Free Your Inner Guru

Lee Harris is an intuitive guide, speaker, musician and author of Energy Speaks: Messages from Spirit on Living, Loving and Awakening. Lee Harris’s journey as a channeler began in 1998 when he first heard the voice of his spirit guides, known as The Zs, while on his way to work on the London Underground train. I first became aware of Lee’s work in 2016 when I was looking for resources for a quickly changing world and navigating some fairly sticky challenges. Lee documents the powerful spiritual wisdom that the Zs have provided him over the last two decades in his book Energy Speaks. In this interview, we explore Lee’s journey as an intuitive, and how he is managing the responsibility of leadership as his influence and organization experience rapid growth. As we move into a new decade, Lee’s work and the Zs message on living, loving, awakening, and leading are more relevant and powerful than ever. Conversation highlights The story of when Lee first met The Zs When your spiritual search asks you to retu

"I want you to think of listening to Free Your Inner Guru as an act of self care in increasingly intense times." Listen to this first episode of 2020 for a preview of what you can expect in the coming weeks and months on Free Your Inner Guru. Mentioned in this episode: Want daily inspiration delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Laura's Daily Letters Episode 32:  Jessica Tracy - The Impact of Pride on Success and Authentic Leadership Episode 36:  Karen Haycox - Take the Next Right Step  

Robyn Spizman wants you to share the love in your heart out loud. In these times where there’s so much divisiveness and division, New York Times bestselling author and media personality Robyn Spizman is on a mission to inspire us to share the love in our heart out loud. In her book Loving Out Loud: The Power of a Kind Word, Robyn shares specific ways you can strengthen the bonds with the people you care about, guide you to connect with the world around you in a more meaningful way, and what you can do today to jump start a more loving life now. In this heartwarming conversation, Robyn shares her wisdom as she and Laura trade stories of simple kindness in every day life. Conversation highlights Closing the gaps in our kindness without feeling inadequate. Things you can do today by developing habits of kindness. Why you should stop being interesting and try being interested instead Why Vanessa Redgrave kissed Laura on the cheek, and other stories of spontaneous kindness that show the power of human connection.

Dr Adit Margaliot's journey as a medical doctor has been about questioning dogma, breaking away from stale patterns of thinking, and listening to one's inner wisdom. Dr Adit Margaliot is an MD who specialized in neurology and neuromuscular disorders. After years of listening to her patients struggle with their neurological conditions, and their sleep, she wanted to better understand this problem and how to help them manage it. She went on to study sleep medicine and obtain her designation as a specialist in the field. This was a start to her exploration of how lifestyle impacts health and disease. More recently she has been formally studying functional medicine, an approach that seeks to identify the core triggers and contributors to ill health on a systems-based approach, and how to allow the body to heal through nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, stress management etc. Incorporating these principles into her practice, and emphasizing a collaborative relationship with her patients, has brought a deep sense of e

CEO Marc Lesser is on a mission to make mindfulness an essential practice of leadership. Marc Lesser is a speaker, workshop leader, and executive coach. Marc is known for his engaging, experiential presentations that integrate mindfulness and emotional intelligence practices and training. He is the author of 4 books, including Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader: Lessons from Google and a Zen Monastery Kitchen, and CEO of ZBA Associates, an executive development and leadership consulting company. Marc helped develop the world-renowned Search Inside Yourself (SIY) leadership program within Google – a mindfulness-based emotional intelligence training for leaders which teaches the art of integrating mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and business savvy for creating great corporate cultures and a better world. He founded and was CEO of 3 companies, and has an MBA degree from New York University. Marc was a resident of the San Francisco Zen Center for 10 years, and director of Tassajara, Zen Mountain Center,

