From the Heart with Rachel Brathen

Today’s episode may be uncomfortable, but it is a conversation we need to have again and again. Joining us on the show is Emmanuel Acho, former NFL linebacker, Fox Sports analyst, and New York Times bestselling author. After the death of George Floyd, Emmanuel found himself mourning, unsure what to do with his grief. After sitting down for some hard conversations with his white friends, he was ins...

Do you remember what it felt like to be a child before the world got to you? There was a time in your life when you were totally present, moving with the rhythms of your natural essence, allowing your being to be exactly as it was. When did that stop? Somewhere along the way, we start to become separate from our bodies. Maybe for you, this shift happened slowly, or maybe something unbearable came...

When life brings you difficulty, what can you do? If you feel held back, sluggish, or stuck in a rut, where can you turn? First, you can be kind to yourself. Second, you can make actionable changes in your daily routine and watch your world transform! In today’s episode, Rachel is joined by Robin Sharma. A world leader in personal mastery, best-selling author, and the genius behind The 5am Club, R...

Join us today for a special bonus episode as we continue the conversation on cultural appropriation with Susanna Barkataki. This conversation began 2 years ago when Rachel and Susanna were first introduced - after Rachel was accused of cultural appropriation herself. Rachel has come a long way since then, and she shares the realizations and changes she has made in her business and in life. But - t...

What is cultural appropriation, and how does it relate to yoga? Is yoga political? Should you say Namaste at the end of a yoga class?  In today’s episode, Rachel is joined by yoga diversity advocate Susanna Barkataki to deepen our knowledge and understanding of how to properly honor yoga’s roots. There is a misconception in the Western world as to what yoga is. Yoga is not only a physical practice...

Couples who do therapy together, stay together! What do Rachel and Dennis do to deepen their relationship? How does Dennis feel about the practice of sharing? Why does Ironman make Dennis emotional? All of these questions and more answered in this week’s episode of the Yoga Girl Podcast as Rachel is again joined by our favorite guest, her husband Dennis. Rachel and Dennis are in the midst of a 9-w...

How are you doing? It’s a question we get asked all the time, but when was the last time you answered that question from a place of raw, honest truth? Let’s check in. In this moment, how are you doing – REALLY? Instead of answering on autopilot, drop deeply into your body. Close your eyes. Place to hands to your heart. Breathe deeply. Feel. What is it like for me to be here, as I am, in this momen...

Welcome to the much-anticipated YOGA episode of the Yoga Girl Podcast! Tune in today as Rachel takes questions from the Yoga Girl Community about the practice of yoga, how to start your practice, finding a teacher that resonates, honoring the roots of yoga, common misalignments and more! Wherever you are at with your practice, if you’ve never stepped onto a yoga mat or if you are an advanced pract...

The best way to have a great day is to start your day off GREAT! On this week’s episode, Rachel shares her sacred morning routine in 10 steps, why you absolutely should cultivate a morning ritual and how carving out time for self-care first thing in the AM can (and will!) profoundly change your life. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Many of us reach for our phones or hit the snooze...

Today’s episode has the power to propel your healing process to an entirely new level as Rachel shares five simple – yet radical – steps to alchemize and process your emotions.  The first years that we spend on this earth are crucial when it comes to our development and the ways that we relate to the world around us. Were your feelings validated as a child? For many of us growing up, we were shame...

Are you wondering what exactly you are here to do and what the actual F is going on in the world? Congratulations! You are not alone; we are in this together. We are ALL feeling lost and wondering the same things as the global pandemic plays on. What we can do is anchor into our day to day rituals and practices that make us feel good. Instead of overthinking the past or feeling anxious about the u...

Have you been having a hard time implementing day to day habits that lead to you feeling really good, throughout the day and throughout your being? We are all struggling somewhere, and there are little changes in our self-care we can make that can help to get us out of a rut and into a more centered, clear, connected place.  On this week’s episode, Rachel shares the 3 changes she has made in her l...

