Finding Harmony Podcast

Harmony Slater
  • 4.7 (20)
  • Alternative Health
  • Updated Weekly

Finding Harmony is your guide to spiritual awakening, consciousness expansion, and energy healing. Host Harmony Slater, certified Ashtanga yoga teacher turned spiritual wellness expert, brings you honest conversations about spinal energetics, spiritual growth, and creating an authentic life aligned with your soul's purpose. Each episode combines practical wisdom with deep spiritual insight, featuring experts in consciousness work, energy healing, somatic practices, and holistic transformation. Whether you're experiencing a spiritual awakening, exploring alternative healing modalities like spinal energetics, or navigating the evolution beyond traditional yoga practice, this podcast offers grounded guidance for your journey. From the yoga mat to spiritual entrepreneurship, from energy work to emotional healing, discover actionable tools and authentic conversations that support your transformation.

  1. 3d ago ·  Video

    How to Reclaim Your Attention: Ritual & Rest with Tracee Stanley

    Deep rest is a birthright, and daily ritual can be the way back to it. Author and teacher Tracee Stanley joins Harmony Slater and Russell Case to talk about retreat, ritual, and reclaiming your attention in a world built to distract you. Tracee is the author of Radiant Rest and The Luminous Self, and her new book, Living Ritual, answers the question she hears at the end of every retreat: how do I bring this home? She shares the story of her spiritual awakening in Cape Town, her years as a film producer, her donation-based yoga studio, and a simple evening and morning ritual you can try for seven days. She also leads a short guided practice to call your attention back to you. In this episode How the yoga nidra book Radiant Rest came to be, from a Shambhala editor's request to a sign at a Wanderlust workshop in Whistler Why The Luminous Self goes beyond asana into the yamas, niyamas, kleshas, and samskaras The question "What lessons are you tired of learning?" and what it reveals about seeing other people's potential instead of your own A spiritual awakening on a balcony in Cape Town, and the books a friend handed her afterward Leaving a career as a film producer, opening a donation-only yoga studio, and moving to Mount Shasta Studying with teachers from the Himalayan tradition and the Sri Vidya Tantra lineage Living Ritual and the idea of micro rituals for the householder Why our attention is being monetized, and how to build an "analog cocoon" around sleep and waking Turning the dishes into a sadhana A guided two-minute practice to reclaim your attention What to expect on a retreat, and why some practices need to be taught in person Harmony's invitation to the Purple Valley retreat in Tenerife If you're feeling called to experience deep rest and rejuvenation while deepening your spiritual practice.  Join Harmony in 2027!  Harmony will be hosting a 1 or 2 week retreat in Tenerife, Canary Islands, through Purple Valley Retreats:  Week one, February 20 to 27: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/ Week two, February 27 to March 6: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/ About Tracee Stanley  Tracee Stanley is the author of the upcoming book Living Ritual: Infuse Each Day with Purpose and Spirit (St. Martin’s Essentials 2026) and the bestselling books Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity and The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices & Rituals to Remember Who You Are - (Shambhala Publications). Tracee is the founder of Empowered Life Circle, a sacred community and portal of practices, rituals, and Tantric teachings inspired by more than 30 years of studentship in Sri Vidya Tantra and the teachings of the Himalayan Masters. Tracee is devoted to sharing the wisdom of yoga nidra, rest, meditation, self-inquiry, nature as a teacher, and ancestor reverence. Tracee holds certificates from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Advanced Eco-Therapy, New Thinking, Best Practices, and Emerging Modalities, and a certificate in Advanced Ecopsychology. Tracee is devoted to illuminating the magic and power found in liminal space and weaving devotion and practice into daily life. Links and resources Tracee Stanley: https://www.traceestanley.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Living-Ritual-Infuse-Purpose-Spirit-ebook/dp/B0FLYQWTR1/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0 https://www.instagram.com/tracee_stanley Books: Radiant Rest, The Luminous Self, Living Ritual  Purple Valley Retreat Center, Tenerife, Canary Islands, with Harmony: Week one, February 20 to 27, and week two, February 27 to March 6  About Harmony Slater Harmony Slater is an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), a somatic-energy healer and breathwork trainer, and one of only twenty women in the world to hold the highest level of Ashtanga Yoga certification.  For twenty-five years she has helped high achievers who look like they have it all together but feel like they're just getting by, stop over-functioning and reconnect to the life they truly want to live.  She integrates energy and breathwork with somatic and emotional coaching, helping clients release what talk alone never could and come home to themselves.  She hosts the Finding Harmony podcast and founded the Lightworker Mastermind, where coaches and healers grow their visibility and their business without losing themselves.  Book a Somatic Energy Session and find out how to work with her at harmonyslater.com Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 1: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 2: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/   Ancient Breathing 2.0 Master Class - https://harmonyslater.com/free-90-minute-pranayama-masterclass FIND 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 Reclaim Your Attention: Ritual & Rest with Tracee Stanley

