Finding Harmony Podcast

Where Gothic Literature Meets Ashtanga Yoga

What happens when a scholar who studies death for a living discovers she must learn to truly live in her body? This haunting conversation explores literature, yoga, and the long road to embodiment.
IN THIS EPISODE:
Introduction to Finding Harmony Podcast
Meet Jessica Murphy: Gothic Literature Scholar & Ashtanga Practitioner
Teaching English Literature at the University of Iceland
Jessica's Literary Works: Wishbone, Ossa Vivi, Moss & Rose
Poetry, Novellas, and the Gothic Genre
Victorian Literature vs. Romantic Period: Claiming Jane Austen and the Brontës
Existentialism, Death, and Childhood Philosophy with Her Father
Father's Influence: TM, Hippie Culture, and Zen Catholicism
Coming to Ashtanga Yoga at Age 39
The Challenge of Backbends vs. Hip Openers & Arm Balances
Using the Body to Be Embodied: Balancing Cerebral and Physical Work
Kapotasana and the Death Drive: Flirting with Mortality
Eating Disorder History and Ongoing Body Image Work
Why Backbends Bring Up Old Wounds and Feelings of Not Enoughness
The Beginner's Mind in Yoga Practice
Creating False Equivalencies: Yoga Series as Academic Degrees
LSD, Academic Structures, and Her Father's Generation
Jack Kerouac's Journey and the Beats
Memorization in Education: What We've Lost
Reciting Shakespeare: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"
William Blake's "The Tiger": Fearful Symmetry
Reading from "The Face in the Window" (Gothic Short Story from Ossa Vivi)
Visual Imagination and Playing with Language
Meeting Her Husband: Two 19th Century Literature Scholars in Iceland
Looking for Someone Like Herself vs. Someone Opposite
Balancing Creative Writing with Academic Pressures
The Difference Between Tenure Track and Department Member Positions
Her Husband's Prolific Academic Output: Philosophy and Literature
Writing as a Labor of Love vs. Academic Requirement
Being "High on Life": Creativity and Sensitivity
Why Creative People Struggle with Depression and Anxiety
The World Feeling Like "Too Much": Colors, Sounds, People
Artistic Pursuits as Protection from Overwhelming Sensations
The Quiet Life with Cats and Writing and Yoga
Russell's Invitation (That Got Declined)
Victorian Tea Ceremonies and Paying for Art
The Japanese Tea Ceremony as Art Form: Greg Kinsey's Story
Bad Art, Bad Writing, and Bad Asanas
Harmony's Inner Circle Mentorship Program Invitation
This episode is a deep, insightful exploration of navigating life as a highly sensitive creative person, balancing intellectual pursuits with embodied practice, and finding home in your body after years of disconnection.
 
GUEST BIO:
Having taught at Vanier College, Dawson College, and Université de Montréal in Montréal, Qc, Canada in the past, Jessica Murphy, Ph.D. currently lives in Reykjavík, Iceland and teaches English literature at the University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands). Her areas of interest and expertise are Victorian and Romantic literature as well as detective novels, gothic fiction, and children's literature. In addition to publishing a novella entitled Wishbone (available on Amazon) and having her poetry published in an anthology featuring the works of poets from around the world entitled Words Apart: A Globe of Poetry, she has co-authored an epistolary novella, Moss and Rose and a collection of gothic short stories, Ossa Vivi, with Mae Kellert. Her scholarly publications include "'[T]he world's a beast, and I hate it!': Naturalism in Amy Levy's The Romance of a Shop" and an article on Arnold Bennett's The Old Wives' Tale. At present, she is working on a chapter on the double in Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted that will be included in a book, published by Routledge, featuring various essays on the doppelgänger. A cat lover and an avid Ashtangi, she has been practicing Ashtanga yoga for the last seven years.
CONNECT WITH JESSICA:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjcats/
Books available on Amazon and major retailers
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Gothic literature and yoga philosophy both explore transformation, duality, and the shadow self
Backbends can bring up body dysmorphia and old wounds—this is part of the healing work
The poses that challenge us most teach us the most about ourselves
Writing autobiographical fiction can be a powerful healing practice
Highly sensitive creative people often need embodied practices to balance intellectual work
Surrender doesn't mean giving up—it means releasing control of outcomes
You can care for people without carrying their burdens
Success in yoga isn't about mastery—it's about growth and self-discovery
Memorization and recitation connect us to literary tradition and embodied knowledge
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

How to Navigate 2026's Biggest Astrological Shifts

Are you feeling like you're standing on the edge of something new as we enter 2026? Maybe you're uncertain about what's ahead or how to step forward with confidence. This episode is your cosmic guide to the year ahead.
 