Are we all going to be ok? This is one of the most heartfelt questions that Rachel answers on this week’s episode. It has been a while since she sat down to take questions from our listeners – and ultimately, we are all wondering about the same things. As we navigate this new world, we are not feeling grounded, centered, safe or secure. We are swinging from high to low, trying to find some type of...

Tune in to this episode and take a deep exhale as Rachel begins with a grounding meditation before diving into the topic of today: our relationships. Connecting with others lies at the root of this human experience. Our relationships with our loved ones can lift us up and carry us through incredibly difficult times. But, what can relationships with those who challenge us teach us? 2020 is bringing...

Are you struggling with finding your purpose in life, staying positive, or looking for changes to make in order to improve your spiritual health? You are not alone! This week Rachel is joined by former monk, meditation teacher, motivational speaker and author Jay Shetty. Jay offers valuable spiritual insight into the mindset of a monk, how to infuse your life with purpose, passion, compassion, and...

Today’s episode begins with a heart-centred meditation on acknowledging the feelings you are experiencing in this moment. Human beings are complex emotional creatures with the ability to feel many things at once, but sometimes it is hard to distinguish between them all - unless we really sit with our emotions and bring them to surface. This meditation is much needed by Rachel as she dives into tod...

Rachel’s life has been turned upside down lately in a way she cannot fully describe. In today’s episode, she recounts the story that unfolded in the past week after she was ‘cancelled’ online. Although she feels as if she is going through a process of mourning, she is having difficulty pinpointing exactly what it is she is mourning, and the purpose behind it.  Her family is safe. The Yoga Girl com...

Following the recent Aruban backlash from a social media post of Rachel’s, Rachel and Dennis are facing a situation they have never experienced before: feeling unwelcome and unsafe in their own home. In today’s episode, Dennis interviews Rachel to discuss the entire series of events that have unfolded. After living in Aruba for 10 years, having residency, being married to an Aruban, promoting the...

Are you feeling like you are perpetually living in a state of not knowing? You are not alone! As the world struggles through this pandemic, nothing is certain, and no one really has any answers. The best we can do is take good care of ourselves, hold each other up, and listen to Rachel and Dennis try to work through it on the Yoga Girl podcast.  This week’s episode features Rachel’s husband, the m...

As students and teachers we have a responsibility to look at who is missing in our yoga classes, healing circles and retreats. Healing tools should be available to all! Making a change begins with recognizing just how far we are from equity and diversity in the wellness industry - and taking active steps toward change, every day. This week Rachel is joined by the fantastically fierce Nicole Cardoz...

Life is full of so much doing. We move quickly through our day, from working to planning to organizing to… more doing. Even as this year forced us all to slow down, we didn’t stop ‘doing’. We cooked, baked, organized our homes, or started new projects. But have you ever stopped ‘doing’ for a moment to ask yourself why? What is the real motive behind your inability to be really, truly still? In thi...

We spend so much time in our armor, protecting ourselves with layers and layers of conditioning. If we do not have our needs met as children, if we are not seen, heard, appreciated or loved, we subconsciously begin to develop a resilience, an armor of protection. We seek to have our needs met elsewhere and develop coping mechanisms to be healed later in life. In this episode, Rachel reflects on th...

After everything that has occurred in 2020, there is no going back to the way things were. We have to do better and be better to ourselves. The only way through is to listen to our inner truth and show up for ourselves in a radical way. The world has intensified, so make sure your healing practices align along with it! Perhaps the old, comfortable practices you’ve had before no longer serve your d...

This is a time in history when we finally acknowledge the problems we have as a society. For as long as we live, we will remember 2020 as a year of huge change. But - is it enough? There are no quick fixes for issues that have been hundreds of years in the making. There is a beautiful collective healing that is beginning right now, but ultimately, it all comes from within each of us. We cannot be...

The past few months have given us a glimpse of what the world has the potential to be – a world where we work and commute less, where we have more time in our day to take care of ourselves, and most importantly: where justice is for all. In a world that rewards you for putting work and the idea of success above all else, the pursuit of joy and the practice of self-care is a radical tool of resista...