Martha Henderson is an Olympian, keynote speaker, and host of the Rising Tides Speaker Series. Martha Henderson represented Canada with her sailing team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. As an Olympian, the pursuit of excellence is in her blood. She is known for inspiring beliefs that you can achieve outcomes beyond your expectations. In this conversation with Free Your Inner Guru host Laura Tucker, Martha shares her roller coaster ride to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, including what happened when her worst nightmare came true! Martha also shares why she used to suppress her Olympic experience, and why she speaks about her story with people today. Memorable quotes: "When I started to explore all the elements that went into the Olympic journey, I started to realize that it’s a relatable story for people in any situation who have to reinvent themselves." "Your worst nightmare can come true. And you can still make your dream come true. I fell out of the boat!" “Olympian is another word for expert. Someone who

Lisa Mattam is the CEO of Sahajan, an evidence-based natural skin care line based on the 5000 year old science of Ayurveda. In this interview, Lisa shares the milestones and the challenges of her journey from strategic consulting in the pharmaceutical industry to founding her own skin care line that reaches back to her family’s roots in southern India. Moments before this interview, Lisa Mattam and Laura Tucker discovered they went to the same grade school in Toronto. This surprising common ground laid the foundation for a big conversation about doing your best to do life and business in alignment with your values. Named by Profit Magazine as one of the Top Ten Emerging Women Entrepreneurs in Canada and recognized by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce as Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Lisa has become a thought leader in the areas of entrepreneurship, resilience, the advancement of women, and diversity. Conversation highlights How growing up as the lone Indian girl in school shaped Lisa's sense of cult

Sonya Cote wants you to own your body and connect with others. On this week's episode of Free Your Inner Guru, Laura is joined by Sonya Cote.  Sonya is an actress, singer, speaker and author of I’m Not Naked (Anymore): Memoirs of a Contemporary Jezebel. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, the stories of Sonya’s life center around creative self expression, and fully owning her body, while having fun in the process.  She is a vivacious and tenacious woman who embraces her journey and the wisdom she has accumulated along the way. Sonya continues to work full time in the entertainment industry, teaching workshops and speaking to share the wisdom she has gained from her life experience. Conversation highlights Why Sonya calls herself a Contemporary Jezebel There is always a path, even though we can’t always see it at the time Perspective on sharing stories and the difference it makes in the world Post #metoo - what has changed in relationships, the acting industry? The real point of sharing your story. How Sony

In her book Feed Your Soul, Carly Pollack combines practical guidance on what to eat with timeless wisdom. Being a conscious leader requires focus, clarity, and energy. In this episode, Carly Pollack and Free Your Inner Guru host Laura Tucker explore why many people experience wellness as a battle between two voices - our compassionate Higher Self and our obsessive, punishing lower self - and why our relationship with food is a mirror for where we are on our spiritual path. Carly Pollack is the founder of Nutritional Wisdom, a thriving private practice based in Austin, Texas. A Certified Clinical Nutritionist with a master’s degree in holistic nutrition, Carly has been awarded Best Nutritionist in Austin five years running and has helped over 10,000 people achieve their health and happiness goals. “Instead of someone outside of you - or a book or a person…Feed Your Soul is really a book about teaching you how to find your own boundaries. It’s not ‘Hey, I’ve never met you in my whole life, but I’m going to wri

Mark Coleman is a mindfulness teacher, wilderness guide, and author. Mark Coleman is the author of From Suffering to Peace, Make Peace with Your Mind, and Awake in the Wild.  As a rebelious young man living in London, Mark stumbled upon a meditation centre at the height of the punk era. His discovery began a lifelong journey of exploring the mind, meditation, and causes of suffering and happiness. Mark is the founder of the Mindfulness Institute and has an MA in clinical psychology.  Mark has guided students on five continents as a corporate consultant, counselor, meditation teacher, and wilderness guide. Conversation highlights: Concern that mindfulness is being touted as a panacea and reduced to bite size parts Mindfulness as a way to gain understanding, insight and inner freedom. How Mark found mindfulness in the midst of the London punk era. Don't have time to meditate? Mark shares practical ways you can choose mindfulness over numbing in the midst of a busy life. Our default node network and negativ

