When the guru falls: practitioner identity in the age of transparency

Three years and 70 episodes in, Yuli Ziv, Founder of Heallist, reflects on what she's learned — and what's been on her mind about the industry she's been covering. The holistic health space is going through an unraveling. Modalities built around celebrated teachers are being questioned. Practitioners who built their identity around those names are now at a crossroads.

In this solo episode, Yuli explores a pattern she's seeing play out across the space: healers who tied their professional credibility to a lineage, a teacher, or a branded modality — only to find that foundation shaken. She shares what it means to build a practice that can stand on its own, and why the age of transparency is forcing that question faster than most people expected.

Key takeaways include:
- Why attaching your identity to a teacher or modality is a risk worth examining consciously
- What it looks like to step into your own authority as a practitioner
- How the current wave of transparency in wellness is reshaping who people trust — and why

Visit Heallist.com - your portal to holistic healing, connecting seekers and thousands of practitioners across the globe.

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Transcript

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Yuli 0:00

Welcome to the Heallist Podcast, where we unpack the many layers of holistic health. I'm Yuli, founder of Heallist, your portal to holistic healers worldwide. Now let's go deep. Hello, dear friends, and welcome to the Heallist Podcast. Today is a solo episode, which I haven't done in a while, and uh it's time because this month we're celebrating three-year anniversary for the Heallist Podcast, and it's just been such an incredible journey. I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect um on some of the things that I've learned as a podcast host, as someone who's stepped into this position, and um also share some of the things that are on my mind a lot, and um I love this opportunity to be honest and transparent, and also share some of the things behind the scenes and some of the things that I think about in this industry in general, and holistic health and wellness and everything that we've been going through. So it's March 2026, very, very pivotal time on earth for especially for anyone who is a healer and here to serve others. And again, I couldn't be more grateful for this opportunity to share with you this format, this container, and our incredible guests that we had. I think we just celebrated 70 episodes, and uh it feels like we really accomplished something important. We really gave stage to people that maybe don't always get the stage or don't get as much spotlight as they should be. And this is really what the mission of this podcast and the Heallist community and network in general. And I have to be honest with you too, this hasn't been an easy journey. Just earlier this year, I seriously considered maybe shutting down this podcast, and that's the truth. As a founder of a platform, online business company, I always have to evaluate uh where my time and my energy spend. And uh I promised myself also maintain my own well-being on this journey and not to overextend myself, and it definitely felt like one of those things on the list that could have been trimmed or maybe deprioritized, and I had a really, really tough time letting it go, not because of attachment, but because and I had to remind myself that and then on the day, the mission of this format and this space was to give a stage and voice. I had to remind myself of the mission that we're here to serve, and how I promised to myself to speak up and share some of the important messages of holistic health that I'm here to promote and also encourage others to step into their power. So I have to live my own advice, my own truth.

