Finding Harmony Podcast Episodes

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 energe...

Harmony and Russell sit down with long-time friend and teacher Krista Shirley to explore what it truly means to feel at home in your body. Krista recounts a devastating shoulder surgery complication that severed her suprascapular nerve, the long journey through pain and medical dead ends, and the mind-body tools that helped her rebuild function and joy. She shares how meditation, mental rehearsal, pranayama, and small, precise movements became a bridge back to daily practice, and why her Body Me...

Harmony and Russell talk with researcher and author Matt Zemon about psychedelics as catalysts for change, not cures. They explore what current studies suggest about anxiety, PTSD, repetitive thinking, and addiction, then ground the conversation in practical guidance: source, set, and setting, medical intake, and the role of preparation and integration. The trio also contrasts medical and ceremonial lanes, the spiritual significance of entheogens, and how community transforms the healing arc—esp...

What happens when devotion slips into blind obedience? Harmony opens this episode with a frank reflection on power, consent, and autonomy in yoga. She then welcomes Tamara Cole, a yoga teacher and former boat captain whose journey took her from Bikram’s hot rooms to a life of freedom and integrity in the Galápagos Islands. Together, they unpack how groupthink, hierarchy, and manipulation take root in spiritual spaces — and what it looks like to rebuild a practice grounded in awareness, consen...

Harmony and Russell talk with teacher and studio co-leader Joseph Armstrong about recovery, identity, the discipline that actually changes lives, and building inclusive community through the Queer Yoga Club at Miami Life Center. Joseph shares how a strong recovery container and a steady Mysore practice worked together, why expectations and boundaries matter, what it is really like to run a studio, and how to expand programs without losing lineage. In this conversation Addiction, relapse, ...

In this inspiring episode of the Finding Harmony Podcast, hosts Harmony Slater and Russell Case sit down with David Knee, author of The Next Asana. David shares his deeply personal journey of living with multiple sclerosis, navigating forced retirement, and finding new vitality through the practice of Ashtanga Yoga. From his first Groupon yoga class in Victoria to studying with Tim Miller and writing poetry inspired by the moon cycles, David’s story is one of resilience, transformation, and hop...

This conversation traces what happens when yoga is not just a class but a way of living. Harmony speaks with nutritionist and longtime Ashtanga practitioner Karolina Zakrzewska about two decades in India, managing Purple Valley in Goa, opening the Tenerife sister center, and how dedication to practice intersected with her recovery from disordered eating. They explore the “fire” that fuels Ashtanga, the risk of letting that fire consume us, and practical, compassionate ways to nourish body, mind,...

What happens when you stop forcing and start broadcasting who you are? In this energizing conversation, Harmony and her business coach, Bunny Young, explore radical ownership, boundaries, imperfect action, and why most of us hide in “strategy” when what we need is presence and practice. Bunny shares her winding path from third-generation entrepreneur to therapist to equine-assisted work to mentoring founders to build businesses that serve their lives. Expect straight talk on motherhood, money, a...

What does it really mean to live in alignment? In this radiant conversation, Harmony and Russell welcome Shalane Carter, an energetic healer and embodiment guide, to explore the power of living in tune with your body’s frequency. Shalane shares how her early background in massage therapy, esthetics, and competitive fitness evolved into a deep understanding of quantum healing, cyclical living, and feminine energetics. This episode is a call to drop out of logic and into the wisdom of the body, es...

In this solo episode of the Finding Harmony Podcast, Harmony Slater opens the door on coaching—what it is, why it matters, and how it can change the way you live, work, and relate to yourself. Drawing from her own journey as both coach and client, Harmony explains why coaching is such a powerful tool for breaking patterns, creating habits that stick, and finding clarity when life feels overwhelming. She guides you through reflective exercises that can help you see your blind spots, meet resis...

What does it mean to be psychic—and how do we learn to trust our intuition without feeling overwhelmed? In this episode of the Finding Harmony Podcast, Harmony Slater sits down with Lisa Campion, a master psychic, medium, and Reiki teacher with over three decades of experience mentoring healers and supporting sensitive souls. Together, they explore how psychic ability develops, the role of trauma and nervous system regulation in spiritual growth, and the difference between vibrational healing...

What happens when the center of your practice—the teacher, the lineage, the external validation—suddenly disappears? In this deeply engaging conversation, hosts Harmony Slater and Russell Case sit down with Meghan Marshall, longtime Ashtanga teacher and founder of Mysore Yoga Philadelphia, to explore the evolving landscape of practice in a post-guru era. Meghan, affectionately known in South Philly as the “benevolent Ashtanga overlord,” shares how a stroke mid-practice in 2019 altered her per...

In this deeply reflective solo episode, host Harmony Slater addresses a heated debate currently circling the global Ashtanga yoga community: certifications and their legitimacy. Drawing from her own decades of practice and personal memories of studying with Sharath Jois, Harmony offers her perspective on what certification really means — and what it doesn’t. She invites us to step back from the noise of division and instead consider the larger crises happening across our world: climate disast...

This conversation explores the lived experience of practicing and teaching Ashtanga as a visible minority, and what it takes to evolve a lineage without losing its heart. We examine how unspoken norms, lack of clear standards, and performance-driven culture can exclude people, and what a more inclusive, structured, and compassionate approach looks like in real rooms. What You’ll Hear Identity, visibility, and belonging in traditional Ashtanga spaces Why standards matter, and how “no st...

This week’s episode is a special replay of a 2021 conversation between Harmony Slater and Kelsey Murphy, originally aired on the Whiskey & Work podcast. At the height of pandemic-era stress and life juggling, Harmony joined Kelsey to talk about the power of breathwork—why it works, how it affects the nervous system, and simple practices you can start using today. Whether you’re a high performer, busy parent, or someone simply trying to navigate daily overwhelm, Harmony offers gentle, science-bac...

Have you ever felt like your story wasn’t really yours? In today’s powerful conversation, Harmony speaks with transformational coach and Akashic Records teacher Bhavya Gaur about the process of reclaiming your story—and your worth—from the ashes of trauma. Bhavya shares her journey from growing up in India under the weight of cultural conditioning, through the unraveling of a toxic marriage, to creating a new life of sovereignty and spiritual alignment in Canada. Along the way, she discovered ...

What happens when you chant a mantra 900,000 times in solitude? Dr. Vigneshwar Bhat knows. This week on the Finding Harmony Podcast, Harmony sits down with one of her beloved teachers to explore the deep wisdom of the Vedas, the science behind mantra, and the importance of ritual precision in spiritual life. Dr. Bhat, a Vedic priest and PhD in Mimamsa Philosophy, shares his journey from a remote village in Karnataka to founding the Rishikulam International Center for Vedic Studies and Research. ...

What if your biggest problem… isn’t actually a problem at all? In this enlightening conversation, Harmony and Russell welcome back longtime friend, acupuncturist, and author Dr. Jagdeep Johal. Together, they explore how unresolved threat—not personality flaws or psychological issues—drives our sense of suffering. Dr. Johal discusses his new book, Ease: Unwinding the Biology of Threat, which reframes trauma, burnout, and stress through the lens of the nervous system. From the body's threat-respo...

In this multidimensional episode, Harmony Slater sits down with long-time friend and deeply intuitive healer, Angelika Anagnostou. From clearing the evil eye in childhood to becoming a certified Ashtanga yoga teacher and practitioner of Life Alignment Therapy, Angelika shares her incredible journey through spiritual awakening, depression, soul retrieval, and psychic training. Raised in Greece and trained in London at the College of Psychic Studies, Angelika opens up about the real work of reclai...

What does it take to hold space for both structure and sensitivity in modern yoga practice? In this warm and wide-ranging episode, Harmony and Russell talk with Leo Castro and Samira Eidi, co-founders of Coletivo Mysore, a thriving Ashtanga yoga community in downtown São Paulo, Brazil. Together, they explore how somatic intelligence and bioenergetic therapy can be integrated with traditional yoga practice to create more inclusive, emotionally aware spaces. Sami and Leo share their personal st...

What happens when a Benedictine monk becomes a money manager? In this rich and engaging conversation, Harmony talks with Doug Lynam about his extraordinary journey from the Marine Corps to monastic life, and ultimately into the world of finance. Drawing on his unique spiritual and intellectual background, Doug shares how childhood trauma, Enneagram types, and attachment styles shape our financial lives—and how we can transform our relationship to money with awareness and integrity. Doug’s gro...

Harmony and Russell sit down with Paul Bramadat — professor, anthropologist, and longtime yoga practitioner — to explore the spiritual, cultural, and deeply human dimensions of modern yoga. Paul, who began his yoga journey in Harmony’s studio in Victoria, BC, now returns not as a student, but as the author of Yoga Lands, a fascinating book that blends memoir, ethnography, and cultural critique. Together, they dive into the real reasons people are drawn to yoga: not just for fitness or flexibili...

In this episode of the Finding Harmony Podcast, Harmony Slater and Russell Case sit down with Raquel Devillé, a skilled therapist specializing in neurodiversity. They explore the complexities of living with ADHD, autism, and sensory sensitivities, and how these experiences can manifest in daily life—especially for highly sensitive individuals. Key Topics Covered: The meaning and nuances of neurodiversity (beyond labels and diagnoses) Executive functioning, rigid thinking, masking, and sensory...

Join Harmony Slater for a deeply transformative conversation with author and mentor Sara Avant Stover. In this heartfelt episode, they explore Sara’s powerful book, Handbook for the Heartbroken: A Woman’s Path from Devastation to Rebirth , offering profound insights into how grief and loss can be the gateways to our greatest personal and spiritual transformations. Sara shares her personal journey through heartbreak, revealing how loss—whether through death, the end of relationships, or major ...