00:00:03:08 - 00:00:17:20
Chris
Hello and welcome to the Ending Body Burnout Show. We are your host Chris and Fili, co-founders of a multi-award winning functional medicine practice serving busy people with energy, mood and gut issues. While busyness.
00:00:17:20 - 00:00:25:01
Filly
Addictive doing, people pleasing and perfectionism might be the norm, it's not normal and it's a major contributor to health issues.
00:00:25:02 - 00:00:38:07
Chris
Our goal with this show is to give you a holistic root root cause approach to healing your body so that you don't have to continue doctor or diet hopping or popping a gazillion supplement hoping something might stick.
00:00:38:08 - 00:00:46:13
Filly
So get ready to heal your body, get your spark back deeply, connect with yourself, and step into the life of your dreams.
00:00:46:14 - 00:00:55:20
Chris
Let's dive in.
00:00:55:22 - 00:01:27:12
Filly
Hello! Welcome to the podcast today. Today we have got a really beautiful, soul filling episode. So Chris and I spoke to doctor Harmony Robinson Stagg, who has come, and our podcast last year to talk all about Aviatik medicine and an avid approach to burnout. She is also a brilliant practitioner who has been a guest presenter inside our ending body burnout method.
00:01:27:12 - 00:01:50:20
Filly
So she held a workshop to help our clients understand their Aviatik dosages, their constitutions and how we could support ourselves personally based on our own makeup, which was just a brilliant workshop. I'm going to link that one in the show notes as well. For any clients inside our program who would like to go back to watch that workshop.
00:01:50:22 - 00:02:26:02
Filly
But today we are talking all about your soul's purpose and how not living it leads to burnout. And we'll be looking. Or doctor Harmony will talk about Dharma, and which is a bit different to purpose and the nuance around this word and how and how we live it, and how it can be a guiding force and how it can be part of our intuitive decision making and how it can bring us life and love and expansion and help other people in the world as well.
00:02:26:04 - 00:02:49:11
Filly
This is a beautiful conversation, so I know that you're going to feel really uplifted. You might even feel a bit confused about like, who is my authentic self? What is my purpose? But I hope by the end of the podcast you will have more clarity around who you are and why you're here on this earth and and and how you can move towards living a more truthful, authentic, beautiful life.
00:02:49:11 - 00:03:24:22
Filly
Because when you don't live in alignment with self and the truth of who you are, burnout is what happens, which we also are unpack in this podcast today. So a bit about doctor Harmony Robinson Stagg. She is a leading Aveda and women's health practitioner, doctor of Chinese Medicine and acupuncture, and a registered nurse. With over 20 years of experience, Harmony masterfully integrates Aveda, wisdom, acupuncture and Western health practices to guide women towards optimal health, hormone balance and holistic success.
00:03:25:00 - 00:04:02:17
Filly
Her signature Higher Self method combines ancient healing with evidence based science, making her a trusted mentor and thought leader in both holistic health and wellness entrepreneurship. As the founder and lead educator of the Aveda Alchemist Academy Harmony office, comprehensive training programs including Aveda Holistic Health Coaching, Vedic Breathwork Practitioner Certification, and a Vital Body Therapy courses, she equips women with the tools to build thriving, purpose driven businesses that transform transforms lives.
00:04:02:18 - 00:04:08:19
Filly
All right, let's dive into today's conversation.
00:04:08:21 - 00:04:19:21
Chris
Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Ending Body Burnout show. Today, Fili and I have a guest. We have Harmony on the on the podcast again.
00:04:19:22 - 00:04:43:04
Filly
Yay! Yes, I think we were just chatting. It's like, when did we have you on the podcast? Last year. It was last year and I will pop in the show notes the original podcast, because in that one you spoke all about your your burnout story and how you recovered and what you did to bring healing and now what you do to help other people.
00:04:43:06 - 00:05:07:16
Filly
And we also had you in our program a few months ago to talk about dosages, which was so awesome. We had like so many clients after that, when I was catching up with them for their one on one sessions, just having some really big light bulb moments around like, oh, now I've realised I've been trying to reject the what's the soft nurturing, the copper?
00:05:07:17 - 00:05:30:17
Filly
The copper? Yes. All my life have been trying to reject that and trying to be like this businesswoman and like, you know, do all the things and it's like, oh, I think that's actually my natural constitution. And like. And so she's actually now she was really struggling to kind of find like who she was at her core and to, to really lean into that.
00:05:30:17 - 00:05:39:01
Filly
So and there were other stories like that as well. So thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with our people. And we're going to share more today.
00:05:39:03 - 00:05:45:18
Dr Harmony
Yes, I love speaking about all things I evader health wellness. So yeah bring it on.
00:05:45:19 - 00:06:14:08
Filly
Yes. So today we are going to dive into purpose and Dharma. And how you believe that not living it can actually lead to burnout. So I'm really excited about this because I think this is going like a layer deeper underneath the physical, even the emotional, mental, and really deeper into the spiritual realms of ourselves and what our soul craves.
00:06:14:10 - 00:06:15:00
Dr Harmony
Yeah.
00:06:15:05 - 00:06:34:14
Filly
So first question. Dharma probably isn't a word that a lot of Western listeners have heard of. Would you be able to just explain what this word means and how it might be showing up in people's lives, or how people can start thinking about it?
00:06:34:16 - 00:07:00:13
Dr Harmony
Yeah. So just to preface, Dharma, I think you just made a really important point is from the perspective of health and true health and well-being, I think it really is one of the pillars. So we've got the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and dharmic health of an individual. And as you mentioned, as a practitioner, what I'm seeing is dumb, a deficit being something that can lead to poor health.
00:07:00:13 - 00:07:22:18
Dr Harmony
And so in the West, when we talk about dharma, a lot of there's a lot of confusion around it because people may have heard it like it's quite a trendy Sanskrit word spoken in like yoga. And, you know, even brands are called dharma these days as different brands and stuff. And it's loosely translated to purpose or often translated to purpose.
00:07:22:19 - 00:07:53:12
Dr Harmony
And whilst that's not wrong, it's not the the entirety of the word, because in evader and the language which is called Sanskrit, one word can hold so much meaning. So from a Vedic perspective, it's a lot richer than, you know, just quote unquote purpose. The Sanskrit word dharma, it comes from the root, though, which means to uphold, to sustain, or that which holds together.
00:07:53:12 - 00:08:21:21
Dr Harmony
So Dharma is really the force that sustains both the universe and us as individuals. And on a personal level, Dharma is actually living in alignment with your authentic nature. And some people might find that they are living in their authenticity through their business, which they correlate to their purpose. But it's actually expressing the gifts you came here with.
00:08:21:22 - 00:08:50:16
Dr Harmony
It doesn't need to be in a career per se. It's living according to your values, your truth, your unique constitution that you mentioned earlier, rather than conditioning that you've picked up along the way through our society. So it's not necessarily your job title. It's not the title that you carry like mum, sister, daughter. It's not your income. It is the fullest expression of who you truly are.
00:08:50:17 - 00:09:04:15
Dr Harmony
And I think that's really important because we've confused purpose with achievement. And from a Vedic perspective, your dharma is actually about alignment.
00:09:04:17 - 00:09:16:03
Filly
Okay, you mention universal. Can you explain that a little bit more like it's I can't remember specifically the, the line that you used.
00:09:16:05 - 00:09:45:23
Dr Harmony
Yeah. So it is the four. So Dharma is the force that sustains both us as individuals because us within alignment and also the universe. And so when we use the word dharma, we can we talk about our dharmic impact, which directly impacts the whole universe. We talk about our dharmic path. Are we walking in alignment to the path we came here to walk, which is to evolve and to grow.
00:09:45:23 - 00:10:03:08
Dr Harmony
And so if we're looking at the the root of the word, which means that to uphold, to sustain and hold together, it's it talks about us as individuals, but how we contribute to the whole whole of humanity, the whole of the universe.
00:10:03:14 - 00:10:47:03
Filly
Okay, awesome. That's good. I understand I had a had a coaching session with a client yesterday. I think it was. And she was kind of stuck on the purpose piece. And, and, I mean, this will be a question for you shortly, but just quickly, just because it aligns with what you were saying the way that I described it is, well, when you're when you're living authentically, when you know who you are and you're, you're living in alignment with who you want to be and who you feel that you are just naturally, inherently, innately, the fact that you are living that way ripples out into the rest of the world, like it's going to
00:10:47:03 - 00:11:10:19
Filly
start impacting your family, your friends, your community. If you have clients or customers, planet life, flora and fauna and animals. So I feel like like the way that you described the Dharma, like, yes, it's purpose, but it's almost like this rippling out just because of the essence of who you are. Is that? Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
00:11:10:19 - 00:11:53:12
Dr Harmony
Because it's like it's your values as well. Yeah. It's it's your what how I see Dharma and you playing that out is you fully expressing and living as your higher self. And I think that's a really sort of one of the, I guess, hidden epidemics that's affecting modern women is not fully embracing who they truly are or living in accordance or alignment with their their unique gifts that they have or their their values even.
00:11:53:14 - 00:12:17:13
Filly
There's going to be a question around like, how do we actually figure out who we are? Because I know a lot of people that I speak with, like clients have this question in this darkness. But before we go there, can you speak into what actually happens if we're not living in alignment with with who we are, our values, dharma, living our purpose, like what actually happens physically, mentally, emotionally?
00:12:17:17 - 00:12:22:04
Filly
And is it connected to do you see this connected to burnout.
00:12:22:06 - 00:12:44:13
Dr Harmony
100%? So I was just about to say, as you said, asking that question. Well, Billie, I think you see a lot of people who are not living in alignment with Durham, okay? Because you run like the burnout program. And I really think that, you know, burnout, we often think burnout happens because we're doing too much. And sometimes that is absolutely true.
00:12:44:13 - 00:13:17:11
Dr Harmony
But I think a lot of burnout comes from doing too much of what isn't aligned. So living against yourself, ignoring your intuition, suppressing your own needs. And I think a lot of women do this, not putting up those boundaries we need to have in place. And I know you came on my part cast recently as in today, and I was speaking about myself like, you know, you were talking about the the limbic system and the trauma response of that.
00:13:17:11 - 00:13:44:02
Dr Harmony
And I was explaining how I was so dysregulated recently. And really, when I look at it, I wasn't putting up boundaries that I needed to put up in place, and I was suppressing my own needs. And so in that moment, for those few days, I was 100% living out of alignment with like from my Dharma, even though I was showing up to my my work, which I honestly feel is part of my dharmic path.
00:13:44:02 - 00:14:06:19
Dr Harmony
So I was doing the job, but I wasn't in alignment with my dharma because a lot of my values had slid down. And that created a feeling in a sense of absolute fatigue and burnout. It's it's like women who are constantly saying yes when their body is just saying, absolutely not. And over time, that creates this enormous internal friction.
00:14:06:19 - 00:14:40:16
Dr Harmony
And as you may describe it now, as the limbic system trauma loop, maybe where we're using sort of these similar, you know, words and you're you're talking sort of like more in this sort of functional medicine scientific point of view as well as, you know, integrating this 5000 year old system. We're all saying this sort of same thing, and that is that the nervous system doesn't know the difference between running from a tiger and abandoning yourself every single day.
00:14:40:20 - 00:15:07:05
Dr Harmony
Logically, we know it, but not this nervous system. And eventually that stress begins to show up physically. So then what happens is, when we're not living in alignment with our dharma, we will have this unsettling of the mind. We will then have these physical manifestations, whether that be headaches, sore shoulders. Some may hold it in their hips or their calves.
00:15:07:06 - 00:15:46:01
Dr Harmony
Digestive issues. All of these physical complaints will also come to the surface. And sometimes we have to ask, well, what's going on deeper than just the physical? And that's when we often discover that there's a misalignment with our dharma. And I've had a client recently who she she came to me for hormonal issues, and I was seeing her over a three month period, and she was on like my hormonal protocol that was created for her individual constitution, because in I, Aveda, we look at the different doses.
00:15:46:01 - 00:16:08:08
Dr Harmony
And that was the episode we did last time. And so she was doing all of those things, and she was making some great changes in her diet. And there was a few, like, physical elements that had changed. She lost some weight, her skin cleared up, and she was feeling like, like happy, a happier than she was because she also was feeling really down with her.
00:16:08:08 - 00:16:34:06
Dr Harmony
She was a copper constitution, if that means anything to anyone, a bit out of balance. And so she was saying, I'm feeling good, I'm feeling good, but I'm not feeling 100% and I can't put my finger on it. And it's generally like when I go to work, even though I have a sit down job, I'm not doing anything and I'm having coffee and I'm like eating healthy.
00:16:34:06 - 00:16:58:23
Dr Harmony
So I'm like having coffee for energy. But I'm also eating really healthy and I'm just feeling really depleted at the end of the day still, and I don't know if it's my hormones, is what she was saying. Now, all the labs were great. All of the other physical signs and symptoms were gone. But when we go further into that, she started actually crying and I was like, oh, like, what's up?
00:16:59:01 - 00:17:17:12
Dr Harmony
But what she was explaining through the tears was that she's in a receptionist role, and this isn't where she thought her life was going to be in her mid 30s and she doesn't have kids and she hasn't met her partner. Her partner broke up with her a few years earlier, and she doesn't know the direction her life is going in.
00:17:17:12 - 00:17:41:10
Dr Harmony
And she thought by the time she was 30 she would have a great career. She would have her kid should have a husband. And I was like, whoa, like, we can't, as we mentioned, like our supplement out protocol, this disconnection from self in alignment to our dharma. And also in the West, we're constantly thinking our job defines us and that is our dharma.
00:17:41:11 - 00:18:00:04
Dr Harmony
But when we started looking at actually what brings her joy, what brings her into alignment, because not everyone can just switch jobs. Like we can't just say, okay, well, you know, that's not an alignment with your sole purpose, so you better quickly get out of it. Because she had bills to pay, she had things to do. But we looked at her position.
00:18:00:04 - 00:18:25:19
Dr Harmony
She said, oh yeah, I actually get leave whenever I want. I get good leave like it's it's I'm able to save. She was also living with her parents at that time and she says, I really want to go to Greece. I really love travelling. And we reframed it as this job is affording you to be able to save, to go and, you know, travel and connect with friends and doing those type of things, which gets you more into that alignment with that joy aspect.
00:18:25:19 - 00:19:00:00
Dr Harmony
And when we can align into those higher feelings and higher frequencies, we can start to see clearly where we are out of alignment with our values. Because sometimes when you're stuck in the fog and you're stuck in like the heaviness, it's hard to to see. We don't have that clarity of mind. So again, you know, this story is just to say that while she did all the the dietary protocols, the herbal medicines, even the body works, therapies and treatments, she did get some improvements.
00:19:00:04 - 00:19:15:11
Dr Harmony
But it wasn't until we actually dove deeper into her dharma and aligning with her herself and showing up as her higher self, and what that would look like. Did she really start to make a huge transitional change?
00:19:15:13 - 00:19:44:01
Filly
Yeah. So as you were talking about that, I am reflecting there were two, two significant times in the last year that I felt like I was I didn't even want to say out of alignment, but it was almost like something was missing, something that my soul really desired. And last year, you know, after having a lot of stillness with self and really tapping into what does my soul want?
00:19:44:02 - 00:20:13:22
Filly
What does my heart want? It was more play, more creativity, more trouble, that sort of stuff. So it was really interesting because leading up to that, there were a period of maybe like 3 or 4 months of just apathy. I wouldn't say I was depressed and there was no reason why I felt low. Like, I mean, marriage is good, kids are good, business is good, health is good.
00:20:14:03 - 00:20:33:17
Filly
But it was just like this low grade apathy. And I was it was really weird because I'm like, out of all the I mean, I have had postnatal depression before, but that hasn't been a big chronic symptom of mine. So I was like, oh, this doesn't feel good. And then there were some physical things that started popping up because I wasn't really listening.
00:20:33:17 - 00:21:01:05
Filly
I was listening enough that I was aware that I, that I was having these emotions, these feelings that something wasn't quite right, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. And then when when that spoke through, we did a musical production together. We went caravanning for four weeks. And also part of that too, is putting on our own retreat, which is happening in August, which was.
00:21:01:05 - 00:21:02:11
Chris
Just sold out retreat.
00:21:02:12 - 00:21:34:03
Filly
And sold out retreat, which was so amazing. And before I could, even before we created the landing page and got clear on like where it was going to be, it was probably about five months of working through subconscious blocks around why I shouldn't do it, why it didn't make sense that I should do this thing. But the heart, which I think is like the dharma that you're talking about, it just kept sending these signals to me and I'm like, just trust it, because I know that every time I've trusted in the past, only good things have happened.
00:21:34:03 - 00:22:05:20
Filly
But it really felt like what it was feeling my creative cup of just like putting on this like beautiful retreat, which is very different to creating something in the online space, which I also love. But it was almost always felt like I was missing that connection to Earth, that real life connection with like a group of people that could come together and then just the beauty of creating it and then knowing, too, that it was going to ripple out beyond me.
00:22:05:22 - 00:22:22:04
Dr Harmony
So beautiful. Exactly. You just came back into line with your values. You know, those deep seated values that your business is, is based on? There was another way of expressing it that you really needed to put out there in the world. Amazing.
00:22:22:05 - 00:22:42:15
Filly
So this is a question then, because I know, like when we when our clients get to the point where it's like, what do you want? Like, let's start dreaming a little, like, what do you actually want? And who do you want to be and who are you? There are like, there's a, there's a pattern of a type of type of people that just get really shut down to this.
00:22:42:16 - 00:22:43:10
Chris
Like, I don't know.
00:22:43:11 - 00:23:06:13
Filly
I saw it like it's almost like they go into the Free State and it causes a lot of distress even pondering about this. So I'm, I'm curious is that is that what's happening with being out of alignment with your dharma or like, and how does someone break through that to be able to know, like who is my authentic self?
00:23:06:13 - 00:23:17:00
Filly
If I'm shedding away all the programming and the beliefs and the experiences that I've had, who the heck even am I? How does how does someone find that?
00:23:17:01 - 00:23:39:00
Dr Harmony
Yeah. I mean, this is I mean, this is the age old question, right? This is such a good question because I feel like, as I mentioned, it's one of the epidemics of modern wellness in women is who am I? Like this. You know, I was especially I feel and I specialise in this sort of perimenopause to menopausal transition.
00:23:39:02 - 00:23:59:00
Dr Harmony
The woman has already gone through so many different transitions, and they may have young kids who have now grown up, who maybe even sort of leaving home or not hanging around them anymore. They may realise that the job that they've been in for 30 years is bringing them no joy. Maybe it's the relationship that's bringing them no joy.
00:23:59:01 - 00:24:28:07
Dr Harmony
And then they're like, well, who am I without all of these roles and these identities that we've created for ourselves? Because really, to be able to find your authentic true self or to really step into that, you need to break away from these, these roles that our A we call it in, which is the ego mind, which does serve a purpose, but it creates these roles and responsibilities for us to make us feel purposeful.
00:24:28:07 - 00:24:58:09
Dr Harmony
But that's because in the West, remember, we think purpose is directly related to achieve it. So what happens when we break away from those roles and identities? We feel purposeless because we believe that we are no longer achieving. And in our modern society, we are also sort of not relevant anymore. Right? And so what does what does that sort of mean if we're not relevant?
00:24:58:10 - 00:24:59:11
Dr Harmony
And who are we relevant.
00:24:59:11 - 00:25:03:21
Filly
To crisis to? It's just like exactly.
00:25:03:21 - 00:25:37:13
Dr Harmony
It is. It's a massive identity crisis. So we really need to connect to our true herself, who we truly are. And when we do that, we are connecting and aligning to our values. And we're showing up in the world in alignment with Aldama, because our dharma and our purpose is not our roles and responsibilities with assigned to ourselves.
00:25:37:14 - 00:26:14:18
Dr Harmony
Our Dharma is showing up with the right action, at the right time, in the right way, and becoming our higher self and just basically being a really good person. So how do we reconnect to ourselves once we've let go of all those responsibilities? You know, it's not about having to reconnect by doing more of all of these, you know, other things to try to find out who am I like, oh, maybe, maybe I'm meant to be doing Zumba because, like, I could be really good at Zumba and oh, that's it.
00:26:14:18 - 00:26:22:21
Dr Harmony
I used to love dance when I was little. Or maybe, maybe I need to go volunteer with the animals. Like it's not about doing more to quickly find who you are.
00:26:22:23 - 00:26:48:09
Filly
It's really, can I just speak into that? Because I feel like that's. Yeah, maybe it's a transition to get to the deeper knowing. But I do find see that with clients as well. Or it's just like, okay, right. So what do I need to do then? Maybe I need to do something different. And it's just like, oh, hang on, we're still attaching on to something that is tangible that you can attach another identity onto.
00:26:48:11 - 00:26:50:19
Filly
Like, I'm a silver dancer now.
00:26:50:21 - 00:27:13:15
Dr Harmony
Yeah, exactly. And I mean, and all that can be fun. And that might be part of the process. But first of all, it really comes by becoming quiet. And that can be a really scary place for people. So taking time out of your day to become really quiet, you're not listening to a podcast, you're not listening to a meditation.
00:27:13:18 - 00:27:54:11
Dr Harmony
You're just sitting with yourself so that you can hear yourself again, your true self. We have become so used to being overstimulated. We're constantly consuming. We're scrolling, we're listening, comparing all the things. But somewhere underneath all of that, that noise, there is this deep knowing because it's you. And sometimes you've lost that trust within yourself. But your deepest intuition, which you may have dimmed down a little bit to be pleasing other people has, is still there.
00:27:54:13 - 00:28:19:12
Dr Harmony
Okay, so that means that your dharma never disappeared. It's just maybe over the span of your life has been drowned out. So I really encourage women to become curious again and not ask. Oh, what should I do? As like you were just saying. Oh, what should I do now? Like. But genuinely, what gives me life? We say the word prana.
00:28:19:13 - 00:28:44:10
Dr Harmony
Prana means life force, energy. What gives me life? What? What is that? Where is that joy? Where does that come from? Where do I feel most myself and not not? Where do I feel most myself? Because it pleases other people. But where do I really feel most myself? And then asking the questions about where am I abandoning myself?
00:28:44:10 - 00:29:15:17
Dr Harmony
Where am I not putting up those boundaries with people? And those questions? Asking yourself those good quality questions can really open up this conversation with yourself to get deeper into understanding and knowing who you are. And so once you've sat in the silence, once you've just sat there absolutely doing nothing but existing, then maybe you can go on to journaling, doing this exercise, even if it's just once a week, making it a ritual.
00:29:15:18 - 00:29:50:00
Dr Harmony
Because when we make it a ritual, it's is really beautiful. Tapping into this deeper sense of, of like intuition and into self. And so when we start to ask those questions, we can start to see where Aldama in this point in time is actually guiding us and how it's guiding us to show up. Because, remember, it's not exactly about what you're going to do, but who you are going to be.
00:29:50:01 - 00:30:24:10
Dr Harmony
So how are you simply going to show up? Because you can live your dharma as a mother, as a nurse, as a teacher, as someone who's retired, as a business owner, a volunteer, a CEO. But it's not always Dharma isn't always changing your circumstance. It's changing how truthfully you live within your circumstance. And like I said, that might be setting boundaries, having honest conversations, creating instead of consuming.
00:30:24:10 - 00:30:48:23
Dr Harmony
And that's what you did. You went out and created. And that is one of the, the highest. I've lost the word for it, but it's this highest form of expression in the world is to really embrace your creativity, because that's aligning with this essence of who you truly are. And when we call on these Vedic deities like Saraswati, she's the goddess of creativity.
00:30:48:23 - 00:31:21:19
Dr Harmony
And we have all of these in the Vedic tradition, these different deities that help us express our higher self. And so creativity is a form of that, but it also means saying no to things like you become so much more discerning once you understand what your values in life are. And so making a list of your values because you might realise where you've been, saying yes to things you meant no to, or where you've said no because you're too scared to say yes and just really leaning into trusting yourself.
00:31:21:19 - 00:31:32:23
Dr Harmony
And at the end of the day, choosing work or tasks that feels meaningful.
00:31:33:01 - 00:31:33:16
Dr Harmony
So.
00:31:33:19 - 00:32:05:04
Filly
So many things. So many things that I know, like good, good things. And I'm feeling it more than thinking it. So would you say, would you say Dharma then is the same or similar to intuition? Because when you were talking about that, it's like, I know, I know who I am, but I feel it. And it's less like a statement that I could write on my whiteboard.
00:32:05:06 - 00:32:44:00
Dr Harmony
100% Dharma is the embodiment of your higher self. So if what you said is like you're feeling it, that is the the feeling is everything because the feeling is the embodiment. And if you can master and capture that feeling at any time you go into a situation that might feel out of alignment, if you can start to embody that feeling, come back to that place, then the actions you choose to respond to to that situation will bring you back into alignment, because life isn't always going to be easy.
00:32:44:01 - 00:33:21:16
Dr Harmony
I mean, where humans, we're here to grow and evolve, and that is part of our dharma and the karmic loop that we're in. But when we can meet every opportunity, whether that be a conflicting opportunity or not, as an embodied higher self, we're going to make a different choice and reaction and response that will either help us grow and will be really proud of that, or will keep us where we are, and then we're going to constantly be presented with that same type of life lesson until we can move and grow through it.
00:33:21:16 - 00:33:37:23
Dr Harmony
And the quicker we learn to align with our dharma, the easier or the with more grace. Can we move through life experiences?
00:33:38:01 - 00:34:07:06
Filly
Yeah, and helps us to make decisions as well. Like a lion? Yeah. It's something I've been feeling into a lot more. Maybe in the last 1 or 2 years. I mean, we briefly talked about it before we pressed record, just around like some business decisions. I'm sort of like coming to the end of. And then it's like, oh, and I'm not really sure what it looks like after I know my head.
00:34:07:06 - 00:34:33:21
Filly
And there's a couple of opportunities that have come up and I think past me who would have been disconnected to following the the intuitive kind of pulls towards where I want to go that feels really aligned or brings some sort of joy. So past me that was disconnected to that would have said yes to these things, probably after like, you know, a week of just thinking about it.
00:34:33:22 - 00:34:49:15
Filly
It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, that could work. That all makes sense. But I've now realised when I'm looking back in my timeline of all the times that I've said yes to something because I've felt a real heart or soul pull to it. That's where the magic has happened.
00:34:49:17 - 00:35:24:08
Dr Harmony
Totally. And being in alignment with your Dharma will feel really expansive and joyful, and you will be able to more readily access those higher centres of consciousness. You know, we talk about these seven layers of consciousness in the mind, and they all have a purpose. So like a hum colour ego, which is the sense of self and Ines, but it can also be the sense of fear and logical reasoning that can that has a purpose 100% has a purpose.
00:35:24:08 - 00:35:52:04
Dr Harmony
But when we feel expansive because we're in alignment with our dharma, we're going to access our body mind, which is our higher intellect, to make discerning decisions that are for the higher good, not only of ourselves but of the universe. Because if we come back to that at the start we spoke about the Dharma is upholding, yes, our personal on a personal level, but it's upholding and sustaining the good of the universe.
00:35:52:06 - 00:36:22:03
Dr Harmony
So when we are in alignment with those decisions and we're accessing these higher levels of consciousness and making decisions from that level, we are contributing to humanity. We're contributing to the universe. And whether it plays out in the way that we expect it to, because again, that's our expectations are not what Dharma is about. It's about aligning. Maybe it's our soul purpose, it's our values.
00:36:22:03 - 00:36:27:20
Dr Harmony
It's our higher self for the good of humanity and the universe as a whole.
00:36:27:22 - 00:36:50:13
Filly
So good. I'm curious, Chris, because Chris even G I'd probably say even before I met you and even before you did deeper inner work, you were just really good at shedding old identities and being pulled to like something that you feel really good about. I'm excited about, like, does any of this resonate?
00:36:50:14 - 00:36:51:10
Chris
Oh yeah.
00:36:51:12 - 00:37:05:02
Chris
100%. And, As as I'm listening, I've got my way, my my own internal way that I've been saying what you're saying.
00:37:05:04 - 00:37:05:22
Chris
Like, I.
00:37:05:22 - 00:37:36:11
Chris
Remember having a real existential crisis, a void of identity type moment of my life where I really attached my, my sense of worth to what I did and how how I performed and what I, what I did. Just briefly chatting before we press record about how I injured my ankle playing basketball, just real socially. But but I used to do that a lot.
00:37:36:13 - 00:38:01:04
Chris
For my work. I would hurt myself. I would injure myself, I would I would push my my body to the, to the limit. And it was just kind of collateral damage of myself. And then I got to a point I couldn't I couldn't do the things anymore that I base my whole sense of identity and self on. And then I remember sitting down one day on the gutter, literally like I was.
00:38:01:06 - 00:38:22:06
Chris
I was at a gym in, in Melbourne, or how have you said that suburb and, and I just started sobbing. I couldn't, I couldn't do it. I couldn't do what I was meant to do. And my, my friend, my mentor came up. He's like, what's going on? I'm like, I can't walk, I can't squat. And he's like, that is, that's awful, man.
00:38:22:06 - 00:38:55:15
Chris
What are you going to do? And he was like laughing at me. I'm like, I don't know. It's stupid, isn't it? But I feel so emotional and and I had this, this real void where I'd based for so long. I'd based my, myself on what I did. And then I went through a transition of not being so needy and and having my needs met externally and, and really fearing that I was I was unworthy and unlovable in regards to.
00:38:55:16 - 00:39:18:09
Chris
If I couldn't do the thing, then I wasn't worth it. So anyway, that's all my way of of saying what you were just saying, and then got to a point where I sort of that nonsense out rewrote, rewrote my own rules about myself and yeah, started to, to really lean into it. It's less about what I do, but more about who I am.
00:39:18:09 - 00:39:26:08
Chris
And I can do anything now, as long as I'm connected with with who I am and yeah, that sort of thing.
00:39:26:09 - 00:39:40:16
Filly
Yeah, like some eating. Can I just share some iterations? Like it was like a guitar and these are still doing things, but you were just being led because like, you just found pure joy or interesting.
00:39:40:17 - 00:39:42:13
Chris
It's not. It's less about what I do.
00:39:42:14 - 00:39:48:10
Filly
Mountain climbing now, an actor, gardening. But like we'll go full on.
00:39:48:14 - 00:39:57:18
Chris
It's a little bit of ADT in there, probably a little bit of Add and but I can I can do anything.
00:39:57:20 - 00:39:59:13
Chris
That sounds funny but I.
00:39:59:13 - 00:40:01:05
Filly
Think you're feeling pulled towards.
00:40:01:11 - 00:40:12:12
Chris
Yeah it's more about who I, how I am rather than what I do because I can do anything I want. Anything that's inspiring. You know, it doesn't matter what I.
00:40:12:15 - 00:40:16:06
Dr Harmony
Tell you. Show up doing the things any any of the things that you want.
00:40:16:07 - 00:40:35:13
Chris
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So now, now I care less about what I do. And I care more about how I am and who I am. Like, exactly what you just said there. It's, And that takes a lot of pressure and shame off me as well, because for, for the longest time, I tried to force myself to keep doing the things.
00:40:35:13 - 00:41:00:12
Chris
And that led to to burnout over and over again. It led to injuries. It led to to break down physically, emotionally, in relationships, all this sort of stuff. It was it was a real big, big issue. So it's less about shaming myself for doing the doings and more about just leaning into being who I, who I am.
00:41:00:14 - 00:41:27:07
Dr Harmony
I think it's such an important lesson that, you know, as humans, we generally learn along the way, and some might learn it earlier than others. You've obviously learned it like earlier than some people I know. Even for my husband at the moment, he he's a runner and he had this goal to smash the, the Gold Coast marathon that was just on, and he got injured beforehand and pushed through that injury.
00:41:27:07 - 00:41:59:12
Dr Harmony
He thought he could just keep pushing and pushing, and he end up not being able to run at all. And then in that same period, he a lot of his work and he's in the medical field and a lot of his work, his lists were gone. And so he went into this deep state of depression. And he was saying like, it wasn't I was saying all this stuff to him, but, you know, you can't hear it from someone you don't want to hear it from.
00:41:59:13 - 00:42:21:11
Dr Harmony
And then we, we went to Prana Fest and he picked up this book that was written by true psychologists, and it's explaining exactly what I'm saying about the the body mind, the identity, all of those things, but in different terminology. And he repeated it back to me. I'm like, yeah, that's what I've been saying. Like your identity is stuck on these things.
00:42:21:11 - 00:42:42:23
Dr Harmony
And he goes, I know, but you know, I needed to hear it for myself from someone else. And the fact is, I've realised now that I have identified myself so much as a runner and as a doctor. When those two things got taken away from me, I didn't know who I was anymore, and I was like, it is such a crisis that so many of us go through.
00:42:42:23 - 00:43:02:20
Dr Harmony
And I think that's where we really have to practice that non-attachment to our roles and, and find deeper meaning in who we truly are. And that's in how we can show up, whether it's like washing the dishes or doing the most mundane tasks, how we show up as a mother, as a friend. That is what's important. That's what you're remembered by.
00:43:02:21 - 00:43:09:04
Dr Harmony
So your dharma and your values all show in how you show up, no matter what you're doing.
00:43:09:09 - 00:43:25:21
Chris
That makes so much sense to me. Like, I get that, but I've said that to some people and and they're like, what do you mean? How can you show? Like, what do you mean show up? You know, do like do the thing. Like.
00:43:25:23 - 00:43:26:18
Filly
How do you do?
00:43:26:19 - 00:43:27:08
Chris
How do you how do.
00:43:27:08 - 00:43:29:05
Filly
You do you need to do to be.
00:43:29:05 - 00:43:30:19
Chris
Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:30:21 - 00:43:34:16
Dr Harmony
Okay. So well how deep you want to go.
00:43:34:17 - 00:44:14:20
Dr Harmony
So these, these these very I guess virtues that we, we go by. And this Chris I think is also a reflection on your story is the very first one is ahimsa and Hindu means non-violence and obviously non-violence to others but non-violence to ourself. So if we are having any type of negative self-talk, if we're repeating behaviours and patterns that we know are not conducive to our health, if we are pushing through injuries, any of this type of of behaviours or mindset is not practising, not ahimsa.
00:44:14:21 - 00:44:37:12
Dr Harmony
It is. It's a hinder. It's it's violence towards ourselves. And so there's a whole, there's a, there's a process or of these virtues. And then the arm is and the yamas. Right. And so there's ahimsa which is the non non-violence. There's also which is, is being true like truthfulness, like being true to who we are. What do we want.
00:44:37:13 - 00:44:53:23
Dr Harmony
Sometimes people are too afraid to say it. And that's where that's sitting in silence comes down. So you can actually be actually you know what I really want to do? I friggin want to write a book. But how embarrassing. What have I got to say? You know, all this kind of stuff? Don't worry about the house of the what's or other people like.
00:44:54:00 - 00:45:27:16
Dr Harmony
What is it? What is your truth? And so when we say, how do you want to show up? Do that in. Ask yourself, like, how would your higher self show up? And I do this practice with some of my clients where we actually visualise. So I take them to this visualisation process of them stepping into their sort of higher self and we say, okay, let any imagery imagery come across, what room are you walking into or what nature where, where are you?
00:45:27:17 - 00:45:55:11
Dr Harmony
Let's first start. Where are you? Okay. What are you wearing? How are you holding yourself? And a lot of people will picture themselves speaking on stage in a power. So some other people in a flowing skirt, jumping down a waterfall like everyone, is so different because it comes back again to when we can visualise what that higher self looks like, we can start to then embody what that feels like, and that comes back to that embodiment piece we're talking about earlier.
00:45:55:11 - 00:46:17:05
Dr Harmony
Because once you, you know, maybe they feel confident and powerful, but in this really like giving and serving way, or maybe they just feel in flow with nature. And it's it's not all of those external descriptive words. It's how they feel in that moment and when they can embody that feeling. That's how you show up. That is what we mean by showing up.
00:46:17:07 - 00:46:27:02
Chris
I like it. We'll we'll snip that last two minutes and send that as an auto reply to anyone who who asks us that question ever again.
00:46:27:04 - 00:46:29:12
Dr Harmony
Okay. Visualise yourself.
00:46:29:17 - 00:46:32:08
Dr Harmony
Is the best possible person you can be. Yes.
00:46:32:08 - 00:46:46:19
Filly
That's it. You've mentioned values a few times, so if I can sneak in a Segway. Last question. What is your process to help someone to find like the top values?
00:46:46:21 - 00:47:18:19
Dr Harmony
Yeah. And you know what? I feel like these can sometimes change over time. And just like if we're talking about our we're talking about our dharmic path, it's our whole pathway, right? Right through our lifespan and throughout our lifespan, our dharma. If we're looking at it from like this sort of purpose point of view changes. Because if we have just given birth to a little baby, Aldama is to show up as the best mother we can be in that moment.
00:47:18:20 - 00:47:48:05
Dr Harmony
If we are creating a business, then Aldama is going to be really directed towards our business and so the values, they may shift and change along our dharmic path. But you usually have these core values that are with you. No matter what. And again, it comes down to asking yourself these really deep questions about your integrity and your ethical standpoint.
00:47:48:08 - 00:48:11:12
Dr Harmony
Because I think a lot of the time when we talk about our values, we can say things that I guess we should say are our values. For instance, a lot of moms who are working in businesses, they will, you know, what are your three core values, for instance? And they'll say, oh, family and yes, wealth. That is a value.
00:48:11:15 - 00:48:37:19
Dr Harmony
Sometimes deep down the what their meaning is, their value is actually connection, because sometimes they're saying their value is family, yet they're prioritising all of their time in their business. They're getting stressed out by their business and then resenting the kids for things that they have to do for their kids and with their kids. So what is it?
00:48:37:20 - 00:49:10:21
Dr Harmony
Is your value actually family, and are you out of alignment with that? Or if you're really honest with yourself, is your value something else? And that is an important aspect of your of your life 100%. But that's that's not the the value in the sense of time with family, for instance, it might be quality connection with with people because you can still have the quality connection with your kids or your family members, but not dedicate every minute of your time with them.
00:49:10:21 - 00:49:34:12
Dr Harmony
Whereas someone who dharma is to to become a mom and have these five kids and and cook for the family and really be of service and they say my value is is family and being of service to my family. I feel like that would be integrity with how they're showing up. And I know that sounds really harsh, like I don't I don't know if that came across right.
00:49:34:13 - 00:49:44:14
Dr Harmony
But again, it's about it's it's about this. Yeah. It's this truth being so honest with ourselves. Yeah.
00:49:44:16 - 00:49:51:19
Chris
It makes it makes sense because I did this exercise with myself, a while ago, and I.
00:49:51:19 - 00:49:55:21
Filly
Really did it with me to. And I'm like, family and like, is it.
00:49:55:23 - 00:50:31:01
Chris
Well, because my, my highest value isn't family. It's freedom. And and and when I feel free, well, I can I can be around and connect with people that I love. I can do things that I enjoy. I can really show up as my highest version of myself. But when I'm constrained, when I'm compelled, when I'm shamed, when I'm bullied or belittled into into family or or work or eating food or walking down the street, you know, when I feel like that, I am not my best version of myself.
00:50:31:01 - 00:50:51:10
Chris
And so Chris's highest value doesn't have to be everyone's. Surely it isn't. But freedom is is mine. And I remember talking to some people about that and they're like, it should be family. It should be this. I'm like, well, you're going against my highest value freedom, telling me what I exactly.
00:50:51:12 - 00:50:55:01
Dr Harmony
And I think it's such a good example, like you just brought it all.
00:50:55:01 - 00:50:55:14
Dr Harmony
Into one.
00:50:55:15 - 00:50:56:17
Dr Harmony
Like that freedom.
00:50:56:17 - 00:51:18:03
Dr Harmony
Because that is one of my values too. And so I totally get it. And that freedom, it does allow you to be able to step into your higher self because you're aligning with your highest values in life. And that isn't to say that you value freedom. So you're just going to run off, travel the world and leave your family behind because exactly what you don't do, right?
00:51:18:05 - 00:51:40:07
Dr Harmony
It's not what you do. But again, finding freedom within your day, maybe within your speech. It's in these small pockets of time where you constantly realigning with the sense of freedom. You're showing up as a beautiful husband, a wonderful father, you know, in your business. Because what your idea of freedom is isn't even the next person's idea of freedom as well.
00:51:40:09 - 00:51:42:22
Chris
Yeah. Yeah, totally. Exactly.
