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Explore every episode of the podcast The Uplifted Yoga Podcast

Dive into the complete episode list for The Uplifted Yoga Podcast. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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TitlePub. DateDuration
Foot Anatomy: Do You Understand the Architectural Masterpiece You're Standing On?04 Nov 202600:32:50

You don't have to fly to Rome to marvel at incredible architecture. One of the most sophisticated engineering masterpieces you'll encounter is already attached to your leg.

Each foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, three arches, and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. All absorbing force, helping you balance, communicating with your brain, and adapting to the ground beneath you.

In this final episode of our anatomy series, we're giving your feet the attention they deserve.

In this episode:

🔹 How the three arches work together like a suspension bridge to support, absorb force, and adapt with every step

🔹 Why your feet are sensory organs and how they influence the entire kinetic chain above them

🔹 The barefoot vs. supportive shoe debate, why plantar fasciitis is so common, and why there isn't one right answer for every foot

🔹 Yoga cues for Tadasana, Warrior poses, Tree, Triangle, and more that help students feel and strengthen their feet

Your feet have carried you through life this entire time. Give them some love.

✅ If this episode makes you think, I want to understand the body this way, come study with us inside Uplifted → https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=200ytt 

 

FREE Practice: Easy Yoga for Your Feet and Ankles (15-min) Simple Light Stretching For Runners

Relevant Blog: Pada Bandha: Your #1 Secret to Happy Feet

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#444 – Spine Anatomy: Do You Understand the System Holding Your Practice Together?

#445 – Diaphragm Anatomy: Do You Understand the Muscle Powering Every Breath?

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Diaphragm Anatomy: Do You Understand the Muscle Powering Every Breath?28 Oct 202600:30:36

What if I told you there's an elevator inside your body that you ride roughly 20,000 times a day, but most of us have no idea how it actually works?

In Part 2 of our anatomy series, we're going inside the anatomy of your breath. You'll meet the giant jellyfish-shaped muscle underneath your lungs, the trampoline at the bottom of your pelvis, the expandable walls surrounding them, and the tiny tourists trying to get the full tour of your torso.

Because breathing isn't just about your lungs. Every breath is a coordinated movement between your diaphragm, ribs, abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and nervous system.

In this episode:

🔹 What your diaphragm is actually doing when you inhale and why it moves in the opposite direction most people assume

🔹 How your diaphragm and pelvic floor work together and why constantly gripping your belly or pelvic floor can interfere with that relationship

🔹 What 360-degree breathing really means and how your ribs, belly, back body, and pelvic floor accommodate every breath

🔹 Why shallow breathing recruits your neck and shoulders and can keep your nervous system's "fire alarm" switched on

Your breath isn't simply moving air. So this week, notice your elevator. Is it getting the full ride or are you spending all day in the penthouse?

✅ If you're loving this level of detail, this is exactly how we teach inside my 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training. Join us for the next cohort → https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=200ytt

 

FREE Practice: 20 Min Deep Breathing Yoga Flow - Day 4

Relevant Blog: Pelvic Floor Trauma vs Tightness: Why So Many Women Get Misdiagnosed

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Kundalini 200-hour YTT

🌀 History of Yoga

📖 Yoga Life Book

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#366 – Is Trauma Actually In Your Hips? The Impact of Stress on Hip & Pelvic Health with Dr. Brianne Grogan

#444 – Spine Anatomy: Do You Understand the System Holding Your Practice Together?

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Spine Anatomy: Do You Understand the System Holding Your Practice Together?21 Oct 202600:48:36

Your spine is a team. A very talented team, with some serious communication and boundary issues.

In this episode, the first of a three-part anatomy series, we're looking at the different curves of your spine. Not as a boring anatomy lesson, but as the dysfunctional workplace happening inside your body.

Because every section of your spine has its own résumé. There are movements it's naturally great at, movements it struggles with, and jobs it will happily take over even when it absolutely should not be in charge.

In this episode:

🔹 Meet the workplace characters living inside your spine, from the people-pleasing lumbar spine to the creative director running wild in your neck

🔹 Why more mobility isn't always better, and how yoga can strengthen what's weak while creating boundaries around what already moves too much

🔹 How common poses like Upward Dog, Warrior I, Triangle, Camel, and even Cat-Cow can place the wrong part of your spine in charge

🔹 The cues and simple adjustments that help your core, sacrum, low back, thoracic spine, and neck actually work together

Good alignment isn't about making a pose look perfect. It's about understanding who is doing the work.

What part of your body is overworking? What part is avoiding the work? And who has apparently been working remotely from the Bahamas since 2017?

This is the kind of anatomy we dive into inside Uplifted Yoga Teacher Training, so you can move and teach with more intelligence, confidence, and compassion.

✅ If this episode makes you think, I want to understand the body this way, come study with us inside Uplifted → https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=200ytt 

 

FREE Practice: Gentle Beginner Yoga for Back Pain | LOW BACK STRETCHING TUTORIALS

Relevant Blog: The Nervous System, Not the Poses: What a Modern Yoga Teacher Training Actually Teaches You About Your Body

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book

🐍 Kundalini 200-hour YTT

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#280 – The Pelvis: Your Seat of Power & Embodiment with Lara Heimann

#369 – Nervous System Masterclass with Kristin Leal

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Why Spiritual Highs Don't Change Your Life (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Part 3)14 Oct 202600:26:30

In this final installment of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Arjuna has just experienced one of the most extraordinary mystical visions in the entire text. He's seen Krishna as the infinite creator, destroyer, and force behind all of reality, and his response is surprising: Please become ordinary again.

Because what happens after the spiritual high?

After the retreat, the awakening, the incredible meditation, or the moment where everything suddenly makes sense, you still have to come back down the mountain and live your life.

In this episode:

🔹 Why Arjuna asks Krishna to return to his familiar human form and what this reveals about our capacity to experience the divine

🔹 The striking parallel between Arjuna's vision and Jesus' Transfiguration, including what happens immediately after both spiritual highs

🔹 Why mystical experiences rarely remove our problems, but can change the person who returns to them

🔹 How to stop chasing your next revelation and start embodying the truth you've already received

Chapter 11 doesn't end with fireworks. It ends with practice, devotion, and a return to ordinary life.

So this week, I want you to consider: What truth do you already know that you haven't started living yet?

Because spiritual experiences don't change our lives on their own. What changes our lives are the choices we make after them.

💖 If you love exploring yoga this way,not just understanding the philosophy, but actually applying it to your real life, that's exactly what we do inside Uplifted → https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted 

 

📖 Different translations explored:

Barbara Stoler Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Krishnas-Counsel-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213652 

Godsong by Amit Majmudar: https://www.amazon.com/Godsong-Verse-Translation-Bhagavad-Gita-Commentary/dp/1524733474 

Eknath Easwaran: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-2nd-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/1586380192 

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-As-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/0892131233 

 

FREE Practice: Feminine Kundalini Flow w/ Music | Lower Chakras Yoga + Grounding Chakras with Yoni Mudra Meditation

Relevant Blog: How to Resolve Kundalini Awakening

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🌀 History of Yoga

📖 Yoga Life Book

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#427 – What Is Bhakti Yoga? Krishna's Most Confidential Teaching (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9)

#441– Why Can't You See God Yet? (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Part 1)

#442 – "I Am Time": The Most Famous Verse in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Part 2)

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

"I Am Time": The Most Famous Verse in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Part 2)07 Oct 202600:29:07

"I am Time, destroyer of worlds."

This is the most quoted verse in the Bhagavad Gita, but it's also one of the most misunderstood.

In Part 2 of our exploration of Chapter 11, Krishna reveals his universal form to Arjuna in one of the most awe-inspiring visions in all of sacred literature. Yet instead of feeling enlightened or peaceful, Arjuna is overwhelmed with fear.

Together, we'll unpack what Krishna really means by "I am Time," compare this unforgettable moment with Jesus' Transfiguration, and explore why encounters with the Divine often leave us speechless rather than comfortable.

Let's explore:

🔹The meaning behind Krishna's universal form (Vishvarupa) 

🔹Why Arjuna responds with fear instead of bliss 

🔹What "I am Time" really means and why it isn't celebrating destruction 

🔹Surprising parallels between the Bhagavad Gita and Jesus' Transfiguration 

🔹Why mystical experiences often expand us before they comfort us

👉 Dive deeper into yoga's origins with my History of Yoga Course → https://www.brettlarkin.com/history-of-yoga-course/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=hoy 

 

📖 Different translations explored:

Barbara Stoler Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Krishnas-Counsel-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213652 

Godsong by Amit Majmudar: https://www.amazon.com/Godsong-Verse-Translation-Bhagavad-Gita-Commentary/dp/1524733474 

Eknath Easwaran: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-2nd-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/1586380192 

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-As-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/0892131233 

 

FREE Practice: Kundalini Meditation for Focus | AWAKEN YOUR HEART AND THIRD EYE

Relevant Blog: Kundalini Awakening: What Is It and How To Awaken It

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🌀 History of Yoga

📖 Yoga Life Book

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#406 – Vedanta vs. Christianity: Bliss, Grace & the Divine in Two Spiritual Paths

#413 – Yoga Doesn't Have a Devil. So What's the Enemy? (Part 1)

#425 – How the Divine Speaks: Sacred Symbolism in the Gita, Bible & Upanishads Part 1

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Why Can't You See God Yet? (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Part 1)30 Sep 202600:23:24

Why does Krishna wait until Chapter 11 to reveal his universal form?

In this episode, we explore one of the most dramatic turning points in the Bhagavad Gita. After ten chapters of spiritual teaching, Arjuna is finally granted "divine sight." 

But why now?

In this episode, I'll compare Krishna's revelation with Jesus' Transfiguration, explore the yogic concept of avidya (ignorance), and explain why spiritual practice doesn't create God. It removes the veil that keeps us from recognizing what has always been there.

In this episode:

🔹Why Arjuna couldn't recognize Krishna's divinity until now

🔹The difference between belief and direct spiritual experience

🔹How yoga removes avidya, the veil of ignorance

🔹What Jesus' Transfiguration reveals about spiritual readiness

🔹Why mystical experiences are received as grace—not earned 

👉 Dive deeper into yoga's origins with my History of Yoga Course → https://www.brettlarkin.com/history-of-yoga-course/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=hoy 

Want to go deeper between episodes? Subscribe to my new Uplifted Substack for yoga philosophy, reflections, teachings, and conversations delivered straight to your inbox: https://substack.com/@upliftedtrainings

📖 Different translations explored:

Barbara Stoler Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Krishnas-Counsel-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213652 

Godsong by Amit Majmudar: https://www.amazon.com/Godsong-Verse-Translation-Bhagavad-Gita-Commentary/dp/1524733474 

Eknath Easwaran: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-2nd-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/1586380192 

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-As-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/0892131233 



FREE Practice: The Healing Power of Divine Love | VINYASA FLOW HEART OPENING

Relevant Blog: Third Eye Chakra Opening Symptoms And How To Open Your Sixth Chakra

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🌀 History of Yoga

📖 Yoga Life Book

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#358 – Intro to The Bhagavad Gita: How Do You Navigate Moral Dilemmas?

