The Uplifted Yoga Podcast

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

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

If you've been working all day, running around, or living a little too much in your head, this short guided meditation is designed to help you shift out of "doing" mode and back into being.
In this visualization, I guide you into a peaceful nighttime beach setting where you encounter a radiant goddess figure who bathes you in what I call the nectar of compassion — a symbol of the feminine qualities many of us forget to give ourselves: softness, warmth, receptivity, and care.
You can practice this meditation lying down and return to it anytime you need to release stress, reconnect with your body, and transition into a calmer, more intuitive state.
In this meditation, we explore:
🔹 A simple three-part breath to slow the nervous system and release the day
🔹 A soothing moonlit beach visualization to shift from mental activity into embodied presence
🔹 Meeting a compassionate goddess archetype representing nurturing feminine energy
🔹 A symbolic "nectar of compassion" ritual to soften tension and restore emotional balance
🔹 Reconnecting with the quiet strength, warmth, and intuition already within you
This practice is especially beautiful when you're transitioning from work into the evening, preparing for rest, or simply needing a few minutes to reconnect with yourself.
✨ Want more practices like this?
Inside the Uplifted Membership, you'll find a full library of guided meditations, somatic yoga practices, and deeper trainings to help you regulate your nervous system, reconnect with your body, and build a sustainable spiritual practice.
Join here →  https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/
 
© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

Are chakras just a New Age myth—or is there real wisdom behind the energy centers?
In this episode, I unpack the skepticism around chakras—and why it's totally valid. We explore how chakras are not physical organs, but symbolic energy centers that correlate with real anatomical structures like nerve plexuses and endocrine glands. I also share how the chakra system evolved in ancient yogic texts, and how yoga teachers can present chakras in a way that feels grounded, inclusive, and relevant.
You'll learn:
🔹 The historical roots of chakras in ancient yogic texts
🔹 How chakras align with anatomical and physiological structures
🔹 Why skepticism is welcome—and how to teach through it
🔹 Ways to talk about energy without alienating your students
🔹 How to present the chakras through the lens of body awareness
If you've ever felt torn between spiritual depth and scientific credibility—this episode bridges the gap.
🌈 Sign Up for the Live Chakra Challenge => https://www.brettlarkin.com/chakralive/ 
 
FREE Practice: Chakra Vinyasa Flow | FULL BODY STRETCH FOR CHAKRA OPENING
Relevant Blog: How To Ignite The Power Of The Seven Chakras
 
Relevant to Today's Episode:
💖 History of Yoga
✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training
🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training
🐍 Yoga for Self Mastery
🎧 Also Listen to:
#303 – The 7 Chakras as a Tool for Personal Growth
#341 – How To Balance Your 3rd Eye with Guru Singh
#370 – Yoga's Messy Origins: Understanding Yoga's Historical Context
 
© 2025 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com

What happens when your hips can no longer do what your yoga practice asks of them?
In this deeply honest conversation, Uplifted alum Cyndi Stewart shares her journey toward hip replacement surgery — and the identity crisis that followed. As a longtime yoga teacher, intuitive healer, and movement lover, she opens up about navigating chronic hip pain, reduced mobility, and the emotional spiral that can come when your body no longer "performs."
We talk candidly about:
🔹 Early signs of hip degeneration and what yoga teachers often miss
🔹 Why strengthening matters more than stretching for long-term hip health
🔹 How overstretching can accelerate instability
🔹 What hip replacement surgery and recovery are actually like (timeline, pain, mobility, surprises)
🔹 Supporting students with hip replacements in class
🔹 The grief, ego, and surrender that accompany physical limitation
🔹 Somatic tools and meditations that helped regulate pain and fear
This episode is for yoga teachers worried about their own hips… for students navigating osteoarthritis or labral tears… and for anyone facing surgery and wondering what it means spiritually when your body says "enough."
Your body's breakdown is not your failure. Sometimes it's an initiation.
🌈 Sign Up For The Live Chakra Challenge https://www.brettlarkin.com/chakralive/ 
 
GUEST EXPERT: Cyndi P Stewart, PhD. | @stewartcyndi
Root Cause Health Solutions' founder, Cyndi Stewart, PhD, uses a unique "Mystics approach" to get to the heart of chronic health issues. Through her own healing journey, Cyndi discovered that physical symptoms are often the body's way of calling for attention. Her process integrates intuitive eating, bioenergetics, kinesiology, and the Akashic Records to uncover the root causes of dis-ease. A Kundalini and Uplifted Yoga teacher, she also uses yoga and meditation to ground her energy. To learn more about her work, including classes on Emotions & Metaphysical Kinesiology, you can visit rootcausehealthsolutions.com 
Connect with Cyndi: https://rootcausehealthsolutions.com/ 
Read about surgery and recovery on Cyndi's website here: https://rootcausehealthsolutions.com/body-mind-spirit-my-transformational-journey-through-hip-surgery/ 
 
FREE Practice: MORNING YOGA FOR TIGHT HIPS & LOWER BACK | Stretches for Flexibility - Unleash Your Creative Energy✨
Relevant Blog: 10 Yoga Poses For Hip Pain That Anyone Can Do
 
Relevant to Today's Episode:
📚 Healing with Somatic Yoga Book 
✅ 200-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training
🔮 300-hour Online Yoga Teacher Training
🌀 Somatic Yoga Life Coaching 
💫 Somatic Certification
🎧 Also Listen to:
#285 – Is Yoga Enough…? with Dr. Jen Fraboni
#300 – Unraveling the Mystery of Chronic Pain for Yoga Teachers & Practitioners with Kim Patel
#369 – Nervous System Masterclass with Kristin Leal
 
© 2026 Uplifted Yoga | BrettLarkin.com