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191. She Went To Prison And Found God: Alana Moor’s Journey Of Faith And Redemption
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Can faith and redemption change your life when everything falls apart? Alana Moor shares how faith in God and spiritual resilience helped her rise from incarceration into purpose, healing, and self-discovery and how it can support you through your darkest days.
About The Guest:
Alana Moor is a two-time award-winning speaker, founder of the Hourglass Movement Foundation, and the host of From Scratch. Having rebuilt her own life after incarceration, she now supports justice-impacted women in finding resources, reclaiming their identity, and creating sustainable futures after release. Alana’s work focuses on reinvention, resilience, and self-worth, using lived experience to create meaningful and lasting change.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alanamoorspeaks
Website: https://www.alanamoor.com
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Transcript
Introduction to Spiritual Fitness Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to the Spiritual Fitness Podcast. I'm your host, Eric Bigger. And each week, we will explore powerful practices, inspiring stories, and expert insights to guide you on your path to holistic health.
00:00:18
Speaker
By blending spirituality and physical wellness, we support you in strengthening your body and soul. Whether you're a seasoned spiritual seeker or just beginning your journey, the Spiritual Fitness Podcast is here to help you unlock your inner potential and live your most vibrant, purposeful life.
00:00:35
Speaker
It's miracle season.
00:00:39
Speaker
Spiritual Fitness Podcast. I'm back for another episode. i'm your host, Eric Bigger.
Introducing Alana Moore and Her Story
00:00:44
Speaker
And today, today, today, got a phenomenal guest, Miss Alana Moore. She's a two-time winning speaker, the founder of Hourglass Movement Foundation. In the host.
00:00:58
Speaker
of the podcast from scratch, building her life after incarceration. Alana, welcome to Spiritual Fitness Podcast. How are you? How are you feeling?
00:01:10
Speaker
Good. I'm good. I'm happy to be here. I'm excited. In this new year of 2026, before we get into your story, what is like your intentions and what is um your aspirations for this year?
00:01:22
Speaker
My aspiration for this year is to, this is going to to sound maybe a little bit corny, but it's a big deal for me. It's really showing up and being myself. Because a lot of time in my life has been spent sort of succumbing to what other people think I should be, lowering who I am and being quiet. And i'm I'm generally a loud person. So It's really about building up who I am and the story that I have to tell and just saying yes to the opportunities that arise um and doing it with patience.
00:02:00
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Because it's really, really easy when we create aspirations to ourselves to be connected to the end goal that we have created, not knowing that we live in a world that, whether you believe it or not, is spiritual.
00:02:17
Speaker
And it is guided by if you believe in God or divine energy, I believe in God. And so for me, God has a plan for me. I have a thing called free will.
00:02:28
Speaker
And so I can create the plan for myself, but maybe it's not supposed to happen like
Choices and Consequences in Alana's Life
00:02:33
Speaker
A, B, C, D. So for me, it's putting myself out there, starting to really tell my story, building up myself and my brand, ah challenging myself and saying yes, but doing it in a way where I go, okay, if it doesn't work out the way that I think i issue it should, doesn't mean that it's not supposed to happen.
00:02:49
Speaker
Can we get a little bit into the story of Alana and how she arrived to Costa Rica now? um You was incarcerated for some time and now you're this empowering speaker, you know, who has a foundation, who has a podcast and you're here to empower women to be their greatest selves, to be themselves and to not can be small to make other people big. So just give us a little dive into the story of you and how you got to this place. In my late 20s, decided that I wanted to be a famous fashion designer. I moved to Toronto to go to college for fashion and business. Graduated with a 3.7 GPA. Loved it. Loved the business side of it.
00:03:29
Speaker
Loved the sort of fashion side of it. Even though I was living this lifestyle, I was always a bit of a black sheep. In grade 11, in the yearbook, it said, most likely to become a troublemaker. Wow.