#433 – Vibhuti Yoga – See the Sacred Everywhere: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

The Forgotten Way to Learn Yoga Philosophy: Ancient Memory Practices (Part 2)23 Sep 202600:25:34

We live in a world obsessed with consuming more information. More podcasts. More reels. More quotes. More content.

But what if transformation doesn't come from learning something new, but from deeply remembering something ancient?

In this episode, we explore how to intentionally choose a mantra, sutra, psalm, poem, or sacred line to memorize and why this practice can become a powerful anchor for anxiety, overwhelm, distraction, and nervous system regulation.

You'll learn:

🔹 How to choose a verse or mantra that speaks directly to your current season of life

🔹 Why memorization changes your relationship to wisdom itself

🔹 Somatic and creative techniques for memorizing sacred text

🔹 Why repetition, rhythm, sound, and poetry regulate the nervous system

🔹 How to turn ancient wisdom into a living daily companion

💖 Want to shift what you're practicing and paying attention to? Join the Uplifted Membership: https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted 

✨ Get The Uplifted Journals:

Uplifted Abundance Journal & Guidebook

Uplifted Chakra Journal

 

FREE Practice: Guided Meditation For Intentions: A Grounding Visualization Meditation

Relevant Blog: What are Patanjali's Yoga Sutras?

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#401 – Who Has Your Attention? Attention Economy vs the Ancient Path

#415 – From Self-Improvement to Reverence (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7)

#437 – The Forgotten Way to Learn Yoga Philosophy: Ancient Memory Practices (Part 1)

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Hatha or Kundalini Yoga? How to Find the Style That Fits You16 Sep 202600:24:37

Hatha and Kundalini are both yoga, but they can feel completely different in your body.

In this episode, I break down some of the biggest differences between these two styles: how they use movement, breath, meditation, mantra, repetition, and the subtle body. Plus, why one style may resonate with you very differently than another.

If you've been Kundalini-curious, love a traditional Hatha or Vinyasa practice, or simply want to understand what all these different yoga "styles" are actually doing, this is a great place to start.

I'll explore:

🔹 How Hatha/Vinyasa and Kundalini approach movement, breath, and meditation differently

🔹 Why Kundalini often feels more repetitive, energetic, and meditative than a traditional flow class

🔹 How different yoga styles can reveal different patterns in your body and nervous system

🔹 Why there's no single "best" yoga style and how experimenting helps you discover what your system actually responds to

The most important takeaway? You don't have to choose your yoga style intellectually. Experience it in your body.

🌈 Join my FREE Find Your Style Challenge starting tomorrow, September 17th!

Practice different styles of yoga with me and discover what genuinely fits your body, energy, and life → https://www.brettlarkin.com/style 

 

FREE Practice: 20 Min Kundalini Yoga for the Entire Body | KUNDALINI YOGA FOR HEALTH

Relevant Blog: What Is Kundalini Syndrome? (And Can It Happen To You?)

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Kundalini 200-hour YTT

🔮 Kundalini Demystified

📖 Yoga Life Book

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#277 – Trauma Conscious Kundalini Yoga with Katrina Marie

#318 – What Is Somatic Yoga?

#412 – How the Chakras Relate to Polyvagal Theory + Your FAQ

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Inside Somatic Coaching: How to Release Stuck Energy09 Sep 202600:15:25

Today's episode is another behind-the-scenes look, this time inside my Somatic Yoga Training and Embodied Yoga Life Coaching Certification.

This teaching explores how we move energy through the body using breath, movement, sound, and visualization. Inside EYLC, we work with different maps of the subtle body, including the doshas, polarity, Shiva and Shakti, and the relationship between movement and stillness.

In this clip, I explore why movement is not just something we do before meditation. Movement can help us express, discharge, and release what may be stuck in the body so we can access a deeper sense of presence, authenticity, and self-trust.

Inside this episode, I explore:

🔹 How vata, pitta, and kapha can help us understand different energetic textures

🔹 Why Shiva and Shakti represent the dance between stillness and movement

🔹 The three core ways we move energy: breath, movement, and sound

🔹 How somatic coaching helps clients move from talking about emotions to experiencing and shifting them in the body

The goal is not just to move so you can become still. It's to move what is blocking your truth, so you can sit more deeply in who you really are.

💗 Learn more about Embodied Yoga Life Coaching: https://www.brettlarkin.com/somatic-yoga-training-certification/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=eylc 

💎 Experience somatic yoga in this Embodied Yoga Workshop: https://www.brettlarkin.com/embodiedyoga?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=embodiedyoga

 

FREE Practice: Yoga for Women for MORE ENERGY | Release Emotions

Relevant Blog: How To Incorporate Somatic Coaching Into Your Yoga Practice

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#384 – Do Less, Heal More: 7 Invitations to Resolve Trauma from Organic Intelligence

#385 – The 5 Vayus: How Energy Moves Through Your Body (Part 1)

#391 – Vyana + Udana Vayu: Energetic Expression, Circulation + Embodiment

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

The Forgotten Way to Learn Yoga Philosophy: Ancient Memory Practices (Part 1)02 Sep 202600:22:43

When was the last time you memorized something on purpose?

Not a password, grocery list, or directions, but a piece of poetry, a prayer, a mantra, a sutra, or a verse that you carried with you in your mind.

In this episode, I'm exploring why memorization was once the original way ancient wisdom was passed down, and why it still matters now. We'll look at how memorizing meaningful words can train your attention, support your nervous system, strengthen your brain, and help wisdom become something you can actually return to in real life.

Inside this episode, I explore:

🔹 Why ancient texts like the Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, Vedas, Psalms, and Torah were designed to be remembered

🔹 How memorization turns passive reading into active spiritual practice

🔹 Why sacred words can become tools for nervous system regulation

🔹 How memorization becomes a countercultural act in the age of scrolling and endless information

This is part one of a two-part conversation. For now, I'm planting the seed: What words, prayer, poem, mantra, or verse might you want to carry in your heart?

💖 Want to shift what you're practicing and paying attention to? Join the Uplifted Membership: https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted  

 

FREE Practice: Anti-Anxiety "Get Grounded FAST" Yoga Sequence (8-Min) - ALL LEVELS - Quick Yoga (10 Minute Yoga)

Relevant Blog: 15 Life-Changing Yoga Books To Deepen Your Yoga Practice

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🔮 History of Yoga

📖 Yoga Life Book

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#370 – Yoga's Messy Origins: Understanding Yoga's Historical Context

#401 – Who Has Your Attention? Attention Economy vs the Ancient Path

#425 – How the Divine Speaks: Sacred Symbolism in the Gita, Bible & Upanishads Part 1

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Stop Stacking Certifications: How to Integrate Your Gifts and Finally Use What You Know26 Aug 202600:26:10

So many of us think the next certification will finally make us feel clear, confident, or ready. But more information is not always the answer. Sometimes the real missing piece is integration.

In this restream episode, I'm talking about the certification trap, why your nervous system may be keeping you in "learn more" mode, and how to begin organizing your existing tools into a clear, repeatable method that actually supports your clients and your business.

We'll also look at why movement, somatic awareness, and embodied coaching can create a deeper kind of transformation than talking or mindset work alone.

If you're a yoga teacher, coach, healer, or wellness practitioner who has taken multiple trainings but still feels scattered, this episode is for you. Let's explore:

🔹 Why collecting more tools can sometimes become a freeze response

🔹 How embodied self-awareness differs from conceptual self-awareness

🔹 Why movement is essential for emotional release and somatic integration

🔹 The three pillars healers need to move forward

You don't need to do more. You need to do less, better. With structure, support, and a nervous system that feels safe enough to take action.

💗 Learn more about Embodied Yoga Life Coaching: https://www.brettlarkin.com/somatic-yoga-training-certification/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=eylc 

💎 Experience somatic yoga in this Embodied Yoga Workshop: https://www.brettlarkin.com/embodiedyoga?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=embodiedyoga

 

FREE Practice: MORNING YOGA FOR TIGHT HIPS & LOWER BACK | Stretches for Flexibility - Unleash Your Creative Energy✨

Relevant Blog: Top Somatic Coaching Programs And How To Choose One

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#299 – Strategies to Slay Imposter Syndrome and Share Your Gifts

#363 – How to Become a Magnet for Loyal Students & Own the Room with Confidence with Taylor Lorenz

#386 – Stop Selling Products—Start Selling YOU: Human Design for Visibility & Flow with Juliette Stapleton

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

The Shuniya Shift: Stop Using Kundalini Yoga to Fix Yourself with Bailee Buckendorf19 Aug 202600:43:43

What happens when healing becomes another thing you're trying to achieve?

In this episode, I'm joined by my friend Bailee for a tender conversation about grief, the feminine, Shuniya, and the power of not fixing yourself.

We explore grief not as something you "get over," but as a living process to be felt, held, and slowly alchemized. Bailee shares how her journey led her into deeper stillness, sensory awareness, sound, archetype, and the feminine mystery.

This conversation asks: What if there is nothing to fix? What if the next step is learning how to listen differently?

Inside this episode, we explore:

🔹 Why grief is not something we complete, but something we learn to live with and honor

🔹 How Shuniya, or zero-point stillness, can create space for healing to land

🔹 Why "am I doing this to avoid a feeling?" and "am I doing this because I think I'm not enough?" are powerful questions

🔹 How simple rituals, sound, sensory awareness, and intentional contemplation can support integration

My hope is that this episode gives you permission to stop treating healing like a race.

You do not have to prove your worth through how much you process, achieve, fix, or overcome.

Sometimes the most sacred shift begins when you pause, listen, and let what has already been planted finally land.

🐍 If this conversation stirred something in you: Download your FREE Feminine Kundalini Starter Pack: https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-kundalini-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ku 

 

GUEST EXPERT: Bailee Buckendorf | @rebuilding.roots 

Bailee Buckendorf is a grief integration guide, contemplative writer, and founder of Sunia Shift. Her work weaves Kundalini yoga, archetypal practice, sacred ceremony, sound, somatics, and matriarchal wisdom to help people relate to grief not as something to fix, but as a source of knowing. Shaped by her own lived initiations as a widowed mother, ultra runner, and lifelong student of loss, Bailee supports individuals and groups through one-on-one containers, digital offerings, and seasonal experiences.

Book Mentioned: Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés https://www.amazon.com/Women-Who-Run-Wolves-Archetype/dp/0345409876 

 

FREE Practice: KUNDALINI YOGA FOR EMOTIONAL RELEASE with Music 💜 Trauma Informed Yoga for Beginners 💜

Relevant Blog: The Best Somatic Exercises for Grief: Find Healing Through Movement

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Kundalini 200-hour YTT

💫 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

🎧 Also Listen to:

#281 – Grief as a Potent Healer with Kris Carr

#324 – The Importance of Emotional Processing and Regulation: DENT Model Trauma

#332 – 7 Ways to Release Anger & Grief Through Your Yoga Practice

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Feminine Kundalini Energy: Light, Dark & Tantric Archetypes12 Aug 202600:15:39

Today's episode is another behind-the-scenes look, this time inside my 200-hour Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training.