  2. 3d ago

    How to Reclaim Your Attention: Ritual & Rest with Tracee Stanley

    Deep rest is a birthright, and daily ritual can be the way back to it. Author and teacher Tracee Stanley joins Harmony Slater and Russell Case to talk about retreat, ritual, and reclaiming your attention in a world built to distract you. Tracee is the author of Radiant Rest and The Luminous Self, and her new book, Living Ritual, answers the question she hears at the end of every retreat: how do I bring this home? She shares the story of her spiritual awakening in Cape Town, her years as a film producer, her donation-based yoga studio, and a simple evening and morning ritual you can try for seven days. She also leads a short guided practice to call your attention back to you. In this episode How the yoga nidra book Radiant Rest came to be, from a Shambhala editor's request to a sign at a Wanderlust workshop in Whistler Why The Luminous Self goes beyond asana into the yamas, niyamas, kleshas, and samskaras The question "What lessons are you tired of learning?" and what it reveals about seeing other people's potential instead of your own A spiritual awakening on a balcony in Cape Town, and the books a friend handed her afterward Leaving a career as a film producer, opening a donation-only yoga studio, and moving to Mount Shasta Studying with teachers from the Himalayan tradition and the Sri Vidya Tantra lineage Living Ritual and the idea of micro rituals for the householder Why our attention is being monetized, and how to build an "analog cocoon" around sleep and waking Turning the dishes into a sadhana A guided two-minute practice to reclaim your attention What to expect on a retreat, and why some practices need to be taught in person Harmony's invitation to the Purple Valley retreat in Tenerife About Tracee Stanley  Tracee Stanley is the author of the upcoming book Living Ritual: Infuse Each Day with Purpose and Spirit (St. Martin’s Essentials 2026) and the bestselling books Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity and The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices & Rituals to Remember Who You Are - (Shambhala Publications). Tracee is the founder of Empowered Life Circle, a sacred community and portal of practices, rituals, and Tantric teachings inspired by more than 30 years of studentship in Sri Vidya Tantra and the teachings of the Himalayan Masters. Tracee is devoted to sharing the wisdom of yoga nidra, rest, meditation, self-inquiry, nature as a teacher, and ancestor reverence. Tracee holds certificates from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Advanced Eco-Therapy, New Thinking, Best Practices, and Emerging Modalities, and a certificate in Advanced Ecopsychology. Tracee is devoted to illuminating the magic and power found in liminal space and weaving devotion and practice into daily life. Links and resources Tracee Stanley: https://www.traceestanley.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Living-Ritual-Infuse-Purpose-Spirit-ebook/dp/B0FLYQWTR1/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0 https://www.instagram.com/tracee_stanley Books: Radiant Rest, The Luminous Self, Living Ritual  Purple Valley Retreat Center, Tenerife, Canary Islands, with Harmony: Week one, February 20 to 27, and week two, February 27 to March 6  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 1: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 2: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/   Ancient Breathing 2.0 Master Class - https://harmonyslater.com/free-90-minute-pranayama-masterclass FIND 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 Reclaim Your Attention: Ritual & Rest with Tracee Stanley

  3. Oct 13 ·  Video

    Perimenopause as a Sacred Passage: Embodiment, Energy Work & Hormones [VIDEO]