Claiming A Voice In Wellness

Yuli 3:02

And the truth is there's a lot of voices in wellness and holistic health today that are maybe intimidating, where maybe they sound very knowledgeable and scientific. A lot of them are male voices. It is still very male-dominated industry, even though most of the people I work with are women. It's like there's this dissonance and a little bit of an unbalance. And I had to remind myself how important it is, especially for us women, find our own voice and continue to show up and continue to share our message. Even though we might feel like it's imperfect, maybe we feel like we're not deserving the spotlight or who are we to talk about some of the subjects that we've been discussing. Like in my case, I often still think that I don't have all the credentials, I don't have all the degrees and the certifications to talk about holistic health. But I really truly have to remind myself that I have a unique perspective by working with so many practitioners and being exposed to so much in this industry. And also myself going through my own health and wellness journey as a founder, as an overachiever, as somebody who battled burnout and a lot of other conditions that I do have a lot to share. And I have to overcome my own imposter syndrome often to keep doing that, no matter how intimidating it feels, especially again on the podcasting space. I just know that it's getting so much more professionalized and again, more and more intimidating for people to come in without all the fancy productions and equipment and editing and all of that, that it seems like it's required today for people like us that have something to share to come in and do that, no matter how imperfect that image or that polished format might look like. So I just wanted to share that that we all go through that. Even after 70 episodes, it still comes up. And there's still those moments that I doubt myself, and I doubt whether it's something that is needed or necessary, or does it add more noise? And I have to counter that voice every time that yes, there's a lot of content in the space, but truly remind myself that there is something unique about the way I hold the space for my guests, and in those quick 30 minutes that is needed to be said. And this is why I started in the first place. I remember that moment very vividly three years ago. I came back from a really deep journey at um a weekend retreat, and it was very clear to me it was my time to find my voice. And it's been something that impercolating in me and um and brewing this idea of a podcast. But every time I would get in front of a microphone, I would not be able to say a word, or things would just get complicated, or I would try and things just would not come out the way I wanted to. So finally I came back and I found my voice, and that's when I recorded the first promo and the first episode, and it was clear that it was it was part of my path. Although at first it didn't seem like it fit into the whole picture and my journey of where I was going. But I felt this urge to continue doing that and uh also evolve with it. Like our very first episodes really focused on the business of holistic health and talking to practitioners and talking about anything from marketing to finance, which is very in line with Heallist's mission. But at some point, I also wanted to open the conversation, make it broader, just like our community and our platform become broader, and we also welcome clients as part of our marketplace launch uh late earlier last year. So all of a sudden, this podcast felt a little too narrow. And I wanted to expand the mission and invite guests to share more wisdom about holistic health and the different modalities and the different conditions that could be helped with holistic health. So the podcast evolved, and again, even here, um, I kept doubting is this the right direction? Is this uh a good thing for a podcast to change its focus when we already have a certain audience? And we also launched as a video at some point. All those things um, again, keep popping up and all those doubts. I also know that the only way to find out if it's right or wrong is to continue doing that. And that's what made me to decide to continue. I look forward to more conversations, more guests. Um, we already have a lot of amazing interviews planned, and I'm really determined to continue this mission to give voice to people and modalities and different techniques and traditions that don't always get the spotlight. Even though the wellness conversation right now might feel like very focused on anything from biohacking to peptides and hormonal treatments and whatnot. We're here to really remind ourselves that we all hold the power to heal. And sometimes we need to rediscover some of those traditions or teachings. Sometimes we need the guide or practitioner to show us the light, and that's what we're going to be continuing doing here.

The Credential Trap In Wellness

Yuli 8:56

I also wanted to address something that's been really on my mind a lot when it comes to the industry itself, the wellness, holistic health industry, and something that I think a lot of practitioners are going through. This is the feeling I'm getting that as our space is evolving and there's just so much saturation and so many conflicting messages, so many different modalities popping up, and different teachers and gurus, as well as a lot of people that studied a lot and gained a lot of wisdom and knowledge and got all kinds of certifications. I feel like we are in this blending point that a lot of it is gonna become, I don't want to say meaningless, but definitely less prominent than it used to be. So it used to be that if you're part of a certain lineage or you studied with a certain teacher, this was your credential. This was your proof of legitimacy. And I think a lot of people kind of used it as a crutch, right? A lot of people, especially with imposter syndrome and people who are just stepping into their power, they used it as a crutch to give themselves permission to help others and go into the world and talk about themselves. And a lot of their own identity was tied to some of those um modalities they studied or the teachers they've been through. So I've seen it a lot from bios of practitioners and healers in the space that they lead often with the teacher they worked with or the trendy or famous modality that they studied. And I think that worked really well. And it definitely allowed them to have that kind of quick trust and access to people because they trusted the name or or the modality or whatever that they attach to their name. But what we're going through now is as a lot of a lot of the systems collapse, and that including wellness and holistic health, and a lot of the schools and authorities, we're in this age of transparency where things are unveiled that might have been hidden in the past, or people got away with behavior that was not very ethical longer than they should have. And what's happening now, a lot of people who were uh practitioners who were attaching their own identity to some of those modalities or authorities that are now being questioned, they're going through a big identity crisis, right? So imagine if you're somebody who studied a certain style of healing that was really led by a person who later was revealed to have inappropriate behavior or unethical practices. You know, those people often get canceled in our society. This is the age we live in. But and that person didn't take ownership, didn't kind of course correct, they're now in trouble because they basically attach their entire identity to something that is questioned, and therefore they're on this crossroad, right? How do you continue from here? Do you completely dissociate from that modality of that person, that name, or do you continue to believe in the good that you sow and the skills that you've gained? It's a really difficult question. And I think something that hasn't been addressed much in this industry, at least I haven't been aware of or heard of, because there's it's really seems to be not one at this point. It's been kind of a few years into that process of unraveling. So it's been now several modalities that's been canceled, quote unquote, because of the leaders or because of the teachers that um put their name on that, uh, on those teachings. And I can pretty much guarantee it's gonna happen more just because again, we're on a journey of unraveling and unveiling a lot of those behaviors. We live in the age of truth, that truth is coming out, and um it's something to definitely consider, especially if you're a new practitioner and deciding to on your path and what to take on in your next chapter with maybe certification to invest in, what teaching is right for you. It's definitely something to be aware of. That is that modality or teaching, do they have a clear leader that is associated with that? And is that person, are you aligned with their values? Do they represent everything you believe in? And it's so hard to know sometimes because you don't know them personally, you know them through their teachings, right? But you have to use your own intuition, you have to really sift through the noise and understand, yes, this is their following, this is their credentials, this is the books that are published, but do you really trust the person behind it? And if a modality that you're considering is very much relying on the celebrity power of that teacher, is that a risk that you're willing to take? Because we all know that there is always a possibility that that person, maybe in the past or in the future, steps on some sort of a medical path. What does it mean for you and your practice and that modality? So I think all of those questions are very important to ask and definitely examine and at least make a conscious decision. So if you do choose a modality that has that um celebrity personality behind it and is heavily relying on their image, at least it's a risk that you're taking knowingly. But I think really what we're seeing today in the space with this process of um truth coming out and uh a lot of those celebrity-driven uh teachings and modalities, a lot of them are being questioned because this is part of this new age and the evolution that we're seeing that a lot of people in the past were able to take credit for a lot of the ancient wisdom and information.