This teaching comes from the Feminine Form Kundalini module, where we unpack what we mean by feminine energy. In yoga, tantra, and Kundalini, feminine energy isn't about gender or identity. It's archetypal energy, the Shakti current within all of us.

In this clip, I explore Shiva and Shakti, the light and dark feminine, and why both matter. I'll also look at how feminine energy becomes blocked, through over-control, disconnection from desire, difficulty receiving, and lack of boundaries.

Inside this episode, I explore:

🔹 Why feminine and masculine energy are archetypal forces, not gender roles

🔹 How Shakti and Shiva represent movement and stillness, life force and consciousness

🔹 The difference between light feminine and dark feminine energy

🔹 How feminine archetypes can deepen your Kundalini yoga practice

The feminine is not just softness. She is movement, desire, creation, destruction, renewal, and the living intelligence of the body itself.

🐍 Grab my FREE Feminine Form Kundalini Starter. It's a beautiful place to begin exploring feminine energy, Shakti, archetypes, and Kundalini practice in your own body: https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-kundalini-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ku 

 

FREE Practice: FEMININE KUNDALINI | Yoga for Women with Overwhelm & Fatigue 🥱 | ACTIVATE ADRENALS & KIDNEYS

Relevant Blog: Harnessing the Power of Kundalini Divine Feminine for Transformation

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Kundalini 200-hour YTT

🔮 Kundalini Demystified

✨ Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#305 – Female Archetypes of Leadership with Anodea Judith Ph.D

#312 – Is Your Masculine/Feminine Energy Balanced? Shiva, Shakti & Polarity Within You

#352 – Redefining Feminine Energy in Yoga & Ayurveda with Katie Silcox

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Vibhuti Yoga - See the Sacred Everywhere: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1005 Aug 202600:33:47

What if the world itself could become your meditation object?

In this episode, we explore Chapter 10 of the Bhagavad Gita, known as Vibhuti Yoga — the yoga of divine manifestation and sacred seeing. This chapter explores how to train our perception and helps us stop dividing life into "spiritual" and "not spiritual." The sunset, the breath, the body, the mountain, even impermanence, all can become doorways back to the sacred.

It also marks a turning point in Arjuna's relationship with Krishna. Until now, Arjuna has known Krishna as his friend, cousin, mentor, and charioteer. Here, he begins to realize that Krishna is not just wise, but divine reality itself.

Inside this episode, I explore:

🔹 What Vibhuti Yoga means and why Chapter 10 is about sacred seeing

🔹 How Krishna teaches Arjuna to recognize the divine shining through the world

🔹 Why awe, beauty, and attention can become spiritual practice

🔹 How your body, breath, and everyday life can become doorways into devotion

My hope is that this episode helps you look for the spark this week.

Not by chasing a mystical experience, but by letting ordinary life become holy again.

If this episode speaks to you, come practice with me inside Uplifted Membership, where we weave yoga philosophy, meditation, somatics, and embodied ritual into practices you can actually feel and live.

https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted 

 

📖 Different translations explored:

Barbara Stoler Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Krishnas-Counsel-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213652 

Godsong by Amit Majmudar: https://www.amazon.com/Godsong-Verse-Translation-Bhagavad-Gita-Commentary/dp/1524733474 

Eknath Easwaran: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-2nd-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/1586380192 

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-As-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/0892131233 

 

FREE Practice: Easy Kundalini Yoga for Women | Kriya to be DIVINE LOVE EMBODIED

Relevant Blog: What are Patanjali's Yoga Sutras?

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Kundalini 200-hour YTT

📚 History of Yoga

💖 Uplifted Membership

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#381 – Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali Explained – BOOK 3: Psychic Superpowers & Samadhi

#398 – [Meditation] Taking in the Good

#427 – What Is Bhakti Yoga? Krishna's Most Confidential Teaching (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9)

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Perimenopause, Cravings & Hormones: Your Body Isn't Broken, It's Speaking w/ Sema Özpekmezci29 Jul 202600:41:44

Do cravings, fatigue, or hormonal shifts have you feeling like a stranger in your body?

In this episode, I'm joined by Sema Özpekmezci for a grounded, compassionate conversation about chronic illness, women's health, perimenopause, hormones, and what it really means to listen to your body.

We explore how midlife changes can feel confusing and how symptoms like cravings, energy dips, mood shifts, and inflammation can become invitations into deeper self-understanding.

Sema also shares a powerful way to think about your hormones as the "CEO" of your body and why food, stress, blood sugar, sleep, and nervous system regulation all play a role in helping you feel balanced again.

Inside this episode, we explore:

🔹 Why perimenopause symptoms, cravings, and inflammation may be body signals, not personal failures

🔹 How hormones, stress, cortisol, and the nervous system influence women's health

🔹 Why chocolate cravings and blood sugar patterns can reveal what your body actually needs

🔹 How to respond to your changing body with curiosity, compassion, and practical support

My hope is that this conversation helps you stop fighting your body and start listening to it. Because your body isn't broken. It's speaking.

💗 If you want to keep exploring this connection between the nervous system, embodiment, and women's health, come practice with me: https://www.brettlarkin.com/ffy?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ffy 

 

GUEST EXPERT: Sema Özpekmezci | @semaozpekmezci

Sema is a certified Clinical Nutritional Therapist and Functional Medicine Health Coach. She is a Yoga and Mindfulness Trainer and yoga/meditation enthusiast. She believes that nutrition, mind, and spirit are inextricably linked to our health and overall well-being and spreading and explaining this is her life's purpose.

​Connect with Sema and find her programs here → https://www.semaozpekmezci.com/ 

 

FREE Practice: Somatic Exercises to Reduce Cortisol & Get Out of Freeze Response | Full Body Somatic Yoga Flow

Relevant Blog: Yoga Teacher Training as a Mid-Life Wellness Sabbatical: Why More Women Are Using YTT to Reset Their Nervous System (Not Change Careers)

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Kundalini 200-hour YTT

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book

✨ Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#366 – Is Trauma Actually In Your Hips? The Impact of Stress on Hip & Pelvic Health with Dr. Brianne Grogan

#369 – Nervous System Masterclass with Kristin Leal

#384 – Do Less, Heal More: 7 Invitations to Resolve Trauma from Organic Intelligence

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Nervous System Science Every Yoga Teacher Should Know22 Jul 202600:19:38

What's actually happening in the body when yoga helps you "calm down"?

In this behind-the-scenes lesson pulled directly from the Uplifted 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training, we explore the nervous system science behind yoga, and why practices like breathwork, inversions, mantra, repetition, and Savasana can profoundly shift your stress response.

You'll learn why yoga isn't just about relaxing, but about building awareness, resilience, and the ability to move skillfully between stress and recovery.

We explore:

🔹 How yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system

🔹 Why slow exhales and vagal tone matter for emotional regulation

🔹 The nervous system effects of inversions, mantra, repetition, and Savasana

🔹 Why yoga isn't about avoiding stress, but responding to it differently

🔹 How yoga teachers help students build nervous system resilience through awareness

This episode is a special preview from inside our teacher training and offers a glimpse into how we blend anatomy, nervous system science, yoga philosophy, and embodied practice together inside the program.

🎓 Curious about joining the next cohort of the Uplifted 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training? Learn more about our anatomy-forward, highly supportive online certification program → https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=200ytt 

💖 Or, if this episode helped you understand your nervous system or yoga practice in a new way, I'd be so grateful if you left a quick review for the podcast. Reviews help more yogis discover these teachings and support the show tremendously.

✨ Leave a review here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-uplifted-yoga-podcast/id1097989571?action=write-review

(If the link opens the show page instead of reviews, just scroll down and click on "Ratings & Reviews" then tap "Write a Review.")

 

FREE Practice: Calming Restorative Yoga Sequence | Relax & Nourish your Senses (45-min) All Levels

Relevant Blog: Industry Expert Tips For Yoga Injury Prevention (+ Modifications)

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#420 – Healing Painful Joints with Scott Hogan

#424 – What Makes a Great Yoga Teacher Training? Your Questions Answered

#429 – My Yogic Decision-Making Framework: How to Find Real Clarity

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

How the Divine Speaks: The Neuroscience of Sacred Storytelling (Part 2)15 Jul 202600:31:23

Why do the world's great spiritual traditions teach through stories, imagery, and metaphor instead of simple instructions?

In this episode, I'll explore why metaphor changes us in a way facts alone cannot and how imagery bypasses the analytical mind to speak directly to the nervous system, imagination, memory, and body.

Building on Part 1, we'll dive deeper into Tantra's vision of awakening as a love story between Shiva and Shakti: awareness and energy, stillness and sensation, consciousness and embodiment.

I'll explore:

🔹 Why metaphor activates the nervous system differently than information

🔹 The neuroscience behind stories, imagery, and embodied learning

🔹 How yoga philosophy, Christianity, Buddhism, and Tantra all teach through metaphor

🔹 Why metaphor is essential for trauma-informed yoga teaching and meditation

🔹 Practical ways to use imagery, cue layering, and storytelling in your yoga classes

🎓 Want to become a more confident, creative, and impactful yoga teacher?

Grab my free Sequencing & Cueing Bundle and learn how to structure classes, layer cues, and use metaphor and imagery in a way that truly lands with students → https://www.brettlarkin.com/teach?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=teach  

 

FREE Practice: 10 Min Beginner Morning Meditation | EASY GUIDED MEDITATION

Relevant Blog: Yoga Cues 101: Everything You Need To Teach Yoga

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

🎧 Also Listen to:

#300 – Unraveling the Mystery of Chronic Pain for Yoga Teachers & Practitioners with Kim Patel

#422 – What Happens When You Die? Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Explained

#425 – Why the Divine Speaks in Metaphor: Sacred Stories from the Gita, Bible & Upanishads Part 1

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

My Yogic Decision-Making Framework: How to Find Real Clarity08 Jul 202600:32:21

How do you make a big decision… yogically?

In this episode, I explore what happens when you deeply desire something — a new job, a baby, a retreat, a training, a relationship — but don't actually have the capacity to hold it right now.

This is a conversation about desire, capacity, and the real conditions for clarity. Because so often we think we're confused, when really what's happening is that one part of us wants something badly, and another part of us knows we don't have the bandwidth.

In this episode, I explore:

🔹 The difference between desire and capacity and why both matter

🔹 Why high desire + low capacity creates pain, burnout, and resentment

🔹 A yogic framework for understanding hard decisions through polarity

🔹 Simple somatic practices to help you feel what your body is actually saying

🔹 Four different decision-making archetypes and how stress changes the way you choose

If you've been stuck in a decision, this episode will help you stop forcing clarity and start listening for what's actually true.