    What if your symptoms aren't the problem? What if they're a message? Harmony Slater and Russell Case welcome Allison Lorne, a certified nurse midwife with 25 years in women's health who guides women through perimenopause and menopause as a sacred passage rather than a set of symptoms to silence. Allison is also a spinal energetics practitioner, so the conversation moves between the clinical and the energetic: what hormones are doing, what the body is asking for, and how to come home to it. Allison explains why she calls perimenopause "adolescence in reverse," how the history of hormone therapy shaped what women were told for two decades, and why emotional symptoms like anxiety, irritability, and sleeplessness often arrive first. She shares her own first symptom, why it took her years to recognize perimenopause, and how a lifetime of intuitive healing work led her from hospital nursing to private practice. Along the way: the grandmother hypothesis, a coven on California's Central Coast, dandelions, and a simple practice for tuning in to your inner wise woman. In this episode Why perimenopause can feel like adolescence in reverse, and what the big feelings are asking you to look at How hormone therapy went from widely prescribed to widely feared, and what Allison says the reanalysis of the Women's Health Initiative data showed Why Allison describes hormone therapy as comparable to insulin or thyroid medication, and why she says the decision is case by case The emotional symptoms that often come first: anxiety, irritability, sleeplessness, a sense of doom, rising feminine rage Allison's own first symptom, and why she did not recognize perimenopause for about ten years How relationships change when children leave home, and why communication and intimacy matter in midlife The grandmother hypothesis, orcas, and why menopause may be about purpose rather than decline How spinal energetics keeps a client alert and engaged, and why that matters for lasting change Why empaths need to learn "what's mine and what's not mine" A simple daily practice for meeting your inner wise woman, using the elements of water, fire, earth, air, and ether Key takeaways Perimenopause is a whole-systems transition, not only a hormonal one. Emotional symptoms are information. Allison's view: hormone therapy decisions are individual, and the greatest benefit is seen when it starts before 60 or within ten years of the last period. Talk with your own provider. Midlife is an opportunity to take inventory of what has been pushed down and to choose embodiment, self-awareness, and nervous system regulation. Women's health research has lagged behind, and community is part of the remedy. Time in nature, even gazing at the sky, helps the brain settle into the states where insight arrives. Guest bio Allison Lorne, CNM, is a certified nurse midwife with 25 years in women's health. After two decades in hospital and clinical practice, she opened a private practice three years ago, where she guides women through perimenopause and menopause with a blend of clinical education, somatic work, and spinal energetics. She leads a three-month coaching program for women in midlife and lives on five acres on California's Central Coast. Connect with Allison Website: https://www.healwithallison.com/ https://www.instagram.com/spiritualsomatics/ Sensitivity Quiz   Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 1: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 2: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/   Ancient Breathing 2.0 Master Class - https://harmonyslater.com/free-90-minute-pranayama-masterclass FIND 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

    Perimenopause as a Sacred Passage: Embodiment, Energy Work & Hormones [VIDEO]

