In this episode of Deepen Your Yoga Practice, Lauren Leduc breaks down what it actually means to “engage your core” in yoga. Spoiler alert: it’s not just about abs or holding your breath.

Lauren walks you through:

What muscles make up the core (hint: it’s not just your six-pack)

The difference between bracing vs. hollowing

Breath-friendly strategies for core engagement

How and when to use Uddiyana and Mula Bandha

Why breath retention = strain, not yoga

Core cues for common yoga poses

Red flags for gripping, bracing, or over-cueing

Special considerations for pelvic floor, pregnancy, low back pain, and more

This is a must-listen for yoga teachers and curious students who want to move with more intention, stability, and breath. You’ll leave with clearer language, deeper understanding, and core strategies that support long-term practice.

In this solo episode of Deepen Your Yoga Practice, Lauren Leduc explores five of the most commonly repeated myths about yoga history—and offers a clearer, more honest perspective in their place. Drawing inspiration from Doug Keller’s Yoga History course, Lauren dives into the real roots of yoga, from Vedic texts and Śramaṇa traditions to modern postural yoga. She explains how yoga evolved over centuries as a diverse family of practices—not a single, unchanging system—and how understanding its historical complexity deepens our personal and teaching practices. If you’ve ever wondered where yoga really comes from, or questioned how modern vinyasa fits into an ancient lineage, this episode will challenge, inspire, and expand your view.

Mark Singleton, Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice (OUP). 

James Mallinson & Mark Singleton, Roots of Yoga (primary sourcebook). 

Geoffrey Samuel, The Origins of Yoga and Tantra (Cambridge). 

In this episode of Deepen Your Yoga Practice, Lauren Leduc breaks down the science of stretching—what it is, how it works, and how to make it safer and more effective within your yoga practice. Learn about the role of your nervous system, fascia, and five key types of stretching (static, dynamic, active, passive, and resistance/PNF), and walk away with tools to stretch mindfully and intelligently. Lauren also addresses common myths (like “more flexibility is always better”) and explores how strength supports long-term flexibility and joint stability. Whether you're a yoga teacher or curious practitioner, this episode offers valuable insight to support a sustainable, well-rounded practice.

What You’ll Learn:

The role of the nervous system in stretching

What fascia is and how to support it

Five major types of stretching (and how to use them)

How stretching helps (and doesn’t help) prevent injury

Why strength is essential for flexibility

Hypermobile bodies and how to support them

Why yoga is more than stretching

Reflection Questions:

Where might strength support your flexibility?

Where do you feel safe to soften?

Mentioned:

Yoga Sutra 2.46: Sthira Sukham Asanam

PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation)

Fascia hydration and load adaptation

Nervous system tools for safe mobility

Listen now: https://deepen-your-practice.castos.com

Explore More:

Learn about Lauren’s 300-hour YTT at True Love Yoga

Follow Lauren on Instagram: @laurenleduc

Check out Lauren’s book: Embody Your Inner Goddess

In this episode of Deepen Your Yoga Practice, Lauren Leduc continues her chakra series by diving into the heart chakra—Anahata, the center of love, integration, and emotional wisdom. She explores how the heart serves as a bridge between the lower and upper chakras, connects the physical and spiritual self, and reflects the qualities of compassion with boundaries. Lauren shares signs of imbalance, practices to strengthen this energetic center, and the importance of self-love and resilience.

She also ties the heart chakra to yogic concepts like bhakti, ahimsa, and metta, offering practical tools both on and off the mat, including heart-opening postures, boundary work, grief rituals, and breath-led movement. Whether you're navigating heartbreak, working on emotional balance, or seeking deeper integration, this episode will support you in cultivating an open but supported heart.

This episode also highlights Lauren's book, Embody Your Inner Goddess, and True Love Yoga’s 300-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training, where each chakra is explored in depth throughout the yearlong curriculum.

Anahata is the fourth chakra, representing love, integration, and compassion.

It bridges the lower (earthly) and upper (spiritual) chakras.

A balanced heart supports empathy, connection, and emotional boundaries.

Imbalances may show up as numbness, people-pleasing, isolation, or martyrdom.