✨ Make your yoga practice 2x more potent in 1/2 the time with my Free Yoga Transformational Portal

💗 Get Yoga for Self Mastery => https://www.brettlarkin.com/yoga-for-self-mastery/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ysm

 

FREE Practice: Kundalini Yoga Meditation To Empower Your Decision Making (18-min) Guided Meditation Full Class

Relevant Blog: 15 Feminine Energy Traits And How To Cultivate Them

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#297 – What is Samkhya Philosophy and How is it Different from Yoga?

#314 – Stop Abandoning Yourself By Leveraging Yoga & Meditation

#350 – Do a "Yoga Life Makeover" with Corinne Maples

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Somatic Coaching to Break Family Patterns with Amy Hunter01 Jul 202600:37:38

What if the patterns running your life didn't start with you?

In this conversation, I sit down with Uplifted alum Amy Hunter to talk about the deeper work of somatic coaching, recovery, and healing family-of-origin patterns. Amy has taken multiple trainings inside the Uplifted ecosystem — including 200-hour, 300-hour, Kundalini, Embodied Yoga Life Coaching, and most recently the AI course — and now brings all of that into her own coaching practice.

Together, we explore what it looks like to move from self-awareness into real change.

In this episode, we cover:

🔹 How somatic coaching helps uncover family patterns that still shape your life

🔹 The connection between people pleasing, self-abandonment, and personal power

🔹 Amy's six pillars of self-recovery and how they relate to the chakras

🔹 Why self-care is foundational if you want to change old patterns

🔹 A simple in-the-moment tool — Amy's PIVOT process — for catching yourself and choosing differently

If you've ever felt like you know your patterns intellectually but still keep repeating them, this episode is such a beautiful reminder that real change happens when awareness moves into the body.

🌀 Check out my Somatic Life Coaching Certification and join before July 10th to get the EARLY ACCESS EXPERIENCE => https://www.brettlarkin.com/somatic-yoga-training-certification/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=eylc 

 

GUEST EXPERT: Amy Hunter | www.guidebyyourside.coach 

Amy is a certified Somatic Life Coach and founder of Guide By Your Side Life Recovery Coaching. Her passion is guiding people through difficult life transitions and easing the emotional and physical pain that comes with them. Her proprietary system—the 6 Steps of Self-Recovery & the 5-step PIVOT Process—combines Somatic, body-based practices with Root Cause Coaching, Hypnotherapy, and Yoga Psychotherapy. 

Get your free "5 Steps from People-Pleasing to Personal Power" guide or book a call with Amy at http://www.guidebyyourside.coach 

Connect with Amy: connect@guidebyyourside.coach 

 

FREE Practice: YOGA FOR BOUNDARIES | Somatic Exercises to Say No 🛑 | SOMATIC YOGA BOUNDARY WORKOUT WITH MUSIC

Relevant Blog: The Healer Archetype: Characteristics & Challenges

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💫 Somatic Certification

✨ AI Training Course

🎧 Also Listen to:

#299 – Strategies to Slay Imposter Syndrome and Share Your Gifts

#354 – Redefining "Niche" with Carla Cline Thomas

#386 – Stop Selling Products—Start Selling YOU: Human Design for Visibility & Flow with Juliette Stapleton

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

What Is Bhakti Yoga? Krishna's Most Confidential Teaching (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9)24 Jun 202600:33:49

What if the deepest spiritual secret wasn't hidden somewhere far away, but woven into your ordinary life right now?

In Chapter 9 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna reveals what he calls the "king of knowledge" and the "most confidential secret". A teaching so simple and intimate that most people overlook it completely. This episode explores the heart of bhakti yoga: devotion, relationship with the divine, and the radical idea that the sacred permeates everything.

We explore:

🔹 Why Krishna says the divine is both everywhere and beyond everything

🔹 The paradox at the center of yoga philosophy and why it matters

🔹 How devotion shifts from external ritual to inner relationship

🔹 Why sincerity matters more than spiritual performance

If you've ever wondered where the divine actually lives, or what devotion really means beyond ritual, this episode will change the way you see your practice.

👉 Dive deeper into yoga's origins with my History of Yoga Course → https://www.brettlarkin.com/history-of-yoga-course/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=hoy 

📗 Join the book club → https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted 

 

📖 Different translations explored:

Barbara Stoler Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Krishnas-Counsel-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213652 

Godsong by Amit Majmudar: https://www.amazon.com/Godsong-Verse-Translation-Bhagavad-Gita-Commentary/dp/1524733474 

Eknath Easwaran: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-2nd-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/1586380192 

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-As-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/0892131233 

 

FREE Practice: Easy Kundalini Yoga for Women | Kriya to be DIVINE LOVE EMBODIED

Relevant Blog: What is Bhakti Yoga? The Philosophy and Practice

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 History of Yoga

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#401 – Who Has Your Attention? Attention Economy vs the Ancient Path

#415 – From Self-Improvement to Reverence (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7)

#422 – What Happens When You Die? Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Explained

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Stop Trying to Be Calm: Kali & the Stress Cycle17 Jun 202600:28:39

What if stress isn't actually the problem?

What if the real issue is that your body never got to finish the stress response?

In this episode, we revisit one of the most powerful conversations we've ever had on the podcast: why healing isn't about becoming calm all the time and how sacred rage, movement, and emotional expression may actually be the missing piece to your healing.

Using the archetype of the Hindu goddess Kali, we explore the difference between suppression and regulation, why so many yogis get stuck in spiritual bypassing, and how somatic practices help the body finally complete the stress cycle.

We explore:

🔹 Why stress is not actually an emotion

🔹 How Kali represents sacred rage, truth, and transformation

🔹 The hidden cost of suppressing anger, grief, and overwhelm

🔹 Why calm isn't always the goal of healing

🔹 How somatic movement helps complete the stress cycle

If you've ever felt like you were "bad at healing" because you couldn't stay calm… this episode is for you.

💮Sign Up for the Free KALI YOGA CHALLENGE: Get my Kali Guidebook as an instant download and move through the challenge starting on June 19th → https://www.brettlarkin.com/kali?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=general 

 

FREE Practice: Divine Feminine Yoga for Beginners | TANTRA AND SACRED SEXUALITY

Relevant Blog: Kali Mudra: What It Is and How Do You Do It?

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#324 – The Importance of Emotional Processing and Regulation: DENT Model Trauma

#325 – Archetypes, Dreams & Why Nightmares are Good with Kari Hohne

#345 – Somatic Shaking: What Is It? Why Does it Work?

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

How the Divine Speaks: Sacred Symbolism in the Gita, Bible & Upanishads Part 110 Jun 202600:34:48

Have you ever noticed that when humans try to talk about God, awakening, truth, or the divine we almost never explain it directly?

Instead, we tell stories. We say life is a battlefield. God is a shepherd. The soul is a river returning to the sea. The self is two birds sitting in the same tree.

Across cultures, centuries, and spiritual traditions, mystics don't simply define the divine, they paint it.

In this episode, I take you on a kind of devotional poetry slam through sacred metaphor. We'll explore passages from the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, the Psalms, and yogic philosophy to see how spiritual traditions use image, story, and symbol to help us feel our relationship with the divine.

Because metaphor doesn't just help the mind understand. It gives the nervous system somewhere to rest.

We'll explore:

🔹 Why sacred texts use metaphor to describe the divine

🔹 What the Gita, Bible, and Upanishads reveal through images like rivers, shepherds, chariots, and birds

🔹 How metaphor helps us feel spiritual truth instead of just understand it intellectually

🔹 How sacred imagery can support meditation, teaching, and everyday life 

This is part one of a two-part episode on sacred metaphor, divine imagery, and why stories may be one of the most powerful spiritual technologies we have.

If you've ever felt moved by a line of scripture, a yoga teaching, a poem, or an image you couldn't fully explain this episode will help you understand why.

✨ Loving the podcast?

Leaving a quick review on Apple Podcasts is one of the best ways to support the show and help more yogis discover these teachings.

Tap here to leave a review:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-uplifted-yoga-podcast/id1097989571?action=write-review

(If the link opens the show page instead of reviews, just scroll down and click on "Ratings & Reviews" then tap "Write a Review.")

And if you want to understand where the Gita, Upanishads, Yoga Sutras, Tantra, and other sacred yoga texts all fit together, my History of Yoga course is a beautiful next step. Get it here => https://www.brettlarkin.com/history-of-yoga-course/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=hoy 

 

FREE Practice: Feminine Energy Chakra Meditation 💗 Relax into Your Divine Feminine Energy Channel 🌸 CHAKRA BLISS

Relevant Blog: Understanding What is Divine Love: Key Insights and Perspectives

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🕉️ History of Yoga

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#297 – What is Samkhya Philosophy and How is it Different from Yoga?

#358 – Intro to The Bhagavad Gita: How Do You Navigate Moral Dilemmas?

#401 – Who Has Your Attention? Attention Economy vs the Ancient Path

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

What Makes a Great Yoga Teacher Training? Your Questions Answered03 Jun 202600:25:57

Thinking about doing a yoga teacher training—but not sure how to choose the right one?

In this bonus FAQ-style episode, I'm breaking down the questions I hear all the time—from "Will I actually finish?" to "Do I have to want to teach?"—and giving you a grounded, honest framework to make the best decision for YOU.

Because not all trainings are created equal… and the difference isn't just curriculum—it's support, structure, and how you're held through the experience.

We'll explore:

🔹 Why most people don't finish yoga teacher training

🔹 The biggest mistake people make when choosing a program

🔹 What actually builds confidence (hint: it's not more content)

🔹 How to know if you're "ready" (even if you don't feel ready)

🔹 And the one thing that matters more than anything else

If you've been circling this decision, this episode will help you get clear—without pressure.

💖 Ready to deepen your practice and live from your true nature? Explore the Uplifted Membership here => https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted

 

FREE Practice: Gentle Morning Yoga For Beginners: A Full Body Stretch

Relevant Blog: How to Choose a Yoga Teacher Training (That Won't Rip You Off)

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

🎧 Also Listen to:

#264 – How is Kundalini Yoga Different from Hatha/Vinyasa Yoga?

#364 – Dissecting The 8 Limbs and Their Origins

#404 – What If I Fail? Krishna's Answer to Your Inner Critic (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6)

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

7 Ways To Cultivate a Yoga Practice That Sticks27 May 202600:27:17

If your yoga practice keeps falling off… you're not the problem.

In this episode, I share 7 simple, realistic ways to create a yoga practice that actually sticks—even in busy seasons of life.

We explore how to:

🔹 Redefine what "counts" as yoga

🔹 Build consistency without perfectionism

🔹 Create anchor practices you can rely on

🔹 Eliminate decision fatigue (so you actually show up)

🔹 Make your practice feel good again

Whether you're short on time, energy, or motivation—this episode will help you reconnect to a practice that supports you.

✨ Make your yoga practice 2x more potent in 1/2 the time with my Free Yoga Transformational Portal

💗Get my book Yoga Life: Habits, Poses and and Breathwork to Channel Joy Amidst the Chaos => https://brettlarkin.com/yoga-life-book?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=&utm_term=yogalife-book 

Get the Uplifted Journals:
Uplifted Abundance Journal & Guidebook

Uplifted Chakra Journal

 

FREE Practice: Beginner Gentle Yoga for Flexibility That You Can Do Anytime

Relevant Blog: Yoga To Connect With Your Body For Mind-Body Harmony

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#264 – How is Kundalini Yoga Different from Hatha/Vinyasa Yoga?