00:03:40
Speaker
And it was my face. Wow. So it it came true. i wonder how many people went back and looked at that and they were like, I knew it. So at the time that I was going to school, I was also supporting myself in school. So I was working in nightclubs. I was working in bars. I was living that lifestyle. And that lifestyle in Toronto was like really big. Rappers are coming in and different singers. I've met this girl's family. where like, you know, I trust her completely. She calls me one day, but remember, she knows that I'm desperate.
00:04:11
Speaker
Right. I'm not the most beautiful woman. So no NBA player is going snatch me up up. And like, you know, I'm not with rappers and, you know, I'm with the girls that are with the rappers, but I'm the funny one in the corner that's, you know, having fun. So she calls me one day and she's like, I have this opportunity for you. They asked me to go to Panama and on a vacation, but they wanted me to bring a bring a bag home. Their whole pitch to me was, know,
00:04:36
Speaker
You are going to now be his stylist. We're going to get all of the girls in his music videos to wear your clothing line because I had starting a clothing line called Judged. And it was sort of this buildup where I was like, I made it.
00:04:50
Speaker
oh this is it. it Like that dream that I had to be a famous fashion designer, it just came true. It just felt like all of these blessings were coming in. Right. But I didn't listen to the gut feeling and reaction that I had in the moment that I was asked.
00:05:05
Speaker
And I said, yes, anyways. Because I felt like that was the only way for me to get where I needed to go. Four days later, when we only had two days left on our vacation, brought two suitcases.
00:05:17
Speaker
The suitcases looked like they had nothing in them. I knew what I was getting into. I knew that it was either drugs, passports, or money. I don't sit here and claim that I was a victim of anything. At the end of the day, we are all, after the age of 18 or 19 21, where you're from, are adults.
Family Connections and Personal Growth
00:05:32
Speaker
We are adults have the ability to make our own decisions on the last day. we go to the airport, we go to security, and then it all goes down. a Security guards end up coming out and calling me into the back and...
00:05:49
Speaker
They have my bag open on the security belt. I was arrested. i was brought, I was ankle shackled and wrist shackled to a chair. It was sort of like a holding space for three days with no toilet paper.
00:06:02
Speaker
It was horrible. so humiliating was so humiliating. so humiliating. I went to court. There was 11 kilos of cocaine in my bag. And I was facing 12 to 20 years in prison. What was really happening in your body? Like, were you like, did you have anybody you could think you could call at the family or a close friend?
00:06:22
Speaker
were your Were your beliefs in God strong then? Like, what was happening? Like, what? I've always believed in God. Yeah. I think there's a lot of people that believe in God. I think having a relationship with God is a different story. I think that up until that point in my life, my relationship with God was when it benefited me.
00:06:40
Speaker
When, you know, I'd done too many drugs and I was on the floor and I was like, Lord, please save me. Don't let me die. Or when, you know, I was going through a depression and I was like, God, please just get me out of this.
00:06:52
Speaker
And, And he would. Yeah. My real relationship with the Lord started when I got into prison. At that time, i they let me have one phone call.
00:07:03
Speaker
I called my birth mom. So i'm adopted. I met my birth mom at 19. Yeah. That is like someone that I felt like, okay, so we have a friendship. We don't have that like...
00:07:15
Speaker
that deep motherly relationship. Her and I are more of like best friends. We talk about that all the time. She is my safe person because I can tell her anything. I mean, anything. Hold on.
00:07:27
Speaker
Hold on. See, this is when this is where spiritual fitness starts tapping in for me. I could be wrong, just just correct me if I'm wrong. So I'm feeling we never know what's going to come through. I feel like unconsciously you was trying to run away from family that wasn't biologically yours to go back to the family that brought you to life, if that makes sense. Like, it's weird how all...
00:07:52
Speaker
played he itself and how it all unravel. But I think on an unconscious level from like that, that baby, that little girl that know, like, I'm not where I'm supposed to be, but I am,
00:08:07
Speaker
So I'm going to create something to get back to the home of me where I feel safe. No, not to them, to your mom and dad. I'm just really unpacking a story because it's such a phenomenal story. And I think sometimes we question life, we question God, we question a lot of things if we don't have the answer, the logic, but I like to always go beneath the root, right? Because they say... ah you Soul work is slow work, right? And a lot of people do bright things, right? And so beneath the root, I feel like for you, it was this strong desire or call.