Anahata relates to the lungs, shoulders, immune system, and vagus nerve.

Philosophical connections include Bhakti Yoga, Ahimsa, Metta, and Karuna.

Practices include heart-opening postures, grief rituals, metta meditation, and breathwork.

Boundary setting is essential to giving from a place of wholeness.

Grief and heartbreak are not flaws—they are part of an intelligent heart.

Yoga teaches us to stay present with discomfort and to love bravely.

Is it true that we store trauma in our hips? In this thoughtful solo episode, Lauren unpacks a commonly repeated phrase in yoga classes: “we store emotion in the hips.” She explores where this idea comes from, whether it’s metaphorical or literal, and what both science and yoga philosophy actually say.

Drawing from her own experience, current neuroscience, fascia research, and classical yogic teachings, Lauren examines how trauma, stress, and emotion can shape our bodies—especially the hips. She offers nuanced insight into nervous system holding patterns, the role of fascia in sensation, and how yoga helps us cultivate awareness and regulation, rather than force emotional release.

Lauren also shares why she avoids using language like “this pose releases trauma” in her classes, and instead offers a more compassionate, inclusive, and empowering approach to emotional experience on the mat.

This episode invites yoga practitioners and teachers alike to approach sensation with curiosity, emotion with compassion, and the body with reverence.

Topics Include:

Where the phrase “we store trauma in the hips” comes from

The role of the nervous system and chronic tension

What fascia actually does and doesn’t do

Scientific vs. metaphorical interpretations of body memory

Yogic concepts like samskaras, svadhyaya, pratyahara, and discernment

Responsible language choices for yoga teachers

How to guide students toward awareness without forcing catharsis

Practice invitations:

Notice sensation without attaching a story

Allow emotions to arise without pressure

Honor your body’s natural process with patience and compassion

For further exploration:
If this topic resonates with you, you’ll love our 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at True Love Yoga—where we dive deep into the intersection of yoga, science, and self-inquiry. Early bird enrollment for the March 2026 cohort ends January 31, 2026. Learn more at trueloveyogakc.com/yoga-teacher-training

n this deeply grounded and timely episode of Deepen Your Yoga Practice, Lauren Leduc explores the experience of moral injury, political despair, and nervous system exhaustion through a yogic and trauma‑informed lens. Naming the quiet undercurrent many people are carrying—grief, unease, confusion, and ethical disorientation—Lauren offers language, compassion, and structure for staying human, regulated, and engaged without burning out.

Rather than bypassing reality or amplifying fear, this episode invites discernment over reactivity, service over self‑sacrifice, and sustainability over urgency. Drawing on yoga philosophy, nervous system science, the Bhagavad Gita, the gunas, and concepts like Abhyasa and Vairagya, Lauren reframes non‑attachment as clarity, not indifference—and joy as a form of resistance, not denial.

Listeners are guided through practical reflections and nervous‑system‑supportive practices to help them identify their unique role in collective care, protect their inner resources, and stay ethically engaged without losing themselves.

Reflection Questions from the Episode:

What is mine to carry?

What is not mine to carry?

What kind of service feels sustainable for me right now?

What helps me stay human?

In this heartfelt episode of Deepen Your Yoga Practice, Lauren Leduc explores the concept of Dharma—your soul's sacred path—and how yoga can help you uncover and align with your purpose. She offers yogic definitions of Dharma and Swadharma, draws on teachings from the Bhagavad Gita, and shares signs of alignment and misalignment in body, mind, and spirit. Lauren invites listeners to explore their inner knowing through journaling, curiosity, embodied practice, and the transformative potential of Yoga Teacher Training. This episode includes practical tools, reflective prompts, and encouragement to walk your unique path with clarity and courage.

Lauren also shares details about the True Love Yoga 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, starting March 2026—with $500 off if you enroll by January 31, 2026. If you feel the nudge toward YTT, this episode is for you.

‍♀️ Explore Dharma through:

Yogic and modern definitions of Dharma

Teachings from the Bhagavad Gita

Physical and emotional signs of alignment

Practices to connect to your inner truth

Tools to begin uncovering your unique path

A gentle invitation to step toward yoga teacher training

Free Guide: Are You Ready to Become a Yoga Teacher?