#279 – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Summary – BOOK ONE Explained

#318 – What Is Somatic Yoga?

#372 – Can the Sutras Make Space for Pleasure? (Sutra 1.15 Explained)


© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

What Happens When You Die Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Explained20 May 202600:30:44

What will your final thought be?

In Chapter 8 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna gives a surprising answer: your last thought isn't something you can control in the moment — it's the result of what you've practiced thinking about your entire life.

So this chapter isn't really about death — It's about attention.

In this episode, I explore:

🔹 Why your final thought reflects your lifelong mental patterns

🔹 The powerful teaching: "Remember me and fight" — spiritual awareness inside real life

🔹 How attention shapes your consciousness and future trajectory

🔹 The meaning of Om as a tool to reorient your awareness

🔹 The difference between rebirth, higher realms, and liberation (moksha)

🔹 A practical question: where is your attention actually going each day?

If you've been feeling scattered, overwhelmed, or pulled in a million directions, this episode brings you back to one core truth:

You become what you consistently pay attention to.

💗 Want to shift what you're practicing paying attention to? Start with my free somatic yoga class or workshop to reset your nervous system and come back to presence→https://www.brettlarkin.com/embodiedyoga?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=embodiedyoga

📗 Join the book club → https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted 

 

📖 Different translations explored:

Barbara Stoler Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Krishnas-Counsel-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213652 

Godsong by Amit Majmudar: https://www.amazon.com/Godsong-Verse-Translation-Bhagavad-Gita-Commentary/dp/1524733474 

Eknath Easwaran: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-2nd-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/1586380192 

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-As-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/0892131233 

 

FREE Practice: Yoga for Somatic Healing | Beginner Full Body Somatic Yoga Flow to Release Emotions & Trauma

Relevant Blog: Om Meaning: What Is Om And Why Is It Important?

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖History of Yoga

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#401 – Who Has Your Attention? Attention Economy vs the Ancient Path

#415 – From Self-Improvement to Reverence (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7)

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Yoga Doesn't Have a Devil. So What's the Enemy? Part 213 May 202600:34:26

If yoga doesn't really have a Satan figure…what's the enemy?

In this second part of my comparative theology series, I explore what Hindu philosophy names as the real obstacle on the spiritual path: ego, desire, delusion, and ignorance.

We continue tracing parallels between Jesus, Buddha, and Hindu mythology — but here the focus sharpens around one big idea: the deepest danger isn't pleasure or power. It's misidentification.

In this episode, I explore:

🔹 Why the "enemy" in yoga often sounds like self-doubt, ego, and identity insecurity

🔹 What Hindu myths reveal about spiritual power without humility

🔹 Why temptation often shows up right before transformation

🔹 How self-sabotage can actually signal a threshold moment

🔹 What Jesus, Buddha, and Hindu philosophy all teach about staying rooted in who you are

If you've ever felt yourself unravel right before an up-level — or noticed self-doubt get louder the moment you're about to expand — this episode is for you.

💖 Want to keep exploring yoga philosophy in community?
Join me inside the Uplifted Membership for deeper study, spiritual conversation, and the Yoga Sutras Book Club → https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted

 

FREE Practice: Full Body Somatic Workout for Women | Yoga to Find Your Power & Release Guilt

Relevant Blog: Self Love for Women: How to Cultivate Compassion and Confidence

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#297 – What is Samkhya Philosophy and How is it Different from Yoga?

#387 – Book 4 of the Yoga Sutras: The Mystical Path to Liberation Explained

#413 – Yoga Doesn't Have a Devil. So What's the Enemy? Part 1

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Healing Painful Joints with Scott Hogan06 May 202600:40:04

If joint pain has ever made you afraid to move, this episode is for you.

In this conversation with Scott Hogan, we talk about what actually helps painful joints heal — and why doing nothing often makes things worse. We explore the relationship between movement, compensation patterns, nervous system safety, and how to rebuild strength without constantly re-triggering pain.

In this episode, we cover:

🔹 Why people get afraid to move after injury — and what to do instead

🔹 The difference between mobility and stability (and why both matter for healthy joints)

🔹 How pain compensation patterns can quietly create bigger issues over time

🔹 Why core stability is often the missing piece in joint healing

🔹 How to think about recovery, connective tissue, and rebuilding beyond your old baseline

This is such a grounded conversation if you're navigating pain, getting older, or trying to support your body with more intelligence and less fear.

📘 And if you want to go deeper into the nervous system side of healing; Grab my book Healing with Somatic Yoga → https://amzn.to/3WGulGG 

 

GUEST EXPERT: Scott Hogan | @scotthhogan | @saltwrap

Scott Hogan is the author of the best-selling book, Built from Broken. And founder of SaltWrap, a therapeutic sports nutrition company.

Scott's website: saltwrap.com 

Get Scott's book Built from Broken: https://saltwrap.com/pages/built-from-broken 

 

FREE Practice: 5 Minute Easy Kundalini Yoga | MORNING YOGA FOR STIFF JOINTS

Relevant Blog: Yoga For Arthritis: 9 Poses For Joint Pain Relief

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#285 – Is Yoga Enough…? with Dr. Jen Fraboni

#296 – How Ancient Primal Habits Help You Thrive with Cate Stillman

#300 – Unraveling the Mystery of Chronic Pain for Yoga Teachers & Practitioners with Kim Patel



© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

How the Yoga Sutras & Bhagavad Gita Were Originally Taught (And Why It Feels So Different Today)29 Apr 202600:21:08

Have you ever wondered what the original learning environment of yoga philosophy actually looked like?

In this episode, I share why texts like the Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and Upanishads were never meant to be read alone—and how studying in community can completely transform your understanding.

As I've been leading my Yoga Sutras Book Club, I've seen how powerful it is to learn this way—and why it might be the missing piece in your own practice.

We explore:

🔹 Why reading alone is actually a modern anomaly

🔹 How sutras were designed to be unpacked together

🔹 Why commentary and conversation deepen insight

🔹 How community supports nervous system regulation

If something feels like it's missing in your spiritual study, this episode will show you why.

💖 Want to experience this in practice?

Join me inside the Yoga Sutras Book Club where we study these teachings the way they were originally meant to be explored—together, in community, and in conversation → https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted 

📘 Want the physical, glossy keepsake journal? Order it here → https://cart.brettlarkin.com/sutras-journal-pada1/ 

 

FREE Practice: 15 Minute Power Morning Vinyasa Flow For Strength

Relevant Blog: What Is Santosha? Yoga's Philosophy of Happiness.

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 History of Yoga

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#297 – What is Samkhya Philosophy and How is it Different from Yoga?

#358 – Intro to The Bhagavad Gita: How Do You Navigate Moral Dilemmas?

#364 – Dissecting The 8 Limbs and Their Origins

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Guided Meditation for Busy Women to De-Stress (16 Minutes)24 Apr 202600:15:57

If you've been working all day, running around, or living a little too much in your head, this short guided meditation is designed to help you shift out of "doing" mode and back into being.

In this visualization, I guide you into a peaceful nighttime beach setting where you encounter a radiant goddess figure who bathes you in what I call the nectar of compassion — a symbol of the feminine qualities many of us forget to give ourselves: softness, warmth, receptivity, and care.

You can practice this meditation lying down and return to it anytime you need to release stress, reconnect with your body, and transition into a calmer, more intuitive state.

In this meditation, we explore:

🔹 A simple three-part breath to slow the nervous system and release the day

🔹 A soothing moonlit beach visualization to shift from mental activity into embodied presence

🔹 Meeting a compassionate goddess archetype representing nurturing feminine energy

🔹 A symbolic "nectar of compassion" ritual to soften tension and restore emotional balance

🔹 Reconnecting with the quiet strength, warmth, and intuition already within you

This practice is especially beautiful when you're transitioning from work into the evening, preparing for rest, or simply needing a few minutes to reconnect with yourself.

✨ Want more practices like this?

Inside the Uplifted Membership, you'll find a full library of guided meditations, somatic yoga practices, and deeper trainings to help you regulate your nervous system, reconnect with your body, and build a sustainable spiritual practice.

Join here →  https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Are the Chakras Just New Age Woo? Yoga, Anatomy & the Truth Behind the Energy Centers22 Apr 202600:25:03

Are chakras just a New Age myth—or is there real wisdom behind the energy centers?

In this episode, I unpack the skepticism around chakras—and why it's totally valid. We explore how chakras are not physical organs, but symbolic energy centers that correlate with real anatomical structures like nerve plexuses and endocrine glands. I also share how the chakra system evolved in ancient yogic texts, and how yoga teachers can present chakras in a way that feels grounded, inclusive, and relevant.

You'll learn:

🔹 The historical roots of chakras in ancient yogic texts

🔹 How chakras align with anatomical and physiological structures

🔹 Why skepticism is welcome—and how to teach through it

🔹 Ways to talk about energy without alienating your students

🔹 How to present the chakras through the lens of body awareness

If you've ever felt torn between spiritual depth and scientific credibility—this episode bridges the gap.

🌈 Sign Up for the Live Chakra Challenge => https://www.brettlarkin.com/chakralive/ 

 

FREE Practice: Chakra Vinyasa Flow | FULL BODY STRETCH FOR CHAKRA OPENING

Relevant Blog: How To Ignite The Power Of The Seven Chakras

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

💖 History of Yoga

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

🎧 Also Listen to:

#303 – The 7 Chakras as a Tool for Personal Growth

#341 – How To Balance Your 3rd Eye with Guru Singh

#370 – Yoga's Messy Origins: Understanding Yoga's Historical Context

 

© 2025 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Hip Replacement & Yoga What Teachers Need to Know w Cyndi Stewart15 Apr 202600:35:21

What happens when your hips can no longer do what your yoga practice asks of them?

In this deeply honest conversation, Uplifted alum Cyndi Stewart shares her journey toward hip replacement surgery — and the identity crisis that followed. As a longtime yoga teacher, intuitive healer, and movement lover, she opens up about navigating chronic hip pain, reduced mobility, and the emotional spiral that can come when your body no longer "performs."

We talk candidly about:

🔹 Early signs of hip degeneration and what yoga teachers often miss

🔹 Why strengthening matters more than stretching for long-term hip health

🔹 How overstretching can accelerate instability

🔹 What hip replacement surgery and recovery are actually like (timeline, pain, mobility, surprises)

🔹 Supporting students with hip replacements in class

🔹 The grief, ego, and surrender that accompany physical limitation

🔹 Somatic tools and meditations that helped regulate pain and fear

This episode is for yoga teachers worried about their own hips… for students navigating osteoarthritis or labral tears… and for anyone facing surgery and wondering what it means spiritually when your body says "enough."

Your body's breakdown is not your failure. Sometimes it's an initiation.