Universal Wisdom Without The Ego

Yuli 15:12

And don't get me wrong, a lot of them did have original angles or or original approaches and discoveries, and some of them done incredible research and really contributed to uh the science of holistic health and wellness. But they also many times utilized their ego in promoting some of those teachings and modalities and putting their name on knowledge that is often known as a universal knowledge, right? And just because they packaged and maybe wrapped it in a better language, it doesn't mean that they have the ownership of their original knowledge. So it's something to really consider because a lot of those techniques and a lot of those tools, they they have a history, they have ancient traditions, they overlap many times with or they blend with different modalities. So I think as we move into this new era, I personally think there will be less room for those authority-driven teachings. And yes, there will be always leaders and guides and teachers, but I think people that will succeed in this new age are people who truly position themselves as merely a messenger or a guide who really manage to take their ego out of it and bring the teachings as a in the purest form without again putting their name and their stamp on it necessarily. Something to think about as you evaluate where you are attaching your energy to and um what tools and skills you're adding to your toolbox. And I think in the end of the day, what I'm also seeing a lot of practitioners, they get so many tools that in the end of the day it all blends into their own unique approach, which really is something that I always uh for, and I always um I'm impressed, both as a client and someone who works with healers. When you're able to detach from the need to have that list of all of your credentials and uh and and the tools you learned, and simply position yourself as somebody who is guiding people into wellness and holistic health and focus on the person in front of you versus the teachings and where you came from and who taught you that.

Stepping Into Your Own Practice

Yuli 17:40

This is where you start stepping into your power. The more you hide behind certifications and modality names and the big teachers that you learn from when you work with, you are basically giving up your own power to all of those teachers and modalities and certifications. So something to really sit with and in this new era and decide for yourself are you somebody who is ready to really make your approach your own and take everything you've learned and detach from the big credentials that give you that instant boost of power and maybe create that quick trust, but is it really sustainable? Or does your work speak for yourself? Does your approach become unique that it doesn't need the certifications and the names attached to it and the celebrity titles or whatever that is? So I wanted to share that thought because I have a feeling a lot of people in the space are going through this awakening right now. And do we continue as an industry to idolize people that package universal knowledge really well? Do we detach from that idea? And do we embrace holistic health in its purest form? Do we bring this ancient wisdom without the need to package it and and again and market it and and create all those ego-driven labels on it? So this is what feels right, this is what's on my mind. Sending you much love and uh much light. And I hope to see you on Healist on our beautiful platform that now has more than 3,000 healers on it from 55 countries in the world, and everyone is welcome. We have 200 plus modalities that are really beautiful and unique in each way, and I'm here to continue my mission to help all of you to be more visible, to be heard, and I'll continue bringing this podcast to the world and share and give a chance to more voices and more stories to be shared. Thank you for listening.