00:08:43
Speaker
I need to be where people, where come from, right? Or where i'm but my soul knows, right? Your soul knows. so For 19 years, safe. i never felt safe So, like, my parents will tell you, like, they don't understand. They're not supposed to. They are not adopted. They adopted me. They love me unconditionally. My parents are amazing. I love them. that This has nothing to do with them. yeah This has everything to do with, like, the soul part that you're talking about, right? And I always think about that because people that ah understand this, they're like, you choose your parents. So I'm like, wait, how does it work when you're adopted? Did we as humans, like...
00:09:24
Speaker
mess that up? Are we sort of like fucking with that flow? Excuse my language, you know, because if I chose my parents, but then it was big noise. So I always felt this, this sort of like, who am I?
00:09:38
Speaker
I never felt understood. Never. I'm loud. I'm out there. i say things that are unhinged. The day I met Morna, my birth mother and my brother, my sister, it it was like this.
00:09:53
Speaker
Back home. One. Alignment. man It was like, oh, there I am Okay. Like, I can call this woman and say anything. There's innate parts of my soul in my blood that come from her that I will not understand
Prison Experience and Personal Transformation
00:10:11
Speaker
until I see them. So people out there that have never met their parents, i guarantee you.
00:10:16
Speaker
that they all feel, whether they talk about it or not, and typically they don't talk about it because people get defensive and take it personal if they talk about feeling an emptiness, they feel it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They feel it.
00:10:28
Speaker
you So you served how many years in prison? Four and a half. Four and a half. Okay, and then when you came home, you got deported right back to Toronto? Yeah. No. So I did four and a half years.
00:10:39
Speaker
I got out. um It's a very interesting story. the The woman that basically built the brand Burt's Bees from the ground up heard about my story, lives in this beautiful place in Panama called El Valle, was meditating one day, felt like she needed to have me come into her home. So she brought me into her home for two years. How did you meet her, by the way?
00:11:01
Speaker
ah So the, it's such a long story, but my parents would come every six months and visit me. Yeah. And they were like, well, actually what happened is are my daughter's in jail here.
00:11:15
Speaker
And so you watch these people will be like, well, and so all these people came together and started to want to figure out how to help. Well, Kim, the older gentleman that was like working at this hotel, approached my mom and he goes, listen, in 97, I did time in prison.
00:11:30
Speaker
And in five years, And I've always wanted to help someone in prison. So he was like, I want to help. So he basically became my uncle. oh he started to come down and see me. My parents would send him money. He'd bring me money. He'd buy me groceries, bring me groceries. He was doing anything and everything, telling everyone about my story, figuring out ways that he could talk to. He had a psychologist that was a psychologist at Harvard come down and like, you know, talk to me and help me. oh this man was amazing. Talk to my lawyers because he spoke Spanish. I didn't at the time. I now speak Spanish fluently, but he was, he was basically representing me to my lawyer to make sure that we were talking like all everything. He was there.
00:12:13
Speaker
So, The father of my child I met when I was in prison, he was also in prison. We ended up being together. He ended up hooking up with Uncle Kim and moving up to El Valle. And they were the ones that were talking to people about my story, trying to find someone to take responsibility for me. They talked to this woman, Sunny Justice, who at first was like, no way.
00:12:36
Speaker
I'm not having some con come and live in my house. Then one day she was sitting, she was meditating, and she was like, God told me, you are going to bring that girl into your house, and you are going to teach her everything you know about business.
00:12:53
Speaker
And she did. So she, man, this is crazy. The really important word here is obedience. Now, the first time I heard obedience, I was like, pow, don't say that word to me. i don't like it.