🌈 Sign Up For The Live Chakra Challenge https://www.brettlarkin.com/chakralive/ 

 

GUEST EXPERT: Cyndi P Stewart, PhD. | @stewartcyndi

Root Cause Health Solutions' founder, Cyndi Stewart, PhD, uses a unique "Mystics approach" to get to the heart of chronic health issues. Through her own healing journey, Cyndi discovered that physical symptoms are often the body's way of calling for attention. Her process integrates intuitive eating, bioenergetics, kinesiology, and the Akashic Records to uncover the root causes of dis-ease. A Kundalini and Uplifted Yoga teacher, she also uses yoga and meditation to ground her energy. To learn more about her work, including classes on Emotions & Metaphysical Kinesiology, you can visit rootcausehealthsolutions.com 

Connect with Cyndi: https://rootcausehealthsolutions.com/ 

Read about surgery and recovery on Cyndi's website here: https://rootcausehealthsolutions.com/body-mind-spirit-my-transformational-journey-through-hip-surgery/ 

 

FREE Practice: MORNING YOGA FOR TIGHT HIPS & LOWER BACK | Stretches for Flexibility - Unleash Your Creative Energy✨

Relevant Blog: 10 Yoga Poses For Hip Pain That Anyone Can Do

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#285 – Is Yoga Enough…? with Dr. Jen Fraboni

#300 – Unraveling the Mystery of Chronic Pain for Yoga Teachers & Practitioners with Kim Patel

#369 – Nervous System Masterclass with Kristin Leal

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

From Self-Improvement to Reverence (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7)08 Apr 202600:41:14

Are you collecting yogic wisdom… or in a relationship with Divine mystery? Today we're opening into Chapter 7 of the Bhagavad Gita, and it's a true turning point. The first six chapters have been so much about discipline, self-mastery, and effort… but here, we pivot into the bhakti arc: relationship with the divine.

Before we drop into the verses, I frame the big shift this chapter is asking of us — and I weave it through a distinction that changes everything: jnana (intellectual knowing) vs vijnana (realized, embodied knowing).

Here are the 5 biggest takeaways from this episode:

🔹 The pivot from self-effort to reverence + relationship (and why this is such good news if you're tired of over-efforting)

🔹 Jnana vs vijnana: reading about truth vs living it in your nervous system, your body, your actual life

🔹 Krishna's reveal: not "worship me as a personality," but recognize the animating intelligence of reality (taste in water, light in sun + moon, Om…)

🔹 The gunas as weather patterns — and bhakti as remembering the "sky" behind them

🔹 The radical reframe: awakening isn't a solo achievement… it's participatory — you're being met

If you're loving this deeper dive into yogic texts, come join me inside the Uplifted Membership for the Yoga Sutras Book Club — it's where we keep studying together (with prompts, practices, and community) so the teachings move from your head into your life. 

💖 Join the membership today and get all the details on our next call → https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted 

 

FREE Practice: The Healing Power of Divine Love | VINYASA FLOW HEART OPENING

Relevant Blog: What Are The Gunas In Yoga? A Complete Overview

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ History of Yoga

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#297 – What is Samkhya Philosophy and How is it Different from Yoga?

#364 – Dissecting The 8 Limbs and Their Origins

#404 – What If I Fail? Krishna's Answer to Your Inner Critic (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6)

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

How I Get TV Segments & Talk on Camera (Without Stressing Out)01 Apr 202600:26:07

I recently went on live television — and it reminded me how much intentionality goes into both getting these opportunities and preparing for them.

In this episode, I share how media invitations actually happened for me (spoiler: it wasn't cold pitching networks)… and how I prep so live TV doesn't fry my nervous system. If you have a book, retreat, teacher training, or offering you want to grow, this is the real behind-the-scenes.

In this conversation, I cover:

🔹 The two-part strategy that builds visibility over time

🔹 Why doing "three uncomfortable things a day" changed my business

🔹 How local relationships led to magazine covers and TV invites

🔹 Why credibility and backlinks matter in the age of AI

🔹 My exact rehearsal process for live segments (so I don't freeze)

This episode is about outreach, alignment, nervous system awareness — and building momentum without overriding yourself.

Because visibility should feel expansive, not depleting.

📘 Want to explore the work I referenced in this episode? Grab Healing with Somatic Yoga here → https://amzn.to/3WGulGG 

 

FREE Practice: 30 Minute Morning Vinyasa Yoga Flow for a Boost of Energy | WAKE UP & STRETCH

Relevant Blog: Exploring the Five Human Design Types: A Guide to Self-Discovery

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

✨ AI Training Course

🎧 Also Listen to:

#291 – How to Get an Agent, Write Your Wellness Book and Make a Bigger Impact

#326 – How To Plan The Ultimate Yoga Photoshoot

#386 – Stop Selling Products—Start Selling YOU: Human Design for Visibility & Flow with Juliette Stapleton

#396 – Rewire Your Nervous System + My New Somatic Healing Book is HERE!

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Yoga Doesn't Have a Devil. So What's the Enemy? (Part 1)25 Mar 202600:30:55

Let's talk about something a little controversial today… the forces of evil. 👀

How do different wisdom traditions frame temptation, demons, and the dark forces that often appear right before a spiritual breakthrough?

I'll explore the story of Eve in the garden, Jesus in the desert, and Buddha under the Bodhi tree, comparing how each figure faces illusion, doubt, and distraction—and what we can learn from them in our own practice.

I'll also break down how yogic philosophy (and Hinduism more broadly) defines the "enemy" very differently—from the ego as adversary to karmic patterns of desire and delusion. We'll explore:

🔹 Why the darkest moments often come before awakening

🔹 Jesus vs. Mara: how two traditions handle temptation

🔹 The serpent's tactic: twist truth, create doubt

🔹 Why contentment (Santosha) is spiritual protection

🔹 Vedanta's view: ego, craving, and identification as the true 'enemy'

🔹 How to tell if you're in a "spiritual setup" moment

This is part one of a two-part conversation exploring temptation, truth, and the psychological and spiritual forces we encounter on the path. Whether you're deep into the Gita or just navigating your own spiritual uplevel, this one's for you.

💖 Ready to deepen your practice and live from your true nature? Explore the Uplifted Membership here => https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted

 

Book mentioned: Deceived No More by Doreen Virtue

FREE Practice: 10 Min Kundalini Kriya For Awakening For Beginners | GUIDED KUNDALINI MEDITATION

Relevant Blog: What Is Santosha? Yoga's Philosophy of Happiness.

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ History of Yoga

📖 Yoga Life Book 

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#362 – Somatics, Catholicism & Tantra – A Big Picture Inquiry

#395 – The Role of "God" in Yoga + Tantric Shadow Work w/ Katie Silcox

#408 - Aparigraha vs. Hustle Culture: I Quit Maximizing. Here's What Happened

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

How the Chakras Relate to Polyvagal Theory + Your FAQ20 Mar 202600:19:53

What if your chakra "block" isn't a block — but your nervous system doing its job?

In this bonus episode, I go deeper into your most advanced chakra questions: from how the polyvagal ladder maps onto the energy body, to why certain life patterns keep repeating. We'll explore how trauma, somatics, and subtle anatomy intersect — and why your healing path isn't linear (and was never meant to be). We'll explore:

🔹 Are chakras sequential or cyclical?

🔹 Why trauma theory transforms how we understand energy centers

🔹 How the koshas and gunas make chakra work more precise

🔹 Why you keep facing the same life lessons — and what to do about it

🔹 How each chakra reflects your nervous system's state (fight/flight/freeze)

This is a practical, somatic deep-dive into energy anatomy, grounded in compassion, science, and lived experience. If you've ever said "I feel stuck," this one's for you.

🌈  Discover your dominant chakra with my FREE dominant chakra test => https://www.brettlarkin.com/chakra-test/

🎁 Grab my new book: Healing with Somatic Yoga: A 6-Week Journey to Release Emotions, Rewire Your Nervous System, and Reclaim Your Body → https://amzn.to/3WGulGG

 

FREE Practice: 30 Min Somatic Yoga Flow through Somatic Movement for Hips, Lower Back, Sacral Chakra

Relevant Blog: Opening Root Chakra Symptoms And How To Balance Muladhara

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#303 – The 7 Chakras as a Tool for Personal Growth

#324 – The Importance of Emotional Processing and Regulation: DENT Model Trauma

#390 – The Koshas Decoded: Energy Layers, Leadership + Financial Flow with Carla Cline Thomas

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

How to Get Inspired and Be Inspired (Even When You Feel Burned Out)18 Mar 202600:27:03

If you've been feeling stuck or uninspired—whether in your personal practice or your teaching—this episode is for you.

I'm sharing how I've reignited my own creativity over the years, not by pushing harder, but by allowing myself to breathe in new experiences. From Da Vinci to Mirabai, from Einstein's violin to the poetry of Lalla, I'll take you on a journey that reveals the true source of inspiration—and how you can access it again (and again).

Here's what I'll explore:

🔹 What "inspiration" really means (and why you can't force it)

🔹 How to feed your creativity through multi-disciplinary learning

🔹 Why your students crave emotion more than information

🔹 The power of music, beauty, and sensory detail to awaken your teaching

🔹 How you showing up in your element is the greatest gift you can give

🔹 Why "how" something is offered matters as much as what's offered

If you've been wondering how to get inspired again—or how to truly inspire others—this episode will give you a whole new lens. And maybe, a little fire in your belly.

🎉 And if you need just a little extra teaching inspiration download my sequences and get my free yoga playlist => https://www.brettlarkin.com/teach?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=teach 

💖 Join our book club! We're starting with the Yoga Sutras inside the Uplifted Membership here => https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted

 

FREE Practice: MORNING YOGA STRETCHES TO HELP KICK START YOUR DAY | Beginner Women's Yoga - Hips, Shoulders & Psoas

Relevant Blog: Somatic Yoga For Yoga Teachers: Everything You Need to Know in 10 Steps

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#299 – Strategies to Slay Imposter Syndrome and Share Your Gifts

#363 – How to Become a Magnet for Loyal Students & Own the Room with Confidence with Taylor Lorenz

#401 – Who Has Your Attention? Attention Economy vs the Ancient Path

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

The Adi Shakti Mantra for Overwhelmed Women with Polly Standeven11 Mar 202600:44:19

If you've been feeling braced, overextended, or stuck in your head — this episode is for you.

In this conversation with one of my Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training graduates, Polly of North & Soul, we explore the Adi Shakti mantra not as theory… but as medicine. This isn't just a breakdown of Sanskrit.

It's a conversation about what happens when you stop micromanaging your life force — and allow energy to move again.

In this episode, we explore:

🔹 Living at "two out of ten" versus fully expressed in your energy

🔹 Kundalini as your magnetism — your truest creative essence

🔹 How conditioning and trauma constrict your life force

🔹 Shiva and Shakti as awareness and energy inside the body

🔹 Why surrender feels unsafe when your nervous system learned to brace

🔹 The nurturing frequency of Mata Shakti (Divine Mother)

🔹 How to use the Adi Shakti mantra as an anchor when overwhelmed

🔹 The exact mudra and meditation setup

We also talk about what it means to soften without collapsing.