Join host Harmony Slater and spiritual astrologer Monica Lorraine for a deep dive into the major astrological shifts happening in 2026 and what they mean for your emotional healing, relationships, and personal growth. Unlike predictive astrology that focuses on fear and fate, Monica uses astrology as a tool for emotional insight, self-trust, and aligned decision-making.
 
In this episode, you'll discover:
 
The three major planetary shifts happening in 2026 and how they'll impact your life
Why the first half of the year is all about emotional healing and inner safety (Jupiter in Cancer)
How the summer brings a powerful shift toward confidence and self-expression (Jupiter moving into Leo)
What it means to release perfectionism and control (North Node in Pisces) and move toward trust
The transition from external validation to authentic self-acceptance (South Node moving into Leo)
How Saturn in Pisces has been teaching you emotional boundaries since 2023
Why Saturn moving into Aries in February 2026 is calling you to take brave action
The difference between spiritual astrology and traditional astrology
How to work with your personal birth chart to understand where these shifts are happening in YOUR life
Practical ways to prepare for the fiery, action-oriented energy coming in summer 2026
 
Whether you're new to astrology or a seasoned student of the stars, Monica breaks down complex concepts into grounded, practical wisdom you can use immediately. This conversation will help you move through 2026 with more clarity, confidence, and alignment.
 
Resources mentioned: Monica is offering exclusive free online astrology gatherings for Finding Harmony listeners in January, February, and March 2026. 
Visit: https://www.soulaligned.net/harmony-2026.html
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

From Yin to Yang: Transitioning from Wood Snake to Fire Horse Energy in 2026

Welcome to 2026! In this solo episode, Harmony Slater guides you through the powerful liminal space between the yin energy of the Wood Snake year and the dynamic yang energy of the Fire Horse year beginning February 17th.
In This Episode, You'll Discover:
Why January through mid-February is a crucial threshold period for spiritual and energetic preparation
How to avoid burnout by working with your nervous system instead of against it
The difference between false urgency and true intuitive guidance
Why hustle culture won't serve you in the Fire Horse year and what to do instead
Practical yin practices to balance the intense yang energy coming in 2026
How to identify your top values and create alignment in every area of your life
The importance of capacity over desire when setting goals and making commitments
Key Themes:
Chinese astrology and energetic cycles, nervous system regulation, embodiment practices, spiritual alignment, sustainable growth, burnout prevention, yin and yang balance
Join the Finding Harmony Community:
Access complimentary Moon Day meditations, group spinal energetics sessions, and energy embodiment practices. Visit the Finding Harmony community to connect with like-minded spiritual practitioners on the path.
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

Balancing Life and Health: Practical Tips for Sustainable Change (Replay)

