DJ Hesta Prynn's Music is Therapy

This episode is for anyone who thinks they’re supposed to have it figured out by now.
I sat down with Nayeema Raza — journalist, filmmaker, and host of Smart Girl Dumb Questions — and what starts as a conversation about her award-winning show turns into something much deeper: identity, curiosity, attachment — and where your identity shows up… whether you’re aware of it or not.
Also… yes. We talk about sex playlists. And it’s not random.
In This Episode
What winning a podcast award actually changes — and what it doesn't
Individualism vs collectivism — how growing up across cultures shaped how she sees success, selfhood, and belonging
What’s on your sex playlist — and why that question actually reveals way more about you than you think
Why we attach to artists — why we attach to certain artists and what we’re actually projecting onto them.
AI and attachment theory — what it means to relate to something that isn’t human
Where we get our information — and how that shapes our worldview
The difference between being stuck… and just being early
Songs of the Week
Counting Crows - Mr Jones: https://open.spotify.com/track/5DiXcVovI0FcY2s0icWWUu?si=f13d70c8b097483a
Harry Styles - Daydreaming: https://open.spotify.com/track/69w5X6uTrOaWM32IetSzvO?si=a41e9ecf16094d9c
The Monthly Playlist: "10 Songs That Made Me" This month, we aren’t looking for the "greatest hits." These are the songs that built my DNA. Now, I want yours. Email the 10 songs that made you who you are to [email protected] with Nayeema Raza
follow on Nayeema’s podcast Smart Girl Dumb Questions
and find her on IG @smartgirldumbquestions @nayeemaraza (look for Diplo pics!)
Connect With the Show
Instagram: @hestaprynnmusic @musicistherapypod
Substack: hestaprynn.substack.com
Course: mct.hestaprynn.com
Email: [email protected]
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever wonder why the music you loved as a teenager hits different (and always will)?
It's my birthday, so instead of interviewing someone else, I'm walking you through the 10 songs that made me — and you might start to hear your own story too.
You'll hear the exact way I use songs to connect intention + identity, and I'll coach you on how to create your own list.
COME TO THE LIVE SESSION I'm teaching a live Music Connection Therapy session on Zoom. We'll actually do this work together. Saturday March 21st 1PM EST https://mct.hestaprynn.com/bday-training
LINKS + RESOURCES
Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3GNUTc0NnJVKVTsSfSbTKQ?si=b8cbc2e9534d4079
Substack: https://hestaprynn.substack.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/hestaprynnmusic

THE PLAYLIST: 10 SONGS THAT MADE ME
Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3GNUTc0NnJVKVTsSfSbTKQ?si=e4425cbcf3774281
Night Swimming – R.E.M.
Gratitude – Beastie Boys
Yellow Ledbetter – Pearl Jam
Sonnet – The Verve
Rain On Me – Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande
Justify My Thug – Jay-Z
In the Light – Led Zeppelin
Where You Are – John Summit
You’re A Star – Fred again.. & Amyl and the Sniffers
(yes, I said 10, no I don’t follow rules perfectly)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever wonder what a $1000/hr life coach can teach you?
In this installment of Music Is Therapy, DJ Hesta Prynn sits down with Lauren Zander—founder of the Handel Group, creator of The Handel Method, and the world-renowned coach who once told Hesta to throw money out of a moving car window.
Lauren has spent thirty years helping some of the highest-performing people on the planet—including Hugh Jackman and Questlove—build what she calls their Higher Self. Not as a vague spiritual concept, but as a rigorous daily practice.
We dive deep into the "Lower Self" vs. the "Higher Self," why your dreams feel threatening to your nervous system, and the difference between manifesting and “manifucking”—a term Lauren coined that you’ll never be able to unhear.
This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like their own brain is working against them.In This Episode, We Discuss:
The Internal Dialogue: How to distinguish the voice of your Higher Self from the chatter of your Lower Self.
The Default Brain: Why 80% of our thoughts are negative and 90% are repetitive—and how to break the loop.
Manifesting vs. Manifucking: The shift from dream-based thinking to doom-based thinking.
The Uplevel Sabotage: Why your brain tries to take you down right before a breakthrough.
Promises & Consequences: Why willpower is a myth and consequences are the real key to integrity.
The 30-Dollar Intervention: The story behind Hesta’s car window moment.
The Songs that Saved Lauren
One Tool From the Episode: The Promise + Consequence Method
Lauren teaches that keeping promises to ourselves is often harder than keeping them to others because there is no external cost. Her fix? Assign a real consequence before you need it.
The consequence must "sting" enough to matter. It isn't a punishment; it’s a signal to your brain that your word is law.
Hesta’s Version: One obsessive thought = $1 thrown out the car window.
Lauren’s Version: Every time she screamed at her kids = $20 to anyone in earshot.
The Daily Rule: No coffee until 30 pushups are done.
Music Connection Therapy: Birthday Class
March 21st | 1:00 PM EST | FREE | Zoom
It’s Hesta’s birthday month! To celebrate, Music Connection Therapy is opening its doors for a one-time, free session.
The Vibe: One hour. Half writing, half dance party.
The Goal: Pick one area of your life, name a dream, and anchor it to music.
Note: Limited to the first 30 people. Register Here
The Monthly Playlist: "10 Songs That Made Me"
This month, we aren’t looking for Hesta’s "greatest hits." These are the songs that built her—the ones in the DNA. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3GNUTc0NnJVKVTsSfSbTKQ?si=16cf69742b094e26
Now, she wants yours. Make a list of the 10 songs (or any number!) that made you who you are and email them to [email protected].
Connect with Lauren Zander
Websites: handelgroup.com | inneru.com
Instagram: @laurenzander_coach
Book: Maybe It’s You
Connect With the Show
Instagram: @hestaprynnmusic
Substack: hestaprynn.substack.com
Email: [email protected]
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is for anyone who has ever said “I can’t meditate.”
Maybe you tried it once. Maybe you felt like you were doing it wrong.
You’re not.
In this episode of Music Is Therapy, DJ Hesta Prynn sits down with meditation teacher Emily Fletcher, founder of Ziva, to talk about what meditation actually is, what it does to your nervous system, and why 60,000 people have learned it from her, including some of the world's highest performers and people who were convinced they couldn’t.
The conversation goes much deeper than meditation.
We talk about coherence in the nervous system, music as emotional technology, why many manifestation teachings skip the rage and grief step, and what it actually takes to change your internal state.
There’s also a moment where Emily turns the mic around and reflects something back to Hesta that lands hard.
Hesta cries.
She left it in.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing at stillness or at life, this episode is for you.

