Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea “Dre” Hartley.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been a rebellious, creative middle child with a lion’s heart and an adventurous spirit. Life experience has shown me, time and again, that we are meant for freedom — just as a spark of light is meant to shine from the soul.
My path has been anything but linear. I’ve battled codependency and drug addiction, witnessed reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda, moved across the world to serve marginalized communities in Kenya, and fought against domestic violence. Through it all, I’ve learned that every true grit revolution is a light movement — a rising of compassion, forgiveness, loving-kindness, and joy.
My entrepreneurial spirit and desire to create a better world have guided me through many ventures: cofounding wellness festivals and retreats across Africa, manufacturing hula hoops from recycled plastic, founding a performing arts scholarship program for underserved youth, developing a counter-capitalist wellness software, opening an aerial arts studio and teacher training program, and working one-on-one with individuals seeking somatic healing.
I’ve been shaped by the alchemy of life’s challenges, and now it is my joy to hold space for others to awaken the heart’s luminous flow. Beyond this, I curate bespoke, sustainable safaris that connect travelers with local communities and cultures. My current passion project is bringing somatic healing into rehab and recovery centers — merging science, spirit, and service in a deeply embodied way.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all — but every bump in the road has been part of the awakening.
I grew up in the polished Brentwood bubble of Tennessee, where power, money, and prestige quietly veiled my profound inner pain. Despite my family’s best efforts, I struggled early on with substance use and relationship addiction. My first real sense of purpose came unexpectedly through service.
See, my neighbors in Nashville, William and Ebralie Mwizerwa, were refugees from Rwanda. They had escaped the 1994 genocide and started a nonprofit called Legacy Mission Village, which serves refugees in Nashville. I can say without hesitation that this early taste of service — tutoring Burundian children in basic English and math, the ones who would yell “Miss Andrea” when I walked through the door — set me on a course that changed my life. Service is the 12th step in 12-step addiction recovery for a reason..
And so in 2007, the Mwizerwa family invited me to Rwanda, where I witnessed the incredible power of forgiveness during the post-genocide reconciliation process. That experience forever changed my understanding of forgiveness. I went on to study international relations, psychology, and aerial arts, writing my undergraduate thesis on capitalism from an Afrocentric perspective.
From 2014 to 2022, I lived in Africa — years that profoundly shaped my worldview and deepened my calling to weave together art, healing, and service. Alongside my own journey of addiction recovery through service and somatics, I also guided women in rediscovering their worth, purpose, and intuition in addiction recovery. The victories of my heart bear witness to those I help along the way. Each challenge has revealed that true healing is, at its core, about remembering the light we have always carried within.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
After creating many wellness businesses, the one closest to me today is my personal brand, Hart Flows. Healing the relationship between mind and body has been central to my own recovery — and what ultimately led me to becoming a somatic healing practitioner. It’s my greatest joy and deepest calling to work closely with people on their healing journey. My work now weaves together trauma-informed yin/yang yoga, aerial arts, somatic parts work, mindfulness, breath-work, reiki, and sound. I’ve had the honor of working with people in addiction recovery, survivors of domestic violence, women in law enforcement, refugees, and at-risk youth. My sessions are about liberating heart, intuition and creative power. I help light-workers embody their natural freedom, joy, and clarity of purpose through somatic experiences and transformative travel.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t really call it luck. In everything I do, I try to completely let go of the outcome. What matters is the intention — how we show up in this moment, right now. Everything that happens in response, I believe, is lucky, because it is ultimately for our highest good, even if it isn’t what the ego expected or desired. As a recovering addict, I know my ego doesn’t always know what’s best for me. But when I show up open to the flow of spirit in all things, I feel satisfied no matter what. And life brings its wonderful miracles and surprises — things I could never have even dreamed of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hartflows.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hart.flows
- Other: Email: [email protected]
