We were lucky to catch up with Neah Barnhart recently and have shared our conversation below.

Neah, appreciate you joining us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today

If I were to start over with all of the knowledge of self and business that I have now, I would focus on bringing in enough profit to hire additional help. I have done a great job of making my lifestyle sustainable enough to be free and operate my business out of love. Where I lack is making my business profitable to where I can hire the help needed to expand on a larger scale. I believe that whenever we create a business we are creating the opportunity to build the economy and the community. I know now that in order to do that successfully we need people around us that not only benefit the business but that the business can benefit as well. I learned the importance of this while producing my first short film. While casting for actors and actresses, I realized that the only way to make sure people would show up completely was to make sure they felt valued. Everyone deserves to get paid for their time. I created a budget that I believed reflected that but failed to make sure I would also produce enough income to make it happen without feeling the burden. I am someone who has always seeked financial literacy so I was able to leverage credit to produce the film. This has left me with an invoice that is going to take some time to pay. Although I have no regrets, next time, I will be more strategic in how I produce income for my business so that my personal credit is not affected.

Neah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a yoga instructor, sound healing facilitator, and artist. I picked the name Miss Fluid as my artist name because of my multifaceted artistry and the way I flow throughout life. As a child, I had trouble verbally expressing big emotions. Instead, I expressed myself through writing, though spelling was never my strong suit. I experienced a major shift in my life at the age of 14 years old. My mom was diagnosed with high blood pressure and decided to become more health conscious for herself and our family. This is when I found yoga. Yoga helped me take the time to learn myself and to be able to identify what I was feeling. This gave me the confidence I needed to truly become myself and has continued to help me heal from trauma. As I began to know myself and build my confidence, my writing became exponentially better. I performed my first poem at the age of 16 at The Legacy Books and Café in my hometown, Saint Louis, MO and have continued to write music, books, and film.

After 10 years of practicing yoga, I decided to become a yoga instructor. Yoga originated in Africa and Asia, but in the Americas I didn’t see many people of color practicing yoga. I knew how much it helped me understand my mind, body, and soul and wanted to help others experience this feeling of Samadhi (bliss). I teach classical yoga, tantra, and ayurveda. I am learning Sanskrit and also use mantra and singing with my sound healing. In my yoga classes or private sessions, you get the full yoga and sound meditation experience that helps you acknowledge and care for all aspects of yourself. Through my website www.flowingwithfluid.com, you can book a consultation with me to start personal sessions, sign up for upcoming classes and purchase high quality yoga outfits and lounge wear.

Over the years, my writing has grown tremendously. In my music and poetry, I express things that are going on within my life. I always strive to indulge in deep, relatable topics in a holistic way that leaves the reader feeling encouraged. As I write, I am always picturing the story in my mind. This has allowed me to create beautiful visuals for my art and to produce my first film. In my film, we touch on the subject of women’s health. It is an action romance where a team is protecting a doctor who has dedicated her practice to melanated women’s reproductive health. Black women dominate the percentages of women having hysterectomies even in benign circumstances. Black women are also more likely to die during childbirth. Learning from legendary artists like Nina Simone, I believe it’s important for us artists to call attention to the issues we see around us. As someone who is sensitive to trauma, my goal is to plant the seeds needed to encourage others to research and take action while keeping a positive, healing vibe so that the viewer leaves feeling good within themself. My film is completely homegrown from the production to the cast. We used all Saint Louis-based businesses and Saint Louis artists. I love my city and believe we have everything we need to produce high quality art and entertainment. My film, Neo Trap, is proof. I’m excited to share the film with the world December 12, 2022 at MX Movies and Bar. We’re celebrating the city, opening up with local vendors at 6:30p, showing the film at 7:15p, and enjoying music with singer/DJ Maxa following the showing. More information about me and the film can be found on my artist website www.missfluid.com.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the golden rule, “Treat others how you want to be treated.” I had to release my thoughts of what people should do and truly learn a person’s nature. You can only expect people to be who they are. People are not going to love you like you love them or treat you how you treat them. Everyone has a different way of showing and receiving love. Whether it’s through friendships or a relationship. I had to release the expectations I placed on my friends and partners, take a step back and really learn who they were. I can’t expect someone to love me a certain way or treat me a certain way just because that was how I was loving or treating them. When you take a step back to learn someone and not place any expectations, that’s when a real relationship is able to thrive. People can only be who they are and it is not my place to judge them for their actions. It is only my place to study their actions and evaluate whether they align with my life. Once I realized this, it gave me the ability to love on a completely different scale. I am able to look at the wholeness of a person and understand why they may have acted or reacted a certain way without taking it personally. Usually, it’s not personal. We are all just living our lives the best way we know how and life is not easy. So now I treat people how they want to be treated. I give people grace and approach people and situations with an open mind. Life is a lot more peaceful this way.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m usually really good at successfully executing my plans but life sometimes has other plans. In 2021, I decided to uproot my life and move to Hawaii. I had completed production of my film, everything was in post production and I was ready for a change. I was already traveling in my self-converted shuttle bus and planned to ship my bus to Hawaii from California. After a month of traveling to California and completing all of the veterinarian appointments for my German Shepard, the shipping company told me it would be an additional $7k to ship my bus to Hawaii. I had a choice to make, sell my bus and take the leap of faith to Hawaii or completely reevaluate my plan.

I felt so lost and insecure. Everything was falling apart and I couldn’t see my next move. I used most of my savings preparing for the move and put myself in debt producing my film. I found out the original editor of my film lost footage that was vital to the completion of the film. My bus that I spent a year and a half converting into a travel trailer check engine light came on and I was thousands of miles away from home. It felt like I was losing everything I spent the past couple of years building. In the thick of it all, I found out what I valued most and learned a lot about myself. I ended up working in California and staying with family while I had my bus repaired. I took a screenwriting class with Black Film Space and began writing my first TV pilot. I even enjoyed a beautiful Jhene Aiko Healing Event February 22, 2022. I found my reason to keep going no matter what life throws at me because even though times get tough, there will be times that I will be grateful for in the future. I came home to Saint Louis and was able to reshoot the lost footage, and reconnect with beautiful places like Rustic Roots Sanctuary, Urb Arts, and Teatopia. I found an amazing editor by the name of Remrod to edit the film and started planning the premiere. I wouldn’t have been able to finish my premiere in Hawaii and it would’ve been hard going back and forth from California. In these moments where everything comes full circle and into completion, we are able to gain the most clarity. When we let the bad or overwhelming energy control our minds instead of making the best out of every situation, we miss out on so much! I’m glad I didn’t ignore the warning signs and still go to Hawaii.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.missfluid.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluid_thatsme/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fluidthatsme
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/flowingwithfluid
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/flowing-with-fluid-saint-louis

Image Credits
McArthur25 Rogue Shots