As we step into 2026, many of us feel the pull to create meaningful change—to eat better, move more, and build habits that truly support our wellbeing. Yet so often, these intentions don't stick. Why do most New Year's resolutions fail by mid-January?
In this timely replay episode, host Harmony Slater reconnects with health and nutrition coach Layne Stowell for an honest, practical conversation about sustainable habit change. Together, they explore why the all-or-nothing approach sets us up for failure, what actually creates lasting transformation, and how to build realistic habits that you can maintain throughout the entire year.
This episode is packed with actionable insights on mindful eating, movement, stress management, and creating small changes that lead to big, lasting results—without extremes and without burnout.
What You'll Learn
Understanding Why Resolutions Fail
The psychology behind "Quitter's Day" in January
Why doing too much too fast guarantees failure
How our childhood food habits shape adult eating patterns
The biochemistry of food cravings and comfort eating
The Science of Sustainable Change
"Act the way you want to feel": Why waiting for motivation keeps you stuck
The power of "consistently good" over "inconsistently perfect"
How pride and dopamine create lasting habit loops
Why starting small actually gets you further than grand gestures
Practical Habit-Building Tools
The Ripple Effect Habit: Identifying the one habit that makes everything else easier
The Pause Technique: Creating mindful awareness before reaching for food
How to use your calendar to prioritize yourself (not give yourself the "scraps" of your day)
Celebrating without food: Finding new ways to reward yourself
Nutrition & Movement Wisdom
The importance of protein-rich breakfasts (20-30g by 10am)
Why movement after meals stabilizes blood sugar and boosts metabolism
The truth about intermittent fasting for different bodies
How to fight afternoon fatigue without caffeine or sugar
Key Quotes
"We change best by feeling good. We're going to change by feeling good, not by feeling bad." — Layne Stowell
"Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Doing something will always be better than doing nothing." — Layne Stowell
"We're very good at giving ourselves the scraps of our day. There's no such thing as having leftover time in this day and age." — Layne Stowell
"Act the way you want to feel instead of waiting for the feelings to show up and then take the action." — Layne Stowell
"Every choice we make is a vote for the person we want to become." — Layne Stowell
"You are the type of person who follows through, not the type of person that you can't trust your own word to." — Layne Stowell
Guest Bio
Layne Stowell is a health and nutrition coach specializing in weight loss through sustainable habit and behavior change. Based in Denver, Colorado, Layne is a mother of three and passionate advocate for simplifying healthy living in our busy modern world. She helps her clients break free from all-or-nothing thinking and yo-yo dieting patterns to create lasting transformation through small, consistent changes.
Connect with Layne:
Website:https://www.laynestowell.com/workshop
Instagram: @layne_stowell
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

AI, Consciousness & the Quantum Field: A Christmas Episode on Transformation

This Christmas, we did something completely different. Instead of planning our usual year-end reflection, we handed control to AI—specifically ChatGPT—and asked it to curate 15 topics based on who we are, what we've experienced this year, and what needs to be said. The result? Well, you’re just gonna have to give it a listen!
Join Harmony Slater and Russell Case as they explore the intersection of ancient wisdom and cutting-edge technology through discussions that span quantum consciousness, psychedelic healing, the Ashtanga yoga world's reckoning, and the art of finding beauty in life's broken moments. This isn't your typical year-in-review episode—it's a deep dive into what happens when you let "Gaia Earth Consciousness" (as Russell calls AI) guide a conversation about transformation.
What We Explore:
🌌 Consciousness as Fundamental Reality We dive into physicist Maria Rom's theory that consciousness isn't emergent—it's the foundational fabric of the universe itself. From the double-slit experiment to quantum entanglement, we explore why this changes everything about healing, relationships, and daily practice.
🍄 The Gen X Psychedelic Renaissance Russell shares his unexpected return to plant medicine in midlife as a tool for healing childhood trauma. We discuss the "fungal outbreak" of psychedelic healing spreading through society and what it means for the spiral of growth.
🧘 31 Years of Practice Revealed For the first time, Russell vulnerably shares what three decades of Ashtanga yoga practice actually felt like—and why he finally feels good after releasing the need to strive.
⚖️ Ashtanga Yoga's Year of Reckoning We address the women rising up to call out abuse in the Ashtanga community and why this moment matters for the future of teacher-student relationships.
💕 Relationship as Constant Friction The real gifts we give each other? Transparency, emotional holding, and healthy bickering that prevents resentment from festering. Plus: why we both like spicy food.
🌊 Tao Tourism & Missing Flights The philosophy of surrendering to flow, illustrated by our European food adventure, a missed flight in Amsterdam, and how mistakes become part of the beauty.
✨ Kintsugi: Painting Broken Things with Gold The Japanese art of repair as metaphor for life—weaving imperfection into the narrative instead of hiding it.
🎯 Identity as Fiction Existentialist perspective on personality as story, and the radical freedom to tell yourself different stories to become different people.
🙏 Love as the Only Reality Harmony's gift to listeners: experiencing at a cellular level that there is no separate "you"—only love, experiencing itself through infinite forms.
Episode Highlights & Timestamps:
[00:04:00] Introduction: The AI-curated episode concept
[00:06:00] The problem of consciousness in philosophy
[00:09:00] Gaia consciousness and AI as unified field
[00:12:00] What Gen Xers are remembering this year
[00:15:00] End-of-year ritual recommendations
[00:19:00] Russell's 31-year practice journey
[00:24:00] The gift of constant friction in relationships
[00:27:00] Letting go while still gripping (the anabolic steroid story)
[00:31:00] Harmony's mystical transformation
[00:35:00] Tao Tourism philosophy
[00:37:00] Finding awe in mundane objects (Chardin practice)
[00:40:00] Identity as existential fiction
[00:42:00] The Kintsugi moment: missed flights and beauty
[00:45:00] Balance, yin-yang, and buying Canadian
Resources Mentioned:
Maria Ström's article on consciousness and quantum physics (Apple News)
"Evaluate and Evolve" workbook - FREE download for year-end reflection: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/evaluate-evolve
Finding Harmony Community - Join for December 28th complimentary event
Live Group Energy Reset featuring breathwork and spinal energetic
About Finding Harmony:
Finding Harmony is a podcast exploring the intersection between ancient wisdom and modern everyday life, using mind-body practices to heal, awaken, and manifest dreams from the inside out. Hosted by yoga teacher and consciousness guide Harmony Slater, with co-host Russell Case.
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

