the emotional baggage spiritual folks carry about finances, how to invest in a way that matches your time horizon and values, and why diversification is the financial equivalent of a well balanced yoga practice. They also ask tricky questions about capitalism, ethical investing and retirement, reframing them in terms of freedom, choice and dharma rather than fear. If you have ever thought “I am spiritual, so I should not care about money” or felt totally frozen when it comes to investing, this conversation will help you breathe, relax and start treating your financial life as part of your practice instead of something separate from it. What We Talk About Wealth as energy, not just money Kathy’s path from physics to finance to Ashtanga yoga New York, 9/11 and the first bear market she had to guide clients through Balancing a finance career and a serious practice The basics of investing for spiritual people who feel scared of money Ethical investing and spiritual discomfort with capitalism Retirement, risk and planning for contingencies rather than escape Money, houses and diversification Investing in education, travel and your own human capital Money as circulation and prana Kathy’s life now: a barn, a shala and a wealth advisory firm Guest Bio: Kathy Reisfeld Kathy Reisfeld is a financial advisor and dedicated Ashtanga Yoga practitioner who helps people find balance—both in their financial lives and on the mat. As co-founder of Berkshire Wealth Group, she brings over 27 years of experience guiding clients through personalized investment planning. She holds both the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and Certified Investment Management Analyst® certifications. Kathy discovered Ashtanga Yoga in 2001 as a complement to running while working as a financial advisor in New York City. Initially somewhat resistant to the idea of yoga, she found this moving meditation practice transformative for managing stress and anxiety. She studied with renowned teachers including Eddie Stern, Nancy Gilgoff, and Christine Hoar—whom she's known for over 22 years and who has been her main teacher for the past decade. Kathy traveled to Mysore, India in 2005 to deepen her practice. Kathy's yoga practice has been the anchor that helped her navigate the demands of motherhood and a thriving career. In 2024, Kathy and her husband Scott began renovating their barn to house both their financial advisory office upstairs and a dedicated Ashtanga Yoga space. Whether she's helping clients reduce financial stress or maintaining her own daily practice, Kathy's approach centers on the same principle: creating strength, healing, and freedom through mindful, values-based practices. Kathy lives in Great Barrington with Scott, their daughter Ruthie, and their menagerie of pets. When not working or practicing yoga, you'll find her hiking, biking, or sailing in the Berkshires. Berkshire Wealth Group | berkshirewealthgroup.com 250 Maple Ave, Great Barrington, MA 01230 | 845-263-3996 | [email protected] Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Berkshire Wealth Group is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.   Relevant Links Mentioned Ashtanga Yoga https://www.instagram.com/ashtangagb/ https://www.facebook.com/astangagb/ https://www.ashtangayogagb.com/ Yoga and Finance: yogaandfinance.com Upcoming events: https://harmonyslater.com/events 21 Day Money Magic Manifestation Challenge: https://community-harmonyslater.com/landing/plans/1542444Use PROMO CODE for additional $20 Savings: MANIFESTATIONMAGIC  FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation FIND Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/ JOIN the Finding Harmony Community: https://community-harmonyslater.com/ Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/ Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/ FREE 2 min breathwork practice: https://harmonyslater.com/morning-breathwork-optin Find your Spiritual Entrepreneur Archetype! Take the Quiz! https://harmonyslater.com/spiritual-entrepreneur-archetype-quiz BOOK Your Spinal Energetics Session: https://harmonyslater.as.me/