00:51:43:00 - 00:52:06:05
Filly
Your example of the mom was a light bulb moment for me in the past two because I remember, like when we had children, I didn't feel super maternal and, you know, and I, and I wanted something more than just being a stay at home mom and all that sort of stuff. And I for a long time, I heard a lot of guilt around that because then I would look at other people.
00:52:06:05 - 00:52:44:20
Filly
I've got someone specifically in my mind, beautiful human being, but just like, oh, like she's just the best mother and just so homely and soft and and there was this clash between what I thought I should be and actually who I was. And then when I realised that and I was with able to let that go and just say, oh, well, I don't have to put myself into that box because I've got a lot of other gifts and, you know, values and that sort of stuff that I bring to the world that I also get to use with my children.
00:52:44:23 - 00:52:51:20
Filly
It's just not homeschooling them or it's not, you know, reading books to them for two hours at night.
00:52:51:22 - 00:53:14:14
Dr Harmony
Oh, I hear you. I totally hear you. And isn't it beautiful that we all have different dharmas and different ways of expressing our dharmas? I should say, because, you know, at the core of Dharma is a line in lineman that I keep saying to our, to herself, and that's our higher self, and that higher self is pure and beautiful and amazing and has these special gifts.
00:53:14:14 - 00:53:26:11
Dr Harmony
But the world would be a very boring place if we all had the same gifts, and we used them in the same way. No, that's not not how the world works. Yeah, yeah.
00:53:26:12 - 00:53:35:08
Filly
So good. Well, this has been so soul filling.
00:53:35:10 - 00:53:54:20
Filly
I've had lots of. And again, like I haven't in this conversation, it's been less around like, oh, different thoughts popping up and it's more the feeling in the body, which is I think if we could encapsulate what dharma is, the way that you described it, it's that, that deeper knowing of self. Yeah.
00:53:54:21 - 00:54:18:06
Dr Harmony
And you know, when you're on the path because you're just like I said, you just feel connected and expansive and you feel like you're doing something good. Like the greater the greater of the world. Like, even my, my mom, which I wrote about in my book, she growing up, she was an alcoholic. And the person she was always lost.
00:54:18:06 - 00:54:55:17
Dr Harmony
She always felt lost. She was also adopted. So she had abandonment issues. She started multiple degrees. Never finished any of them. Did wait for singles and little jobs here and there. Never felt really connected and continued to drink. And then it wasn't until she became sober. And now she's been for over ten years or more that the illusion that we call it Maya, this illusion and this fog sort of cleared and and her true self could sort of come forward and she could really understand who she wanted to be and what she wanted to do.
00:54:55:17 - 00:55:24:03
Dr Harmony
And now she doesn't get paid. So she's volunteer koala rescuer, and she raises orphaned wallabies, and she brought a property and she lives. Mum and dad there together live in this shack like this house. They put their own solar power, but it's not really properly done. It doesn't have like a proper toilet or anything. It's somewhere I wouldn't want to live.
00:55:24:05 - 00:55:26:12
Filly
But hey, she's so happy.
00:55:26:18 - 00:55:50:06
Dr Harmony
They love it, she's so happy and she's so grateful. And she's like, I get to live out here and it's some beautiful property and I get to raise wallabies and look after koalas. And I'm just, I know I'm living my dharma and I'm like, love that for you. Not my dharma. Love that for you. But she's so expansive and just so on point.
00:55:50:10 - 00:56:11:09
Dr Harmony
But she had to go through a lot and she had to sit with herself, and she had to really uncover what gives her that sense of of joy and not achievement, but sense of purpose, as in the purpose to give back and be of service. And her sense of purpose and service is for wildlife.
00:56:11:10 - 00:56:21:00
Filly
Yes, yes, that feels life giving and expansive rather than forcing and burnout. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Good.
00:56:21:01 - 00:56:21:16
Chris
I love it.
00:56:21:16 - 00:56:30:14
Filly
All right. How can any listeners who want to go deeper into the work that you do? What's the best way that they can find you?
00:56:30:16 - 00:56:50:09
Dr Harmony
Yeah. So Harmony inspired health. Oh, that's my website. If you want to book consults or anything, you can also find my book on there. So I would say that would be my first point in call is grab a copy of my book. I Vader in the Alchemy of her, where I do go through the three pillars to step into your Higher Self, which is health alchemy.
00:56:50:09 - 00:57:12:23
Dr Harmony
So it does look at the physical, spiritual, emotional, mental. But then we go deeper into the second pillar, which is the empowered mind paradigm. So, you know, we can't we can't heal from a disempowered state. And then the third pillar is dharmic impact. And really what we spoke about today about uncovering the truest sense of ourselves so we can show up in this aligned version.
00:57:12:23 - 00:57:38:13
Dr Harmony
Because when we're feeling physically, mentally, emotionally healthy, when our mindset is comes from an empowered place, and when we're in an alignment with our dharma, it's inevitable that we will show up as our higher self. And I do have a podcast, Harmony Inspired Health Podcast, which Filly has also featured on twice Now, so you can go and check out her episodes there as well.
00:57:38:15 - 00:57:41:11
Filly
Awesome. Thank you so much.
00:57:41:12 - 00:57:43:11
Dr Harmony
Thank you. It's been a pleasure.
00:57:43:15 - 00:57:48:08
Chris
All right. We'll catch you guys later. And thanks again, Harmony, for coming on.
00:57:48:10 - 00:57:49:10
Dr Harmony
Thank you.
00:57:49:11 - 00:57:51:02
Chris
See ya.
00:57:51:04 - 00:57:54:23
Filly
Hi.
00:57:55:01 - 00:58:04:23
Filly
Thank you so much for listening. We so appreciate you. If you'd like to give us extra smiles, drop us a review and spread the love by sharing this episode.
00:58:05:05 - 00:58:23:16
Chris
You can also rate your own state of burnout and the root cause contributors by taking our Ending Body Burnout assessment on our website. And if you're interested in learning about our group or one on one ending body burnout programs, shoot us a DM via Instagram or Facebook. Have the best day ever.