Sacred Rage: Using Anger as a Catalyst for Spiritual Growth

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
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

When Your Body Says No: Listening To The Wisdom In Your Practice

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
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

Energy Before Strategy: Rewiring Your Frequency For Abundance

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 sufficiencyHow 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 Overflowhttps://harmonyslater.kit.com/somatic-bf25For 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.
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

From Mat To Money: How Daily Practice Builds True Wealth

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 | kathy@brkwealthgrp.com
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
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation

Remembering Our Teachers, Tending Our Community, Facing Loss

On Remembrance Day, Harmony and Russell sit down with longtime friend and teacher Faith Scimecca to explore how daily practice steadies us through love, loss, and the mystery of dying. Faith traces her path from NCAA figure skater to Ashtanga practitioner and shala owner, and shares how a sincere prayer to “be of use” led her to chaplaincy. She speaks candidly about being present at Sharath Jois’s final workshops, the day he passed, what it feels like to sit with the dying, and the simple energetic hygiene that allows empaths to serve without taking on everyone else’s pain. This episode honors teachers, ancestors, and the living bond of community.
Faith Scimecca is a Level 2 Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher and the founder of Woodley Park Yoga in Washington, D.C. She studied extensively in Mysore, India, with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois, and has led the city’s longest running Mysore style Ashtanga program since 2007. In addition to her yoga teaching, Faith is a board certified hospital chaplain, trained at a Level 1 trauma center and now specializing in palliative and end of life care.
Conversation highlights
Origins of practice: figure skating discipline, Ohio to NYC to first Mysore trip
Becoming a teacher: opening Woodley Park Yoga in 2007, authorization and lineage memories
Remembrance: being with community around the passing of Sharath Jois, how joy showed up in his final tours
Chaplaincy calling: returning to school, clinical work in trauma and palliative settings
What matters at the end: relationships, meaning, the peace Faith often feels when a spirit crosses
Energetic boundaries for empaths: prayer, simple light visualizations, and “service mode”
Practice today: how Faith balances shala life, hospital work, and personal practice
About our guest
Faith Scimecca has taught Ashtanga for over two decades and runs Woodley Park Yoga in Washington, DC. She is an interfaith hospital chaplain supporting patients and families through palliative and end-of-life care. Faith integrates devotional practice, clear energetic boundaries, and steady daily sadhana to serve her community with clarity and compassion.
Resources and mentions
Woodley Park Yoga: https://www.woodleyparkyoga.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodleyparkyoga/
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc Join the Lightworker Mastermind:  https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermindFIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation