What If Nothing Is Wrong With You? Understanding Threat, Ease, and the Nervous System


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-response system to the illusions of the left brain, this episode offers a paradigm shift: healing isn’t about fixing yourself—it’s about remembering your capacity for ease.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- Why trauma isn’t always a “big” event—it can be the accumulation of everyday stress
- How the nervous system registers threat even when we’re not consciously aware of it
- The three phases every cell moves through: Threat, Motion, and Ease
- Why the left brain constantly lies to us—and what happens when we quiet it
- The “threat bucket” metaphor and how our bodies store unresolved tension
- The difference between actual safety and perceived safety
- How acupuncture, spinal energetics, and spontaneous movement restore ease
- Why doing *nothing* might be the most healing thing of all
- How Dr. Johal’s long COVID experience shaped his understanding of illness and healing
- What dogs, trees, and artists can teach us about true ease
Guest Bio:
Dr. Jagdeep Johal is an acupuncturist, teacher, and author who integrates Chinese medicine, somatic healing, and Buddhist philosophy. For over two decades, he’s helped clients reconnect with the intelligence of the body and restore nervous system regulation. His latest book, Ease: Unwinding the Biology of Threat, offers a refreshing, practical, and poetic exploration of trauma, healing, and selfhood. You can find him at www.drjagjohal.com.
Links & Resources:
- Dr. Jagdeep Johal’s website: www.drjagjohal.com
- Purchase Ease on Amazon or listen on Audible
- Learn about Harmony’s spinal energetics sessions: www.harmonyslater.com/spinal-energetics
Call to Action:
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00:00 - Introduction to Finding Harmony Podcast
00:42 - Meet Dr. Jagdeep Johal: Bridging Chinese Medicine and Trauma-Informed Care
02:25 - Exploring Trauma and the Nervous System
04:08 - The Concept of Threat, Motion, and Ease
05:39 - Acupuncture and the Path to Ease
06:42 - The Role of the Left and Right Brain
08:19 - The Illusion of Self and the Path to Ease
12:27 - The Impact of Language on Perception
15:11 - Societal Reflections and Personal Stories
17:56 - The Journey of Writing and Personal Insights
20:08 - Final Thoughts and Reflections
28:04 - A word from our sponsor (28:05)
32:13 - The Illusion of the Separate Self
33:19 - The Biology of Threat and Ease
34:37 - The Power of Profound Relaxation
36:16 - The Role of Play and Art in Achieving Ease
39:14 - Understanding the Empty Boat Metaphor
43:54 - Neurology vs. Psychology: The Real Source of Problems
48:14 - The Impact of Language on Perception
55:04 - AI and Human Nature: A Revealing Conversation
57:30 - Concluding Thoughts and Final Reflections
01:02:01 - Conclusion and Contact Information

Russell A. Case
Painter + Ashtanga Yoga Teacher
Russell Altice Case began painting professionally in 1991. However, as a person who wandered from place to place for over a decade, he didn't establish a permanent studio space until settling in San Francisco. In 2016 he has relocated his studio space to Calgary, Canada, where he resides and continues to create stunning works of art.
Russell has been practicing and teaching Ashtanga yoga for more than 25 years. An Authorized level II teacher through Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, a humble and refined teacher, Case is known for his joking spirit, and his perpetual eye toward social justice work. When Pattabhi Jois invited him to his pranayama class in 2007 he considered this distinction to be the highest grade.
First and foremost his work is convincing cynical skeptics to the efficacy of mindfulness practice, and his art work is distinctly post-structuralist as it weaves a range of intertextual connections and cultural motifs through its field of view.
That is to say..
Who are we looking at all these things?
Where does the seer reside?
Who is the one doing the looking at all of these things?

Harmony Slater
Finding Harmony Host / Coach / Spiritual Wellness Teacher
Harmony Slater is a Spiritual Wellness Coach whose mission is to support spiritually-curious entrepreneurs with “science-backed woo” to create a deeply fulfilling life and a business they love.
She's a National Board Certified Health Coach, Certified in both Quantum Coaching and in the Mastery Coaching Methods. She's also Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, one of less than 20 women in the world to hold this honour, after training in India for 15 years.
She began travelling to East Asia in 2002 to study Buddhism, after completing two degrees in Philosophy and Eastern Religious Studies. In 2004, I began a life-long love affair with India, spending the next 15 years living there for extended periods of time immerse in Yoga practice, Vipassana meditation, Ayurveda, and Philosophy.
For the past 20+ years Harmony's been focused on sharing these deeper teachings + practices of multidimensional wellness to support women around the world in eliminating midlife burnout + restoring joy, to create a life and wellness business that nourishes both their soul and bank account. She's taught workshops and retreats in over 30 different countries.
She’s the host of the Finding Harmony Podcast, an active Board Member for the non-profit organization Yoga Gives Back, and has been featured in two anthologies on yoga, pregnancy, and motherhood in: ‘Yoga Sadhana for Mothers’ and ‘Strength and Grace: A collection of Essays by Women of Ashtanga Yoga.’

Jagdeep johal
Ease: Unwinding the Biology of Threat
Dr. Jagdeep Johal is a seasoned acupuncturist and author of EASE: Unwinding the Biology of Threat. With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Johal blends Eastern wisdom and modern neuroscience to explore how stress, trauma, and the nervous system shape our lives. His work dives into the hidden biology behind anxiety, pain, and emotional patterns—and how we can return to balance by understanding the body’s natural rhythm of threat, motion, and ease.