The Uplifted Yoga Podcast

Episodes

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  Spine Anatomy: Do You Understand the System Holding Your Practice Together? 21.10.2026 48m

  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
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  Why Spiritual Highs Don't Change Your Life (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Part 3) 14.10.2026 26m

  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
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  "I Am Time": The Most Famous Verse in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Part 2) 07.10.2026 29m

  "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
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  Why Can't You See God Yet? (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Part 1) 30.09.2026 23m

  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
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  The Forgotten Way to Learn Yoga Philosophy: Ancient Memory Practices (Part 2) 23.09.2026 25m

  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
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  Hatha or Kundalini Yoga? How to Find the Style That Fits You 16.09.2026 24m

  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  
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  Inside Somatic Coaching: How to Release Stuck Energy 09.09.2026 15m

  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
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  The Forgotten Way to Learn Yoga Philosophy: Ancient Memory Practices (Part 1) 02.09.2026 22m

  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
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  Stop Stacking Certifications: How to Integrate Your Gifts and Finally Use What You Know 26.08.2026 26m

  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
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  The Shuniya Shift: Stop Using Kundalini Yoga to Fix Yourself with Bailee Buckendorf 19.08.2026 43m

  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
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  Feminine Kundalini Energy: Light, Dark & Tantric Archetypes 12.08.2026 15m

  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
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  Vibhuti Yoga - See the Sacred Everywhere: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 05.08.2026 33m

  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
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  Perimenopause, Cravings & Hormones: Your Body Isn't Broken, It's Speaking w/ Sema Özpekmezci 29.07.2026 41m

  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
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  Nervous System Science Every Yoga Teacher Should Know 22.07.2026 19m

  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
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  How the Divine Speaks: The Neuroscience of Sacred Storytelling (Part 2) 15.07.2026 31m

  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  
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  My Yogic Decision-Making Framework: How to Find Real Clarity 08.07.2026 32m

  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
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  Somatic Coaching to Break Family Patterns with Amy Hunter 01.07.2026 37m

  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: [email protected]    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  
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  What Is Bhakti Yoga? Krishna's Most Confidential Teaching (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9) 24.06.2026 33m

  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
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  Stop Trying to Be Calm: Kali & the Stress Cycle 17.06.2026 28m

  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  
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  How the Divine Speaks: Sacred Symbolism in the Gita, Bible & Upanishads Part 1 10.06.2026 34m

  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