In This Episode, We Discuss• Why meditation can give the body rest deeper than sleep
• The difference between ritual and ceremony
• What coherence vs. dissonance means in the nervous system
• The “stress prison” and why humans default to fight-or-flight
• Why authenticity vibrates higher than “love and light”
• Why many manifestation teachings skip the rage and grief step
• The role of pleasure and life force energy in manifestation
• What Taylor Swift concerts might teach us about ceremony at scale
• Why AI may function as amplified intelligence depending on human consciousness
• The vulnerable moment where Emily reflects something powerful back to HestaOne Tool From the EpisodeThe Three-Song Dance Party
(from Emily Fletcher’s Ziva Magic manifestation formula)Emily teaches a practice for moving emotional energy through the body using music. A rage or grief song — feel the block
A release song — move the energy
A pleasure or hype song — embody the dreamMusic moves emotions through the body much faster than thinking about them.Featured Song: Where You Are - John Summit
Pretty Good Year - Tori Amos
Music Connection Therapy: Birthday Class - March 21st 1pm est FREE | Zoom
It's Hesta's birthday month, to celebrate, Music Connection Therapy is open to everyone. One time. Free.
Saturday, March 21st. About an hour. Half writing, half dance party. Let's identify a dream for one area of your life and put it to music.
It's free. It's on Zoom. It's limited to the first 30 people.
https://hestaprynn.mykajabi.com/bday-training
Monthly Playlist
10 Songs That Made Me
These aren't Hesta's favorite songs or the songs she DJs. These are songs that built her.
Now she wants yours. Make your list — ten (or so) songs that made you you. Email it to [email protected]. Tell her if she can share it. She wants to know who's out there.
Connect with Emily Fletcher
Website: zivameditation.com use code BLISS15 for 15% off all Ziva offerings
Instagram: @zivameditation
Podcast: Why Isn't Everyone Doing This? — available everywhere
Book: Stress Less, Accomplish More
Connect With the Show
Instagram: @hestaprynnmusic
Substack: hestaprynn.substack.com
Course: Music Connection Therapy
Email: [email protected] - questions, thoughts, someone you want on the show, or your 10 songs playlist
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Music Is Therapy, DJ Hesta Prynn sits down with Dan Savage — sex and relationship advice columnist, creator of the Savage Lovecast, and one of the most honest voices in love and relationships alive today — to talk about why "the one" is a myth, and what to do instead.
Hesta opens with the story of losing her entire CD collection on a plane. Every album. Gone. And instead of trying to rebuild what she had, she bought discount CDs, explored genres she'd never considered, and accidentally became a DJ.
The lesson? You don't find your taste. You build it. And relationships work exactly the same way.
But first, love.
In this episode, we dive into:
There Is No "The One": Why the search for a perfect partner is the thing that's actually keeping you from a great relationship — and what Dan means by "rounding up" instead
How to Revise Your Relationship Story Without Blowing It Up: The difference between editing a narrative and burning the whole thing down
What Dan Got Wrong: About straight guys. About bisexuality. About asexuality. About the location of the clitoris. (He's honest. It's a lot.)
A Good Long-Term Relationship Is a Myth Two People Create Together: Not something you stumble into — something you write, revise, and recommit to, daily
Practical Advice for Online Dating: What actually works, what's a waste of time, and why most people are doing it wrong
From Monogamous to Open to Poly: Dan's own relationship evolution — and what it taught him about what people actually need versus what they think they want
How to Keep Monogamy Interesting: The honest conversation about long-term desire, and why "staying together" is not the same as thriving together
The It Gets Better Project: What it's like to be Dan Savage — the weight of it, the reach of it, and what he's learned from two decades of being a lifeline
His Love of Musicals: Yes, the man who hates the electric guitar is deeply, unironically obsessed with musical theater. Hesta has thoughts.
The Electric Guitar Controversy: Dan hates it. Hesta will never forgive him. This is not resolved by the end of the episode.
This Episode Is For You If:
You've ever lain awake wondering if you're with the right person
You've felt that nagging fear that someone better is out there
You keep leaving relationships right before they could become something real
You've been waiting to feel certain before you fully commit
Monthly Playlist The Love and Happiness Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/07iyBQcQJtSw3PXw7i6S7t?si=a40a5a28e15c42ff
Featured Song:
I Want Your Sex Pts 1 & 2 - George Michael
https://open.spotify.com/track/6QnFHieoch6U9J8zfv6hml?si=f3ad4f44d2f04630
Connect with Dan Savage
Instagram: @dansavage
Podcast: Savage Lovecast
Connect with Hesta
Instagram: @HestaPrynnMusic
Substack: hestaprynn.substack.com
Music Connection Therapy Course: mct.hestaprynn.com
Have a question you want DJ Hesta Prynn to answer? [email protected]
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.