Happy Summer of Self Care! Shaun Proulx:  What is the number one thing you did to get to the place you're at now since we last saw you? Laura Tucker:  I think it's really been letting go of the idea of wanting to be who I was. In this episode: updates on the Free Your Inner Guru Podcast the upcoming Summer of Self Care Shaun Proulx interviews Laura and we uncover why “self care has been the ultimate answer for you.” Shaun Proulx hosts Shaun hosts the glittery, thoughtful, weekly SiriusXM talk show, The Shaun Proulx Show, on CanadaTalks channel 167, a hotbed of ideas, thoughtful discussion, transformational entertainment, cheeky commentary and a magnet for celebrities and thought leaders including Bo Derek, Gayle King, Jann Arden, Betty DeGeneres, Tony Robbins, Melissa Etheridge, Rosie Perez, Gabrielle Bernstein, Mastin Kipp, Panache Desai, and more. Key points How repetition and practice increase your capacity for difficult emotions over time The role of intentional self care in the journey to reclaim your

Avra Fainer is a performance and presentation coach who knows first hand the importance of becoming more self aware and sharing your story. When Avra Fainer was at the peak of achievement in both acting and business, she experienced a severe challenge in the form of mental illness. In this compelling conversation, Avra shares how her diagnosis with Bipolar 2 was an important step towards authentic self expression and healthy success. Listen as Avra Fainer shares her perspective on: Her love of performance as a child actor. How acting became the foundation of her work as a performance and presentation coach. What it’s like to watch someone go from shy and quiet to being able to use their voice and body to influence, and make a difference in other people’s lives. The impact of performance and influence in everyday moments. From driving force to mental illness, Avra shares the impact her mental illness had on her ability to function. Her experience and symptoms of Bipolar 2 Disorder. How today’s culture encoura

Ivanka Siolkowsky, The Tidy Moose, shares her journey from the classroom into closets in this compelling conversation about the power of your physical environment. Ivanka Siolkowsky is a former elementary school teacher whose life was transformed when she began learning the many benefits of minimalism and organization. "I had to control my surroundings to bring myself peace." At a time when she was struggling with her mental health, Ivanka was given Marie Kondo's book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up as a joke gift.  Reading it led her on a journey of exploration of the correlation between having a decluttered space and her mental health. Ivanka is now a Kon-Mari certified professional organizer who brings compassion and insight into her clients' homes. Listen to hear Ivanka Siolkowsky's perspective on these big ideas: The correlation between organization and developmental growth. Looking back at rock bottom, Ivanka ..... The consequences of being "hammered with consumerism". How Ivanka uses the Kon-Mar

What happens when you return to the mat after a 10 year hiatus from yoga? Free Your Inner Guru™ host Laura Tucker shares five life lessons from fifty returns to the mat. What happens when you return to the mat in the middle of a bout of vertigo? It wasn't easy. Or painless. Or pretty! But it was worth it. Mind, body, and spirit, yoga is an integrative practice. It aligns you with a holistic approach to living, working, and being. The more integrative we can be with our life.  The more generous we can be with ourselves and others. "There is no such thing as life and work balance.  There is only life." - Seth Godin In this podcast, I share five stories and lessons that can be applied to every area of life.   Fifty plus sessions later, it's turns out it was a good thing I stuck with it, and that I can laugh at myself. En-joy the episode! Mentioned in this episode: Free Your Inner Guru™ Facebook Group Get on the (e)mailing list --> click here Free Your Inner Guru™ Leadership Workshop Big things are

What does empathy have to do with accessing your inner wisdom? Like many big lessons, this one begins with a book.  In his new release This is Marketing, Seth Godin makes the case that good marketing requires empathy for the people you seek to serve.  I've been looking for a different way to show up and serve for some time now.  Based the visceral "Yes!" I experienced with every concept in the book,  I enrolled in The Marketing Seminar, the course on which This Is Marketing is based. Be careful what you wish for, they say. In comparison to the course, the book is a lie-down at the beach.  The Marketing Seminar a mental agility course on how you communicate about your business.  It requires both introspection and endurance.  Not that I'm complaining! It's easy to have empathy for someone who is like you.  It bends the mind to have empathy for someone you perceive as an "other". In one of the lessons, Seth Godin asks us to exercise our empathy muscle by imagining what it's like to be in someone else's shoes.