  4. Oct 13

    Perimenopause as a Sacred Passage: Embodiment, Energy Work & Hormones

    What if your symptoms aren't the problem? What if they're a message? Harmony Slater and Russell Case welcome Allison Lorne, a certified nurse midwife with 25 years in women's health who guides women through perimenopause and menopause as a sacred passage rather than a set of symptoms to silence. Allison is also a spinal energetics practitioner, so the conversation moves between the clinical and the energetic: what hormones are doing, what the body is asking for, and how to come home to it. Allison explains why she calls perimenopause "adolescence in reverse," how the history of hormone therapy shaped what women were told for two decades, and why emotional symptoms like anxiety, irritability, and sleeplessness often arrive first. She shares her own first symptom, why it took her years to recognize perimenopause, and how a lifetime of intuitive healing work led her from hospital nursing to private practice. Along the way: the grandmother hypothesis, a coven on California's Central Coast, dandelions, and a simple practice for tuning in to your inner wise woman. In this episode Why perimenopause can feel like adolescence in reverse, and what the big feelings are asking you to look at How hormone therapy went from widely prescribed to widely feared, and what Allison says the reanalysis of the Women's Health Initiative data showed Why Allison describes hormone therapy as comparable to insulin or thyroid medication, and why she says the decision is case by case The emotional symptoms that often come first: anxiety, irritability, sleeplessness, a sense of doom, rising feminine rage Allison's own first symptom, and why she did not recognize perimenopause for about ten years How relationships change when children leave home, and why communication and intimacy matter in midlife The grandmother hypothesis, orcas, and why menopause may be about purpose rather than decline How spinal energetics keeps a client alert and engaged, and why that matters for lasting change Why empaths need to learn "what's mine and what's not mine" A simple daily practice for meeting your inner wise woman, using the elements of water, fire, earth, air, and ether Key takeaways Perimenopause is a whole-systems transition, not only a hormonal one. Emotional symptoms are information. Allison's view: hormone therapy decisions are individual, and the greatest benefit is seen when it starts before 60 or within ten years of the last period. Talk with your own provider. Midlife is an opportunity to take inventory of what has been pushed down and to choose embodiment, self-awareness, and nervous system regulation. Women's health research has lagged behind, and community is part of the remedy. Time in nature, even gazing at the sky, helps the brain settle into the states where insight arrives. Guest bio Allison Lorne, CNM, is a certified nurse midwife with 25 years in women's health. After two decades in hospital and clinical practice, she opened a private practice three years ago, where she guides women through perimenopause and menopause with a blend of clinical education, somatic work, and spinal energetics. She leads a three-month coaching program for women in midlife and lives on five acres on California's Central Coast. Connect with Allison Website: https://www.healwithallison.com/ https://www.instagram.com/spiritualsomatics/ Sensitivity Quiz   Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 1: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 2: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/   Ancient Breathing 2.0 Master Class - https://harmonyslater.com/free-90-minute-pranayama-masterclass FIND 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

    Perimenopause as a Sacred Passage: Embodiment, Energy Work & Hormones

  5. Oct 6

    What Is Somatic Experiencing? Laurie James on Healing Trauma Held in the Body

    Description Everyone is talking about nervous system regulation. But what if the goal isn't to be calm all the time? In Episode 337, Harmony Slater and Russell Case talk with Laurie James, author of Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go, host of the Confessions of a Free Bird podcast, and a certified somatic practitioner and coach who works in the Somatic Experiencing approach developed by Peter Levine. Laurie shares how caring for aging parents while raising four daughters, and the end of a 26-year marriage, led to a season of overwhelm and then to somatic healing. She explains what Somatic Experiencing is, why a healthy nervous system moves between activation and rest many times a day, how to build capacity instead of chasing calm, and why you can heal without retelling your whole story. In this episode Why the goal of nervous system work is flexibility and resilience, not constant calm What Somatic Experiencing is, and how listening to the body differs from directing it from the top down How the vagus nerve and neuroception shape your response to safety and threat What it means to complete a threat response that never finished How yoga, nature and slow movement support regulation Why you don't have to revisit your story to release it How a memoir, a podcast and one-on-one work grew out of a second-half-of-life reinvention About the guest Laurie James is an author, certified somatic practitioner and coach, and the host of the Confessions of a Free Bird podcast. Her memoir, Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go (2021), chronicles a season of raising four daughters, caring for her parents, and the unraveling of a long marriage. She lives in Southern California. Links and resources Laurie's website: https://www.laurieejames.com/ Laurie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurie.james/ Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go on Amazon and wherever books are sold Confessions of a Free Bird podcast, where Harmony was a guest Mentioned in this episode Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing), Stephen Porges (polyvagal theory), Gabor Maté, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (The Deepest Well and the ACE study) Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 1: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 2: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/   Ancient Breathing 2.0 Master Class - https://harmonyslater.com/free-90-minute-pranayama-masterclass FIND 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

    What Is Somatic Experiencing? Laurie James on Healing Trauma Held in the Body

  6. Oct 6 ·  Video

    What Is Somatic Experiencing? Laurie James on Healing Trauma Held in the Body [VIDEO]

