The Uplifted Yoga Podcast

Brett Larkin
  • 4.8 (623)
  • Spirituality
  • Updated Weekly

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. ✨Pre-Order Brett's Book on Amazon ✨Make your yoga practice 2x more potent in 1/2 the time here ✨Download four free yoga business plan Become a member at brettlarkin.com/uplifted

  1. 3d ago ·  Video

    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

  2. Jul 15

    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

  3. Jul 8

    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

  4. Jul 1

    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

  5. Jun 24

    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

  6. Jun 17

    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

  7. Jun 10

    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

  8. Jun 3

    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

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4.8
out of 5
623 Ratings

About

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. ✨Pre-Order Brett's Book on Amazon ✨Make your yoga practice 2x more potent in 1/2 the time here ✨Download four free yoga business plan Become a member at brettlarkin.com/uplifted

Information

  • Creator
    Brett Larkin
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    433
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Uplifted Yoga
  • Show Website
    The Uplifted Yoga Podcast

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