00:13:08
Speaker
However, now that I've sat with it more, the the the the reason that I say obedience is because Sonny could have been sitting there praying and feeling that and said no. while God was leading her to do something to save me, to help me. When you feel that feeling of like helping someone, talking to someone, even in the street, do you ever get that feeling? I do. Yesterday I was buying food for my son and I heard the homeless guy that we know down the street, he needs a meal. i was like, okay, all right. i bought him a meal. We went, found him. We give, yeah like those guidance, it means something. So,
00:13:42
Speaker
I fought for my freedom for a year and a half. I lost 15 pounds. I was told I was going home four different occasions. It was a lie. It was horrible. I'm on my knees every night. I'm praying. I remember the night I pray and I was like, I cannot do this anymore. I can't do it anymore.
00:13:59
Speaker
Yeah. I remember the next day I go out to make a phone call. I see Kim. I see my lawyer. And I see this tall, short, bald haired woman in like black and white, just like elegant.
00:14:13
Speaker
why is that The guards call me, Alana, come inside. i go inside. I sit down. i meet Sunny Justice. She tells me the story. She sits down and she writes tells me her story. Like she worked for Rogue.
00:14:24
Speaker
And she's like, I just needed to basically come down and make sure you weren't crazy. And she's like, I see that you're not crazy. And she said, yes. And she did everything she needed to do. Basically everyone outside figured it out.
00:14:37
Speaker
And I went to court. I was allowed to go and live with her. And she, i learned how to build websites. I learned about social media because I hadn't, I didn't really like do social media that that much. I was, you know, promoting her business, doing the marketing. I built the website for it. And then I learned how to run a luxury Airbnb, eight room luxury Airbnb.
00:14:58
Speaker
So I did that. She taught me everything. You know, that was such an amazing experience for me. in prison, what was your biggest breakthrough and your biggest turning point?
00:15:11
Speaker
And then second, when did your spirituality, your connection with God deepen? So it was about a year and a half or two years in there was a guard, her name was She hated me.
00:15:26
Speaker
Like when I say this woman did not like me, a lot of guards didn't like me, but this woman wanted to make my life a living hell. She would not let me go out and do fitness. She would, she just was always doing anything in her power to make my experience bad. Everyone in prison had a cell phone.
00:15:44
Speaker
Okay. I did not have a cell phone until we're almost two years in, but I did have a phone for a six month, two six month periods. I had a cell phone. They're not allowed, but we would get them in and we would buy them. Now the women would hide them inside of themselves. Yeah.
00:16:00
Speaker
I would not. i refused. There was no way it was happening. So I had these like extravagant, ridiculous hiding places where I was like doing acrobatics to get 14 feet up into the ceiling to hide my phone. So she caught word that I had a phone. One night she sent in six guards and,
00:16:21
Speaker
to raid the cell, but not raid anybody else, just me, grab me, hold my arms up, find my phone and take it, okay? I'm pissed. This is the only communication that I have with my family. The payphone that we have outside hasn't worked for months. And I'm just like, I'm not hurting anybody. Just leave me alone. You know, that was not how I felt. I felt like I wanted to hurt her.
00:16:43
Speaker
I was so mad. So the next day she was like, she came in, she's laughing, she's laughing at me and I'm in the back, I'm exercising and she says something to me and I snap.
00:16:54
Speaker
I'm really strong at this time. So I work out two hours a day and my ego was big and I still was just like uncomfortable with the situation. So I was like, yeah, I'm going to, I'm going beat the gut of her. I'm done. wanted to kill her. That's how i felt like I saw red. I don't even know how to explain it. I was just like, yeah yeah it felt like everything inside of me exploded. And it was sort of like, I had this out of body experience. that This is interesting. I had this out of body experience at that moment where it was like, I was either about to do this or do this. no right i was gonna be I always say this to people prison, I had a choice to be constructive or destructive with my time. But at that moment, I wanted to be destructive. And it was like, that was that could have been in the thing that switched me, where i like you see people that go into prison and and they switch and they become like,
00:17:39
Speaker
way worse than they were. So I went after her, this big girl named, but it was 400 pounds, grabbed another girl's arms and they crossed it over. And I was like trying to get through.
00:17:50
Speaker
I was, I don't even really remember. i just know that after they would laugh at me and tell me like, we've never seen you like you, like you look crazy. I didn't get my hands on her. I got six months probation.
