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

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

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

"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

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

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