Learn more or apply now: True Love Yoga 200-Hour YTT

In this fiery episode of Deepen Your Yoga Practice, Lauren Leduc explores the solar plexus chakra, or Manipura—the energetic center of personal power, confidence, and purposeful action. Lauren breaks down this chakra’s associations with fire, transformation, self-trust, and discipline, connecting it to yogic philosophy through concepts like Tapas (spiritual discipline), Swadharma (individual purpose), and Karma Yoga (selfless action).

She discusses the signs of balanced and imbalanced Manipura energy, offers powerful on- and off-the-mat practices to build confidence and ignite your inner fire, and encourages listeners to step into leadership with clarity, courage, and compassion. This episode includes journaling prompts to help you align with your purpose and closes with a warm reminder: you have the right to take up space and move forward with confidence.

Whether you're deepening your chakra study or just learning to trust your intuition, this episode is your invitation to burn brightly—with purpose.

Mentioned:

Lauren’s book: Embody Your Inner Goddess

True Love Yoga’s 300-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training

In this first episode of 2026, Lauren invites you into a softer, soul-rooted approach to the new year—one grounded in sankalpa, the yogic practice of heartfelt intention.

Rather than setting rigid resolutions, this episode offers an embodied path of becoming through sankalpa (intention), abhyasa (consistent practice), and vairagya (non-attachment). Lauren reflects on her personal sankalpa for the year—“I am mastery”—and unpacks what it means to align with your deepest truth through gentle discipline and devotion.

You’ll learn:

What sankalpa is and how it differs from resolutions

How to align your goals with your heart’s deepest wisdom

The power of small, sustainable habits (abhiyasa)

Why non-attachment (vairagya) brings maturity and grace

How to regulate your nervous system in busy seasons

The deeper meaning of mastery in yoga and life

Journaling prompts are included to help you clarify your 2026 sankalpa and anchor it in your daily life.

✨ Whether you're craving a more sustainable way to show up for yourself or looking to deepen your practice with intention, this episode will meet you right where you are.

Abhyasa: A Ritual Practice at True Love Yoga – Sundays in Kansas City

200-Hour and 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Trainings – Enroll now at True Love Yoga

Yoga Practice Journal – Track your consistency and deepen your embodiment

Explore more at LaurenLeduc.com

What quality do I long to embody this year?

What feeling do I want to cultivate more often?

What inner truth is ready to surface?

From your answers, create a present-tense, affirmative sankalpa—a guiding light for your year ahead.

This special episode of Deepen Your Yoga Practice is not just a podcast—it’s a ritual.

Lauren Leduc guides you through a year-end letting go ceremony grounded in yogic philosophy, self-inquiry, and mindfulness. With candlelight, journaling, breathwork, and personal reflection, you’ll be invited to honor the end of 2025 and create space for clarity and purpose in 2026.

Grab your journal, light a candle, make some tea, and settle in. Or listen once while walking or driving, then return for the guided practice.

️ You’ll explore:

Yogic pillars of Svadhyaya (self-study) and Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender)

Integration and rest as forms of spiritual practice

How Abhyasa and Vairagya help us release what no longer fits

Seasonal wisdom from Ayurveda and how winter supports deep digestion

Journaling prompts to reflect on what you’re proud of, what you’ve learned, what you’re ready to let go of, and what you’re calling in

Journal Prompts Include:

What am I most proud of from 2025?

What version of myself am I ready to release?

What word or feeling do I want to leave behind?

What do I want to feel in 2026?

What dreams are gently tapping at my door?

You’ll be invited to burn, bury, or release your reflections as a physical act of letting go—and then to tune in to your inner knowing to welcome what’s next.

Upcoming Events at True Love Yoga:

Dec 31: Release, Reset & Renew with Avey & Liz (10–11:30am)

Jan 1: Breathe, Flow & Set Your Intention for 2026 with Lauren
Join us to move, reflect, and step into the new year with presence.

Want to go deeper in 2026? Explore our Yoga Teacher Trainings:
Learn more