    Everyone is talking about nervous system regulation. But what if the goal isn't to be calm all the time? Harmony Slater and Russell Case talk with Laurie James, author of Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go, host of the Confessions of a Free Bird podcast, and a certified somatic practitioner and coach who works in the Somatic Experiencing approach developed by Peter Levine. Laurie shares how caring for aging parents while raising four daughters, and the end of a 26-year marriage, led to a season of overwhelm and then to somatic healing. She explains what Somatic Experiencing is, why a healthy nervous system moves between activation and rest many times a day, how to build capacity instead of chasing calm, and why you can heal without retelling your whole story. In this episode Why the goal of nervous system work is flexibility and resilience, not constant calm What Somatic Experiencing is, and how listening to the body differs from directing it from the top down How the vagus nerve and neuroception shape your response to safety and threat What it means to complete a threat response that never finished How yoga, nature and slow movement support regulation Why you don't have to revisit your story to release it How a memoir, a podcast and one-on-one work grew out of a second-half-of-life reinvention About the guest Laurie James is an author, certified somatic practitioner and coach, and the host of the Confessions of a Free Bird podcast. Her memoir, Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go (2021), chronicles a season of raising four daughters, caring for her parents, and the unraveling of a long marriage. She lives in Southern California. Links and resources Laurie's website: https://www.laurieejames.com/ Laurie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurie.james/ Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go on Amazon and wherever books are sold Confessions of a Free Bird podcast, where Harmony was a guest Mentioned in this episode Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing), Stephen Porges (polyvagal theory), Gabor Maté, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (The Deepest Well and the ACE study) Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 1: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 2: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/   Ancient Breathing 2.0 Master Class - https://harmonyslater.com/free-90-minute-pranayama-masterclass FIND 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

    What Is Somatic Experiencing? Laurie James on Healing Trauma Held in the Body [VIDEO]

  7. Sep 29

    The Performance Trap: Chad Herst on Success, Grief, and Coming Home to Himself

    What happens when the thing that saved your life becomes the thing you have to heal from? Chad Herst has been practicing Ashtanga yoga since his twenties — authorized to teach by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois himself in 2003 — and coaching high-performing founders and executives since 2008. From the outside, he'd figured it out. From the inside, he was running the exact pattern he now helps his clients name: the drive that builds something real, and then keeps running long after it stops feeling like enough.   Harmony and Russell sit down with their old friend from the Mysore years to talk about what actually broke that pattern open — a body that finally refused to cooperate, a decade of sitting with ayahuasca, and a grief from his brother's death in 1991 that he didn't let himself fully feel until he turned 50. It's a conversation about achievement, identity, family patterns, and what it costs to keep proving you're enough — and what's on the other side of finally stopping. Chad's new book, The Performance Trap: The Ache No Success Will Ever Fix, launches October 1, 2026 Get the first chapter, read in his voice, at herstwellness.com/chapter-one.   Guest bio: Chad Herst is a mind/body and executive coach and the author of The Performance Trap: The Ache No Success Will Ever Fix. He has been coaching since 2008. His work helps people notice the patterns that take over under pressure, listen for what matters to them, and try different ways of responding in daily life. Find out more: https://herstwellness.com His new book, The Performance Trap: The Ache No Success Will Ever Fix, names the pattern he kept finding underneath the success in his clients, and in himself: the drive that builds something real, then keeps running long after it stops feeling like enough. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Melissa.   Connect with Chad: Website: herstwellness.com Free first chapter (read in his voice): herstwellness.com/chapter-one    Key takeaways: Achievement can be a coping mechanism as much as a calling — and the two can look identical from the outside A pattern that starts as protection (being "the good kid," never a problem) can quietly become an identity you can't set down Practices like Ashtanga, meditation, and ceremony don't create your patterns — they reveal and can magnify them Sometimes the body has to break down before old grief finally has somewhere to go Integration — bringing an insight into ordinary daily life — is harder, and more important, than the peak moment that produced it Telling the truth about your own story, even imperfectly and even when family disagrees with how you tell it, can itself be a form of healing   Content Advisory: This episode includes a personal conversation about grief after a suicide loss, a family member's mental illness, and the complicated emotions that can follow. Please take care while listening, and feel free to skip this one if it isn't the right time. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available: United States: Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or chat at 988lifeline.org. Available 24/7. Canada: Call or text 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline). Available 24/7, in English and French. Outside the US and Canada: Find a helpline in your country at findahelpline.com. If you're in immediate danger, please call your local emergency number (911 in the US and Canada).   Leave a review: If this episode resonated, a 5-star review and a note on your biggest takeaway helps other seekers find these conversations.   Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · or wherever you listen. Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 1: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 2: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/   Ancient Breathing 2.0 Master Class - https://harmonyslater.com/free-90-minute-pranayama-masterclass FIND 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