Compassion is your superpower for transformation. The new year brings a familiar season of resolutions, intention setting and renewed focus on change. It got me thinking of something I read at just the right time a couple of years ago: “The key to joy is unconditional kindness to all life, including one’s own, which we refer to as compassion. Without compassion, little of any significance is ever accomplished in human endeavor.” David R. Hawkins, Power vs Force He goes on to write "Simple kindness to one's self and all that lives is the most powerful transformational force of all. It produces no backlash, has no downside, and never leads to loss or despair. It increases one's own true power without exacting any toll." Listen to this first podcast of 2019 to hear stories of two people I met several years ago who decided it was time to be compassionate towards themselves and the remarkable change it produced in their life and everyone around them. Highlights: Two stories that illustrate reasons people make cha

Laura Tucker is a leadership coach and the host of the Free Your Inner Guru™ Podcast.  In a reversal of roles, Laura shares her thoughts about Conscious Leadership in an interview with Nina Grenningloh Reyes of Communications Rebel and Radio Regent’s The Women’s Hour. Highlights from this episode: “Initially the podcast was about me having a voice.  I spoke about things like survivors guilt and the healing journey.  As it has evolved, I’m having people on who I consider to be conscious leaders for interviews.  I want it to be a soft landing place for people to come and hear what an authentically conscious, not ego-based leader looks like, sounds like, feels like.” “You don’t need to go to a retreat to become a conscious leader.  You may benefit from a day, a week, a retreat or a workshop to carve the time out the time in your busy life for reflection or learning.  The real growth comes from how well you integrate the learning back into your life.” “In this day and age we are all being shown examples of mor

Alexia Vernon is the author of the book, Step into Your Moxie: Amplify Your Voice, Visibility, and Influence in the World. Branded a “Moxie Maven” by President Obama’s White House Office of Public Engagement for her unique and effective approach to women’s empowerment, Alexia Vernon is a sought-after speaking and leadership coach to female (and male) executives, entrepreneurs, media personalities, and change makers who want to spread their ideas, positively impact people’s lives, grow their businesses, and advance their thought leadership. Listen to to hear Alexia Vernon's perspective on these big ideas: How speaking your story is the most effective way to move people to take action. Why many people are out of sorts with how they are being communicated to. What your inherent ability to tap into your intuition and recognize your own wisdom within has to do with sharing your story. The three characters that get in the way of your ability to use your intuition and  keep you stuck. What to do if steppi

Veronica Kirin is an entrepreneur, social anthropologist, and the author of Stories of Elders: What the Greatest Generation Knows About Technology that You Don’t. The term “America’s Greatest Generation” was coined by Tom Brokaw in his 1998 Book The Greatest Generation. It refers to the generation that grew up in the Great Depression and came of age during the second world war. Stories of Elders is an in-depth, charming and highly relatable look at how the lives of our elders have been shaped by technology, and how they think it’s affecting our lives today. Despite her experience as a tech entrepreneur, Veronica turned to technology to raise the funds for her journey. However, Veronica didn’t rely on technology and sit at the computer or pick up the phone to gather her interviews. Powered by the success of her Kickstarter campaign, Veronica drove 11,487 miles across the United States to do the interviews live. In Stories of Elders, Veronica Kirin makes a compelling case for why we must use technology with

Christina Torres is a blogger, mother and best-selling author of Flipping Awesome:  The Art and Science of Perseverance, Self-Love, and Getting Your S#&% Together. Christina Torres is on a mission to flip the script on painfully perfect womanhood and to empower women to embrace their truth and live out loud. In this interview,  Christina shares how she went from living in a state of constant anxiety and lack to living her truth on her own terms.  When Christina embraced single motherhood and  it ended up being her truest blessing. Listen to this episode to hear Christina Torres share her perspective on: Breaking free of the fear of what others may - or may not be - thinking about you. Stereotypes of motherhood. A practical way to embrace the present by embracing self care. How denying a part of yourself that is true sets up self loathing. Kindness and compassion towards yourself as a form of self care. The role culture and religion play in the way we think about ourselves as women. Realizing y