00:18:01
Speaker
i remember this girl named See, they had been in prison for years. She was like 40. I think she got locked up at 19. She pulled me outside. She's like, you cannot do this. This cannot be your life. You have to change.
00:18:13
Speaker
At that moment, I grabbed the Bible. I went to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet because that's the only place you can get true privacy. Yeah. Right? Yeah. closed the door. And I was just like sobbing, reading the Bible, crying. I was like, God, please like help me. And what I heard God tell me, or what I felt in that moment was it's time to start saying yes.
00:18:34
Speaker
It's time to start doing things that are going to make you grow in a place that wants to see you fail. And so I started to say, yes, what does that mean in prison? any event any class, any course that came, I started to say yes.
00:18:51
Speaker
There was this public speaking competition. This was that big moment for me. I knew I always wanted to be on stage and I had started to feel like, you know, I feel like God wants me to tell my story. I remember I walked out, I saw on the wall, this thing in Spanish that said there's this oratoria, the public speaking competition, but there it's a big deal.
00:19:12
Speaker
You actually, you do it in prison. If you win, and you go to Panama City with no handcuffs in this beautiful theater and it's televised.
00:19:22
Speaker
And they do this big national public speaking competition. So guess what? I said yes. I wrote my first speech in Spanish. I had to start out with a quote. I used two quotes, one by Nelson Mandela. Everything feels impossible until it's done. i love that.
00:19:41
Speaker
Yeah, and one by Viktor Frankl. Everything can be taken from a man, but one thing, the last of human freedoms. to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
00:19:56
Speaker
So with those two quotes, I built a speech, I wrote a speech, my first speech ever, and then I translated it with the help of people into Spanish, practiced it, did it at the at the prison, but it was like they had 80 university students come, they had people, it was like 150 I the hey i went to panama city my dad flew down i was with no handcuffs i was i had an entourage of police officers and i got on stage i didn't win but i won yeah yeah because as soon as i got on that stage it gives goosebumps it makes me want to cry as soon as i got on that stage i was like
00:20:36
Speaker
This is it. This is it. Wow. This is who I am. Amen. Look at that. That's a prayer. Your story is a prayer. You know what I mean? What would be the advice to anybody going through a hard time right now and that's trying to look for the light at the end the tunnel or is trying to come out of darkness? And two is what is spiritual fitness to you?
00:20:56
Speaker
Oh, I love that. So the very first one, what I would say is it's really important to have graves with yourself. It's really important to give yourself grace and to understand something fundamental in life.
00:21:10
Speaker
Life. will always be challenging in one way or another. doesn't it mean you can't have good times. It doesn't mean, no. Challenges are here to help us grow. So it's not about finding light at the end of the tunnel. It's that the light is already here. And what you have is this incredible innate ability to choose to feel joy, even when you feel like your life is falling apart and to understand that there is so much power in prayer and in taking action on that prayer.
00:21:43
Speaker
so my Nona used to say this, pray like it's all up to him, work like it's all up to you. That's when you know you lose your job, you wanna get out and divorce, you do all those things, just know that you can still feel joy. But if it's like you've lost a loved one, someone has taken their life, you know you feel this deep depression, this might be really hard for people to hear.
00:22:04
Speaker
the solution is not quick. The best thing that you can do for yourself is have grace, allow yourself to walk through it, ask for help when you need it ask for a hug when you need it. And don't think that you are a singular situation in this world where you can't ask for help or you feel like, oh, I went through this. I have to like man up and get through it and not ask for help.
00:22:30
Speaker
Have grace, ask for help, start to say, yes, I start talking to God.
Embracing Spirituality and Finding Joy
00:22:35
Speaker
And so when God tells you like, You know, trust in me with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. So it's like you can still go through pain and go, God, I don't understand why this is happening to me. But know that in the in that trajectory of the life that was created for you, this challenge is supposed to be here. It's not happening because you're bad.