To allow energy to move instead of clamping down.

To trust that you don't have to control everything in order to feel safe.

If you've been trying to hold it all together — this episode invites you into a different way.

And, if this conversation awakens something in you, my upcoming Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training goes deeper into:

• Mantra & energetic anatomy

• Shiva–Shakti integration

• Nervous system regulation

• Embodied leadership

https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-kundalini-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ku 

GUEST EXPERT: Polly Standeven | @northandsoul 

Polly Standeven is the founder of North & Soul, a Kundalini teacher, and community leader devoted to feminine alchemy, energy work, and heart-led living. She is a graduate of Brett's 200-hour YTT and Kundalini University and has taught inside Brett's programs.

Connect with Polly:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northandsoul 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/northandsoul 

Community: solcircle.tv 

Website: www.theinvinciblewoman.co.uk/lilnew 

 

FREE Practice: 20 Min Kundalini Yoga for the Entire Body | KUNDALINI YOGA FOR HEALTH

Relevant Blog: Adi Shakti Mantra: Manifest Your Divine Femininity

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

🐍Kundalini 200-hour YTT

🔮Kundalini Demystified

🎧 Also Listen to:

#43 – What is Kundalini Yoga and Can it Make You Crazy?

#138 – The Secrets of Kundalini Demystified with Kia Miller

#297 – What is Samkhya Philosophy and How is it Different from Yoga?

#265 – What is the Kundalini Serpent? The Major Misunderstandings Demystified

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Trauma-Conscious Kundalini: A New Era of Teaching with Katrina Marie04 Mar 202600:40:44

Does Kundalini yoga have to be intense and activating? What if it could be trauma-conscious, deeply supportive, and even soothing?

In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Katrina Marie—trauma survivor, author, and lead trainer in Uplifted's 200, 300, and Kundalini tracks—to explore how Kundalini yoga can be safely adapted for students with trauma and nervous system sensitivity.

We talk about how to teach from a place of safety, how to create choice instead of pressure, and why your unique experience as a teacher is your gift.

In this episode, we explore:

🔹 The difference between trauma-informed and trauma-conscious teaching

🔹 How to safely adapt kriyas and breathwork for trauma-sensitive students

🔹 Which meditations actually help regulate the nervous system (and which don't)

🔹 Why choice and agency matter more than "pushing through"

🔹 The healing power of intuitive movement in Kundalini

Whether you're a teacher or a student, if you've ever felt overwhelmed in Kundalini—or unsure how to adapt it—this episode offers tools, compassion, and inspiration.

💖 If you're ready to dive deeper — Join me in the upcoming  Uplifted 200-Hour Somatic Trauma-Informed Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training: https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-kundalini-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ku 

 

GUEST EXPERT: Katrina Marie | https://katrinamarieyoga.com/ 

Katrina is an E-RYT 500 with Trauma Informed and Kids Yoga specialities. Katrina's mission is to help yoga instructors find their Trauma Informed voice through the Uplifted training, and to empower kids and adults with her yoga. Katrina has survived an abusive marriage, a school shooting, and strives to turn her own trauma into her dharma as she facilitates healing experiences for others.

 

Mentioned Practices:

Kundalini Meditation for a Calm Heart

10-Min Meditation and Pranayama | Easy Morning Kundalini Kriya For Stress Relief 

Relevant Blog: Trauma-Informed Kundalini Yoga: A Heart-Centered Approach to Healing

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍Kundalini 200-hour YTT

💖Kundalini Demystified

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🎧 Also Listen to:

#308 – Kriyanology: The Inside Science of Kundalini Sequencing

#373 – Kundalini Awakening or Psychosis? Psychology of Spiritual Awakening with Steven Taylor, PhD

#394 – What is Feminine Form Kundalini Yoga?

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Aparigraha vs. Hustle Culture: I Quit Maximizing. Here's What Happened25 Feb 202600:30:41

Are you addicted to efficiency? This episode explores the fifth Yama, Aparigraha — non-grasping, through the lens of modern life. We talk hoarding… not of stuff, but of tasks, to-dos, and productivity itself.

If you've ever found yourself trying to "earn" your rest or multitasking even in your downtime, this one's for you. Let's talk about:

🔹 What it really means to stop grasping (hint: it's not just about material things)

🔹 The dark side of the "maximizer" mindset

🔹 Why we hoard productivity (and how it erodes presence)

🔹 How contentment (Santosha) offers an antidote to overwhelm

🔹 What Mary & Martha can teach us about being vs. doing

Yoga begins with your relationship to time, tasks, and how you be with yourself. Let this episode be your reminder: You don't need to do more to be more.

💖 Give yourself permission to slow down, check in, and come home to yourself with my Yoga For Self Mastery course  => https://www.brettlarkin.com/yoga-for-self-mastery/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ysm

 

FREE Practice: Yoga for Anxiety & Anger: Yoga to Surrender & Calm Down (25-min) - All Levels

Relevant Blog: Aparigraha: 6 Ways To Completely Let Go In Yoga

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book 

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

🎧 Also Listen to:

#384 – Do Less, Heal More: 7 Invitations to Resolve Trauma from Organic Intelligence

#403 – Why You Keep Failing at Self-Care — and What to Do Differently

#404 – What If I Fail? Krishna's Answer to Your Inner Critic (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6)


© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Root Chakra Meditation20 Feb 202600:16:01

Ready to reconnect with your roots?

This short guided meditation focuses on the first chakra — Muladhara, the root chakra — helping you ground into your body and feel deeply supported by the earth beneath you. Whether you're feeling anxious, scattered, or just want to center yourself before your day, this practice is here to help you return to solid ground. In this meditation I'll guide you to:

🔹 Visualize the root chakra and the fire at the earth's core

🔹 Feel your body anchoring into the present moment

🔹 Explore the void — the energetic origin point of grounding and support

🔹 A simple but profound breath practice for nervous system regulation

This is a powerful reset anytime you're overwhelmed or unmoored. Drop in and return to yourself.

💖 Ready to deepen your practice and live from your true nature? Explore the Uplifted Membership here => https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Vedanta vs. Christianity: Bliss, Grace & the Divine in Two Spiritual Paths18 Feb 202600:27:47

We recently completed Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita — a raw and honest moment where Arjuna admits, "My mind is more restless than the wind."

But before we dive into Chapter 7 (where everything shifts), I want to pause and explore an important question that naturally arises right here:

How do the yogic teachings on Ananda (bliss) compare to the Christian understanding of grace — and why do these two paths feel so different in the body?

This episode is a bridge — between effort and surrender, empowerment and comfort, self-regulation and devotion — as we explore this question from a comparative, academic, and curious lens. 

This is not to prescribe belief, but to deepen understanding and set the stage for what's coming next in the Gita.

🔹 Why yoga teaches bliss is uncovered through discipline

🔹 Why Christianity emphasizes grace and relationship

🔹 Effort vs. surrender — and how both live in the nervous system

🔹 How this sets the stage for Bhakti Yoga in Chapter 7

📚 Get your copy of my new book: Healing with Somatic Yoga: A 6-Week Journey to Release Emotions, Rewire Your Nervous System, and Reclaim Your Body → https://amzn.to/3WGulGG

 

FREE Practice: 10-Min Easy Yoga For Spine and Neck Flexibility | YOGA FOR BACK PAIN

Relevant Blog: How To Create An Everyday Yogic Lifestyle

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 History of Yoga

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💫 Yoga for Self Mastery

🎧 Also Listen to:

#297 – What is Samkhya Philosophy and How is it Different from Yoga?

#358 – Intro to The Bhagavad Gita: How Do You Navigate Moral Dilemmas?

#387 – Book 4 of the Yoga Sutras: The Mystical Path to Liberation Explained


© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Half-Dead & Fully Alive: Dissolving the Ego at Midlife with Elena Brower11 Feb 202600:40:04

What if thinking about death wasn't morbid—but liberating?

In this conversation, Elena Brower (author of "Hold Nothing") and I get real about turning 40, 50, and beyond. We talk about why ego dissolution might be the greatest gift of aging, how meditation is actually an act of service to others, and why certainty is killing your relationships.

Elena shares why she's ready to let all her accomplishments dissolve, the difference between prayer and meditation (spoiler: maybe there isn't one), and a simple exhale practice that serves humanity.

This isn't your typical "graceful aging" conversation. It's about ruthlessly re-prioritizing, slowing down radically, and preparing for death in the most relaxed way possible.

In this episode:

  • Why "I'm half-dead" is the most freeing thought you can have

  • The invisible gift your meditation practice gives everyone around you

  • How sitting still helps your kids solve their own problems

  • Why knowing everything makes you terrible company

  • A breathing practice you can do right now to serve humanity

💖 Ready to 'DO LESS' in your practice? Explore the Uplifted Membership here => https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted

🐍 Download your FREE Feminine Kundalini Starter Pack: https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-kundalini-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ku 

 

GUEST EXPERT: Elena Brower | https://elenabrower.com/ 

Mother, mentor, poet, artist, volunteer, bestselling author, and podcast host, Elena Brower is a celebrated international yoga and meditation teacher on Glo, guiding transformative practices since 1999. Her new book, Hold Nothing, was published by Shambhala Publications in November 2025. Her column on Substack by the same name, Hold Nothing, supports girls and women, through On The Inside, Girls on Fire Leaders, Women for Women, and Free Food Kitchen.

 

FREE Practice: 60 Min Restorative Yoga | RESTORATIVE YOGA FOR TIGHT HIPS

Relevant Blog: Somatic Meditation: A Body-Based Approach to Healing Stress, Anxiety, and Trauma

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#320 – Less Is More: How To Honor Yourself & Your Students with Elena Brower

#397 – How to Live Smartphone Free (From a 20 Year Old) with Yunus M.

#401 – Who Has Your Attention? Attention Economy vs the Ancient Path

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

What If I Fail? Krishna's Answer to Your Inner Critic (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6)04 Feb 202600:31:03

It's Chapter Six of the Bhagavad Gita, where everything starts to get real. After five chapters of philosophy and frameworks, Krishna now turns to practice—specifically the challenges of meditation, discipline, and staying steady on your spiritual path.

If your mind feels too restless to meditate... if you wonder whether your practice actually counts... or if you've ever feared you're "doing it wrong"—this chapter will soothe your soul.

🔹 Krishna reveals why inner discipline > outer rituals

🔹 Arjuna expresses the doubts we all have on the path

🔹 Meditation becomes the core of yogic living—not just something we "do"

🔹 We explore witness consciousness, compassion, and true non-attachment

🔹 Spiritual effort is never wasted—even across lifetimes

📘 This also marks the completion of the first arc of the Gita. Many scholars divide the Gita into three sections of six chapters each—and Chapter 6 concludes the first movement, focused on Karma Yoga (yoga of action). We've been building the foundation. The next six chapters will take us into Bhakti Yoga—the yoga of devotion and loving recollection of God, so stay tuned for the next segment.