    The Performance Trap: Chad Herst on Success, Grief, and Coming Home to Himself

  8. Sep 29 ·  Video

    The Performance Trap: Chad Herst on Success, Grief, and Coming Home to Himself [VIDEO]

    What happens when the thing that saved your life becomes the thing you have to heal from? Chad Herst has been practicing Ashtanga yoga since his twenties — authorized to teach by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois himself in 2003 — and coaching high-performing founders and executives since 2008. From the outside, he'd figured it out. From the inside, he was running the exact pattern he now helps his clients name: the drive that builds something real, and then keeps running long after it stops feeling like enough.   Harmony and Russell sit down with their old friend from the Mysore years to talk about what actually broke that pattern open — a body that finally refused to cooperate, a decade of sitting with ayahuasca, and a grief from his brother's death in 1991 that he didn't let himself fully feel until he turned 50. It's a conversation about achievement, identity, family patterns, and what it costs to keep proving you're enough — and what's on the other side of finally stopping. Chad's new book, The Performance Trap: The Ache No Success Will Ever Fix, launches October 1, 2026 Get the first chapter, read in his voice, at herstwellness.com/chapter-one.   Guest bio: Chad Herst is a mind/body coach and licensed acupuncturist who has coached founders, executives, and high performers since 2008 — the kind of people who look, from the outside, like they've figured it out. Most of his life, he was one of them, which turned out to be the part the work was about. He spent years training in Ashtanga yoga and was authorized to teach by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in 2003 [VERIFY]. His new book, The Performance Trap: The Ache No Success Will Ever Fix, names the pattern he kept finding underneath the success in his clients, and in himself: the drive that builds something real, then keeps running long after it stops feeling like enough. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Melissa.   Connect with Chad: Website: herstwellness.com Free first chapter (read in his voice): herstwellness.com/chapter-one    Key takeaways: Achievement can be a coping mechanism as much as a calling — and the two can look identical from the outside A pattern that starts as protection (being "the good kid," never a problem) can quietly become an identity you can't set down Practices like Ashtanga, meditation, and ceremony don't create your patterns — they reveal and can magnify them Sometimes the body has to break down before old grief finally has somewhere to go Integration — bringing an insight into ordinary daily life — is harder, and more important, than the peak moment that produced it Telling the truth about your own story, even imperfectly and even when family disagrees with how you tell it, can itself be a form of healing   Content Advisory: This episode includes a personal conversation about grief after a suicide loss, a family member's mental illness, and the complicated emotions that can follow. Please take care while listening, and feel free to skip this one if it isn't the right time. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available: United States: Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or chat at 988lifeline.org. Available 24/7. Canada: Call or text 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline). Available 24/7, in English and French. Outside the US and Canada: Find a helpline in your country at findahelpline.com. If you're in immediate danger, please call your local emergency number (911 in the US and Canada). Leave a review: If this episode resonated, a 5-star review and a note on your biggest takeaway helps other seekers find these conversations. Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 1: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater/  Purple Valley Retreat WEEK 2: https://yogagoa.com/harmony-slater-2/   Ancient Breathing 2.0 Master Class - https://harmonyslater.com/free-90-minute-pranayama-masterclass FIND 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

    The Performance Trap: Chad Herst on Success, Grief, and Coming Home to Himself [VIDEO]
See All (366)

4.7
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

Finding Harmony is your guide to spiritual awakening, consciousness expansion, and energy healing. Host Harmony Slater, certified Ashtanga yoga teacher turned spiritual wellness expert, brings you honest conversations about spinal energetics, spiritual growth, and creating an authentic life aligned with your soul's purpose. Each episode combines practical wisdom with deep spiritual insight, featuring experts in consciousness work, energy healing, somatic practices, and holistic transformation. Whether you're experiencing a spiritual awakening, exploring alternative healing modalities like spinal energetics, or navigating the evolution beyond traditional yoga practice, this podcast offers grounded guidance for your journey. From the yoga mat to spiritual entrepreneurship, from energy work to emotional healing, discover actionable tools and authentic conversations that support your transformation.

Information

  • Creator
    Harmony Slater
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    366
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Harmony Slater
  • Show Website
    Finding Harmony Podcast

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