00:23:00
Speaker
It's not happening because you did something wrong. You've got to have grace. And and the the last, I will say, which is really hard is the more you can take responsibility for the feelings that you have and the less that you do this pointing at outside things, the more you're going to be able to accept that Things are going to happen to you and that, okay, you know, I take responsibility for the fact that, yeah, I'm getting a divorce. And yeah, that happened. And I take responsibility for the fact that yeah maybe I should have done this differently or that differently. doesn't make you bad. This is all a growth process.
00:23:39
Speaker
And so being on this earth is all in Spanish. reserve butindi sahi It's all about learning. Right. So the light is already there. It's within you. And that light is for me, my relationship with God.
00:23:51
Speaker
Right. God is always there. You can always, always trust in the word of God and in praying to God. And to promise you, because I know from experience, even when you're in the depths of hell, right.
00:24:04
Speaker
And you start to pray and you start to get clear on what you want or what you need. and you start to also focus and be like, oh, wow, this little miracle happened. Oh, wow, this little miracle happened.
00:24:16
Speaker
Oh, and you start to really see those things that happen. And the other thing is, is when you start to say yes, when people want to bless you. Because it's so easy, that also changes the trajectory of what's supposed to happen next. You're not opening yourself up, you're closing yourself to the blessings. yeah That's my responsibility.
00:24:34
Speaker
right So start saying yes to the blessings, whatever
Spiritual Fitness as a Lifestyle
00:24:37
Speaker
it is. When I hear spiritual fitness, I hear it's a lifestyle. oh Because when we talk about fitness... Yeah.
00:24:49
Speaker
wendy When do you see the most people in the gym? And so when you say spiritual fitness, I think spirituality, relationship with God is a lifetime. It is a lifestyle.
00:25:00
Speaker
It is something that you build over time with consistency. You shall see fruit. It's not just that, oh, I prayed twice. I didn't see any results. It doesn't work like that.
00:25:10
Speaker
Yeah. It doesn't work like that. So I think for you, like when you say that, I'm like, what a beautiful word, right? This is spirituality is consistent. It is a part of your life. The way that flossing your teeth, making your bed, you know, and scrolling on Instagram is a part of your life. Wow, Alana, this is incredible way to show up ah for yourself and the people that's going to listen, watch. How can we get into your energy? Where can we find you?
Engagement and Social Media Connections
00:25:38
Speaker
We want to listen to the podcast. Do you got any books coming out? Any speeches? Like, how do you get in your world?
00:25:43
Speaker
On Instagram is probably one of the best ways to find me. Alana Moore Speaks. That's where you can find me more without an E. www.alanamore.com.
00:25:55
Speaker
um And then right now the podcast just came out. I was just, we were talking about this in the beginning. The podcast just came out, but this has been an idea that's been in the works for years. um So you can find it on YouTube. ah You can look up from scratch by a lot of more on YouTube. Listen, like subscribe, tell your friends and let me know what you think, honestly, because this, like I said, I'm building the muscle right to what I want to put out into the world. so ah Yeah. And in terms of speaking, um I actually yesterday i got asked to to be on the largest speaker bureau in Canada.
00:26:31
Speaker
And so yesterday was it was interesting. That's why when you were like, oh, I could see you speaking. It's like speaking of my passion and getting on stage and and helping people understand how I built frameworks to rebuild my life from scratch. Yeah.
00:26:45
Speaker
in what I believe to be one of the worst, one of the five worst situations you can ah ever be in in life means that it can happen for anybody going through anything. Well said. Thank you, people. you hear her you heard her, you feel her, you see her follow her on Instagram, go to her website, tap into the podcast on YouTube, subscribe. And, um,
00:27:07
Speaker
This was another Spiritual Fitness Podcast episode with Alana Moore. Thank you again. And um all this stuff will be in the show notes, people. But ah go back and listen to this several times. I guarantee you'll get something to change your life.
00:27:21
Speaker
With that being said, we're out. Peace and love. Thank you. Thank you for joining us on the Spiritual Fitness Podcast. We hope today's episode has inspired you and provided valuable insights for your holistic health journey.
00:27:36
Speaker
By blended spirituality and physical wellness, you can strengthen your body, mind, and soul. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review.
00:27:47
Speaker
Until next time, stay strong, stay inspired, and remember, it's miracle season.