🐍 Download the FREE Feminine Kundalini Starter Pack: https://www.brettlarkin.com/online-kundalini-yoga-teacher-training/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ku 

 

📖 Different translations explored:

Barbara Stoler Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Krishnas-Counsel-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213652 

Godsong by Amit Majmudar: https://www.amazon.com/Godsong-Verse-Translation-Bhagavad-Gita-Commentary/dp/1524733474 

Eknath Easwaran: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-2nd-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/1586380192 

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-As-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/0892131233 

 

FREE Practice: 15 Min Beginner Morning Yin Yoga | NO PROPS

Relevant Blog: The Ultimate Guide to Karma Yoga

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✨ Kundalini 200-hour YTT

🔮  History of Yoga

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#374 – Karma Yoga & the Detached Yogi: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Part 2

#395 – The Role of "God" in Yoga + Tantric Shadow Work w/ Katie Silcox

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Why You Keep Failing at Self-Care — and What to Do Differently28 Jan 202600:28:54

Self-care isn't a luxury — it's your foundation. Today, we explore why self-care can feel so uncomfortable (especially for those of us used to being the strong one), and how to start building your tolerance for pleasure, rest, and receiving. These are the same micro-practices that have transformed my relationship with myself and my energy over time.

Here are the truths I keep learning again and again:

🔹 You can't give from an empty cup

🔹 Self-care isn't something you check off once — it's ongoing

🔹 Honoring your tiniest desires builds self-trust

🔹 Slowing down unlocks your creativity

🔹 Five-minute "pleasure containers" can change your life

💖 Slow down, check in, and come home to yourself. Join Yoga For Self Mastery before live calls begin.  => https://www.brettlarkin.com/yoga-for-self-mastery/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=ysm 

 

FREE Practice: Yin Yoga for the Sacral Chakra - Creativity & Sexual Energy

Relevant Blog: Yoga to Reconnect with Yourself: 5 Essential Practices for Inner Peace

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book 

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#260 – Killing The Self Care Buzzword

#372 – Can the Sutras Make Space for Pleasure? (Sutra 1.15 Explained)

#384 – Do Less, Heal More: 7 Invitations to Resolve Trauma from Organic Intelligence


© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

How Chakras Relate to the Nervous System + Your FAQ23 Jan 202600:15:21

SURPRISE!! I've got a bonus episode for you this week. 

I'm going to explore three of the most commonly asked questions I hear from students about the chakras — especially how they relate to the nervous system, your fascia, and lived experience.

🔹 Are the chakras literal locations, archetypes, developmental stages — or all three?

🔹 Do chakras actually open and close?

🔹 What's the relationship between chakra patterns and nervous system regulation?

If you've ever wondered how these energy centers show up in your posture, behavior, and emotions — this quick breakdown will connect the dots between yogic wisdom and modern science in a way that's practical and embodied.

I'll also share my favorite metaphor for understanding the chakras, and why we need to stop treating them like a spiritual report card.

🌈  Discover your dominant chakra with my FREE dominant chakra test => https://www.brettlarkin.com/chakra-test/

📱Book a Free Clarity Call => https://calendly.com/uplifted-clarity/discovery-call?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=200ytt 

 

FREE Practice: Chakra Hatha Yoga | YOGA TO ALIGN & BALANCE YOUR CHAKRAS

Relevant Blog: Crystals For Chakras: Unlock Your Energy and Balance

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💖 Uplifted Membership

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

#351 – Unlocking the Secrets of Chakras: Lower Chakra Symbols Explained

#355 – Unlocking the Secrets of Chakras: Upper Chakra Symbols Explained



© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Stop Asking "What Should I Do?" — The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 Has a Better Question21 Jan 202600:35:05

Today, I take you into Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna shifts the spotlight from what you do to how you are being when you do it. This is the heart of Karma Yoga — acting in the world without clinging to the outcome.

We unpack the powerful metaphor of the lotus leaf (living in the world, untouched), explore the nature of witness consciousness, and look at what it really means to "renounce" in a modern world. 

🔹 What it means to act without attachment

🔹 Why the question is no longer "What should I do?"

🔹 How inner renunciation leads to clarity and peace

🔹 The lotus leaf: your new spiritual metaphor

🔹 How Krishna reframes spiritual maturity and hierarchy

Whether you're making a big decision or trying to navigate daily life with more presence, this chapter has wisdom for you.

Loved this episode?
👉 Dive deeper into yoga's origins with my History of Yoga Course
🐍 Or explore my 200-Hour Kundalini Training

 

📖 Different translations mentioned:

Barbara Stoler Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Krishnas-Counsel-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213652 

Godsong by Amit Majmudar: https://www.amazon.com/Godsong-Verse-Translation-Bhagavad-Gita-Commentary/dp/1524733474 

Eknath Easwaran: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-2nd-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/1586380192 

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-As-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/0892131233 



FREE Practice: 15 Min Vinyasa Flow For Flexibility | BEGINNERS VINYASA YOGA

Relevant Blog: The Complete Glossary of Sanskrit Words Used in Yoga

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 History of Yoga

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#297 – What is Samkhya Philosophy and How is it Different from Yoga?

#358 – Intro to The Bhagavad Gita: How Do You Navigate Moral Dilemmas?

#392 – How to Act from Wisdom & Make Every Moment Sacred: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Who Has Your Attention? Attention Economy vs the Ancient Path14 Jan 202600:24:33

Let's be real — our attention is under attack. Between scroll culture, constant notifications, and never-ending to-do lists, it's hard to focus on what actually matters. In this episode, I'm inviting you to pause and reflect on where your precious energy is going.

We'll explore how ancient yogic and Vedantic texts can help us reclaim our attention — not just as a productivity tool, but as a sacred spiritual practice. If you've been feeling scattered, stuck, or overstimulated, this one's for you.

We'll look at how:

🔹 Attention is energy — what you focus on creates your reality

🔹 Ancient wisdom can help anchor you in a noisy world

🔹 Modern distraction fragments our energy and dilutes our power

🔹 Silence and depth are medicine for the nervous system

🔹 We don't need more input — we need more inner connection

This is a gentle but powerful reset for your inner compass. Let's remember what's truly worthy of our focus.

🎁 Grab my new book: Healing with Somatic Yoga: A 6-Week Journey to Release Emotions, Rewire Your Nervous System, and Reclaim Your Body → https://amzn.to/3WGulGG

Leave a book review and claim your free gift: https://www.brettlarkin.com/somaticreview/ 

🌀 Explore more of these principles in Embodied Yoga Life Coaching: https://www.brettlarkin.com/somatic-yoga-training-certification/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=eylc 

 

FREE Practice: Extra Gentle Trauma-Informed Somatic Exercises | How to do Somatic Yoga | Somatic Yoga Flow

Relevant Blog: 15 Life-Changing Yoga Books To Deepen Your Yoga Practice

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 

🎧 Also Listen to:

#279 – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Summary – BOOK ONE Explained

#283 – Dismantling the Kleshas: The Actual Aim of Yoga

#358 – Intro to The Bhagavad Gita: How Do You Navigate Moral Dilemmas?

 

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

 

Build Your Yoga Retreat Center with Kayla Nielsen07 Jan 202600:56:28

What does it really take to build your dream yoga retreat center—from scratch?

In this episode, I sit down with Kayla Nielsen, who shares the raw, inspiring truth behind building a yoga retreat space from the ground up. From buying land abroad to pricing retreats and navigating local logistics, Kayla opens up about the entrepreneurial journey few yoga teachers talk about.

We cover:

🔹 How to navigate land ownership and logistics in a foreign country

🔹 Smart strategies for planning, pricing, and co-teaching retreats

🔹 Why patience and community are the foundation of a sustainable retreat center

🔹 The beauty of letting your retreat space tell a story that reflects your values

Whether you're a yoga teacher dreaming of retreats or an entrepreneur craving land-based living, this conversation is your roadmap to turning inspiration into action.

 

GUEST EXPERT: Kayla Nielsen | @Kaylalanielsen | kaylalanielsen.com 

Kayla Nielsen is a yoga teacher with over 1000 hours of training. Founder of international retreat business and yoga alliance registered yoga school, glow yoga retreats. CEO and co-founder of still salty escape, a hotel and retreat center in northern nicaragua.

She's been teaching and leading retreats around the world for 10 years, and established a successful online yoga app 3 years ago with thousands of subscribers.

Check out Kayla's retreat center: https://www.stillsaltyescape.com/ 

 

FREE Practice: Somatic Yoga Workout for Weight Loss | Awaken the Body & Release Negative Emotions

Relevant Blog: How to Plan a Yoga Retreat That Earns 6 Figures

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

🎧 Also Listen to:

#299 – Strategies to Slay Imposter Syndrome and Share Your Gifts

#354 – Redefining "Niche" with Carla Cline Thomas

#365 – Launch Ugly! My Top 5 Business Tips for Yoga Entrepreneurs


© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

[Meditation] Vagus Nerve & Nervous System Reset31 Dec 202500:22:45

No talk. No theory. No to-do list. Just you and 20 minutes of deep nervous system reset.

This New Year's Eve episode is a guided Somatic Release Meditation—designed to help you let go of trapped emotions, soothe your system, and make space for what's next. It's also a beautiful primer for what's coming in the Evolve Somatic Challenge, which starts January 1st. (If you haven't signed up yet—go do that!)

✨ A few important notes:

🛋️ Lie down, get comfy, and please don't do this while driving.

🧠 This practice also helps soothe the vagus nerve, release tension, and bring your body into a state of safety.

🎉Sign Up for the 2026 Evolve Somatic Challenge => https://www.brettlarkin.com/evolve/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=evolve

Take this moment to clear the slate. Your body will thank you.

📚 Want to go deeper? My new Somatic Yoga book is the perfect companion to this challenge—and your practice in 2026. Get it here → https://amzn.to/3WGulGG 

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

💖 Uplifted Membership

💫 Somatic Certification



© 2025 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

[Meditation] Taking in the Good24 Dec 202500:13:21

Okay, this isn't our usual episode. There's no philosophy, no Gita breakdown, no talk of funnels or energy anatomy today.

Instead, I have a gift for you—a guided meditation designed to help you do something surprisingly hard: feel good and stay in it.

If you've been through trauma or long-term stress, your nervous system might default to worry, numbness, or waiting for the other shoe to drop—even when things are actually going well. This practice gently helps you expand your capacity to receive joy, compliments, connection, and peace without flinching.

✨ A few important notes:

🧘‍♀️ Don't do this while driving.

🛋️ Find a cozy spot where you can sit or lie down undisturbed.

🎁 Come as you are. This is your Christmas Eve permission slip to slow down and let good feelings land.

Practice it as often as needed—and let me know what shifts for you.

🎉Sign Up for the 2026 Evolve Somatic Challenge => https://www.brettlarkin.com/evolve/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=evolve

💖 Ready to deepen your practice and live from your true nature? Explore the Uplifted Membership here => https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=uplifted

 

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership



© 2025 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

© My Podcast Data · Independent project · Data from Apple & Spotify