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

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

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

In this episode, we explore:

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

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

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

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

🔹 The healing power of intuitive movement in Kundalini

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

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

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

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

Mentioned Practices:

Kundalini Meditation for a Calm Heart

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

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

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍Kundalini 200-hour YTT

💖Kundalini Demystified

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🎧 Also Listen to:

#308 – Kriyanology: The Inside Science of Kundalini Sequencing

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

#394 – What is Feminine Form Kundalini Yoga?

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

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

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

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

🔹 The dark side of the "maximizer" mindset

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

🔹 How contentment (Santosha) offers an antidote to overwhelm

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

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

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

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

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

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching

🎧 Also Listen to:

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

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

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

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Ready to reconnect with your roots?

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

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

🔹 Feel your body anchoring into the present moment

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

🔹 A simple but profound breath practice for nervous system regulation

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

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

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

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

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

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

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

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

🔹 Why yoga teaches bliss is uncovered through discipline

🔹 Why Christianity emphasizes grace and relationship

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

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

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

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

Relevant Blog: How To Create An Everyday Yogic Lifestyle

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 History of Yoga

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book

✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💫 Yoga for Self Mastery

🎧 Also Listen to:

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

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

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

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

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

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

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

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

In this episode:

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

• The invisible gift your meditation practice gives everyone around you

• How sitting still helps your kids solve their own problems

• Why knowing everything makes you terrible company

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Relevant to Today's Episode:

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

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

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

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

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

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

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

🔹 Krishna reveals why inner discipline > outer rituals

🔹 Arjuna expresses the doubts we all have on the path

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

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

🔹 Spiritual effort is never wasted—even across lifetimes

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

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

📖 Different translations explored:

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

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

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

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

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

Relevant Blog: The Ultimate Guide to Karma Yoga

Relevant to Today's Episode:

✨ Kundalini 200-hour YTT

🔮 History of Yoga

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

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

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

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

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

Here are the truths I keep learning again and again:

🔹 You can't give from an empty cup

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

🔹 Honoring your tiniest desires builds self-trust

🔹 Slowing down unlocks your creativity

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

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

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

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

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📖 Yoga Life Book

🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery

💖 Uplifted Membership

🎧 Also Listen to:

#260 – Killing The Self Care Buzzword

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

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

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

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

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

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

🔹 Do chakras actually open and close?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Relevant to Today's Episode:

📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book

🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training

💖 Uplifted Membership

💫 Somatic Certification

🎧 Also Listen to:

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

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

© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com