The Uplifted Yoga Podcast

Brett Larkin

Uplift your personal life and accelerate your yoga career leveraging yoga's ancient wisdom. Explore yoga philosophy from the Yoga Sutras, the Vedas, psychology, kundalini and self-help. Brett Larkin helps you get closer to making consistent daily yoga a reality, while empowering you to acknowledge your role as a leader and healer of others. Whether you're experiencing a kundalini awakening, resolving unprocessed trauma, suffering as a "hidden healer," in a cycle of self-sabotage, feeling "imposter syndrome," or stuck trying to grow your wellness business, the Uplifted Yoga podcast is where you come to slay your mindset blocks and indulge in yoga's rich philosophy in a way that's practical and fun.

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#438
Wednesday · 15 min
Inside Somatic Coaching: How to Release Stuck Energy
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
#437
September 2 · 22 min
The Forgotten Way to Learn Yoga Philosophy: Ancient Memory Practices (Part 1)
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
#436
August 26 · 26 min
Stop Stacking Certifications: How to Integrate Your Gifts and Finally Use What You Know
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
#435
August 19 · 43 min
The Shuniya Shift: Stop Using Kundalini Yoga to Fix Yourself with Bailee Buckendorf
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
#434
August 12 · 15 min
Feminine Kundalini Energy: Light, Dark & Tantric Archetypes
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
#433
August 5 · 33 min
Vibhuti Yoga - See the Sacred Everywhere: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10
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
#432
July 29 · 41 min
Perimenopause, Cravings & Hormones: Your Body Isn't Broken, It's Speaking w/ Sema Özpekmezci
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
#431
July 22 · 19 min
Nervous System Science Every Yoga Teacher Should Know
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
#430
July 15 · 31 min
How the Divine Speaks: The Neuroscience of Sacred Storytelling (Part 2)
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
#429
July 8 · 32 min
My Yogic Decision-Making Framework: How to Find Real Clarity
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
#428
July 1 · 37 min
Somatic Coaching to Break Family Patterns with Amy Hunter
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
#427
June 24 · 33 min
What Is Bhakti Yoga? Krishna's Most Confidential Teaching (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9)
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
#426
June 17 · 28 min
Stop Trying to Be Calm: Kali & the Stress Cycle
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
#425
June 10 · 34 min
How the Divine Speaks: Sacred Symbolism in the Gita, Bible & Upanishads Part 1
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
#424
June 3 · 25 min
What Makes a Great Yoga Teacher Training? Your Questions Answered
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
#423
May 27 · 27 min
7 Ways To Cultivate a Yoga Practice That Sticks
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
#422
May 20 · 30 min
What Happens When You Die Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Explained
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
#421
May 13 · 34 min
Yoga Doesn't Have a Devil. So What's the Enemy? Part 2
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
#420
May 6 · 40 min
Healing Painful Joints with Scott Hogan
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
#419
April 29 · 21 min
How the Yoga Sutras & Bhagavad Gita Were Originally Taught (And Why It Feels So Different Today)
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

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