Yoga teachers shape experiences that can either support healing or inadvertently cause harm—yet most yoga teacher trainings still leave graduates profoundly unprepared. In this episode, Certified by Unprepared: The Dangerous Gaps in Yoga Teacher Trainings, I sit down with my friend and colleague Michelle Lehrman to pull back the curtain on why so many YTT programs miss the mark.

Despite teaching yoga for more than 25 years, I’m asked almost daily to recommend a solid teacher training—and the truth is complicated. Programs vary dramatically, evolve constantly, and too often reinforce outdated, unsafe, or shame-based approaches. Michelle and I explore some of the most troubling patterns, including:

• Forced hands-on adjustments and the pressure to accept physical touch
• Shaming or silencing students and teachers who think or move differently
• Rigid, one-way interpretations of an ancient and inherently adaptable practice
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Michelle is a certified 200-hour and trauma-informed yoga instructor who has taught in New York City since 2016, currently at Crunch (yoga and spin), Sacred Space Astoria, Lionheart Health, and with private clients. I first met her through the Three and a Half Acres Yoga Trauma-Informed Teacher Training, where she began to unlearn harmful norms and rebuild her teaching from a place of choice, agency, and compassion.

If you’ve ever left a YTT feeling unprepared, overwhelmed, or unsure how to support students with real-world bodies and histories, you’re not alone—and there is a better way. Join my Trauma-Informed YTT this January 24th-25th. Details HERE!

In this solo episode of Beyond Trauma, I guide you through the creative visualization and journaling practices from My Bliss Book to help you intentionally “map” the year you want—across all the categories that make a life feel whole: spirituality & personal growth, education, professional goals & wealth, romantic partnership, friendships & family, health, and travel & recreation.

You’ll be walked step-by-step through guided meditations and prompted journaling, plus I break down some of the biggest reasons people abandon resolutions (hello: perfectionism, all-or-nothing thinking, unrealistic pacing, and motivation that isn’t values-based) and what to do instead—so your vision becomes something you can actually live.

Bring a notebook, your Bliss Book if you have it, and a few quiet minutes to come home to yourself. By the end, you’ll have a clearer picture of what you’re calling in—and the mindset shifts to help you follow through gently, consistently, and sustainably.

In this episode:

• A guided visualization to connect with your desired year
• Journaling prompts for each life category (love, money, health, growth, community, play)
• Why resolutions fail—and how to set goals you’ll keep
• Practical ways to stay consistent without shame, rigidity, or burnout

Best enjoyed with: journal + pen, a cozy seat, and an open heart.

COMING UP: Don't miss my trauma-informed yoga teacher training LIVE online January 24th & 25th. More information and registration HERE.

This episode dives deep into the often-overlooked intersection of money, identity, and emotional well-being with financial trauma expert and empowerment speaker Rahkim Sabree. Together, we explore how financial trauma shapes our behaviors, relationships, and sense of freedom—and how these patterns can be passed down through families, communities, and systems.

Rahkim shares powerful insights on:

• How financial trauma shows up in daily choices and conflicts.
• Regulating the nervous system when money stress arises.
• The psychology of scarcity, survival states, and why “just knowing” financial facts isn’t always enough for change.
• Money’s connection to status, safety-seeking, and identity across race, class, and culture.
• The hidden role of advertising, PR, and childhood financial socialization in shaping lifelong beliefs.
• Practical tools for setting financial boundaries, aligning values with goals, and creating intentional family cultures around money.

We also discuss how to break out of the time-for-money binary, balance present needs with future goals, and rethink spending habits without shame or blame. Rahkim reminds us that “a deregulated person is a profitable one”—and that true financial empowerment begins with awareness, healing, and choice.

Tune in for a conversation that will shift the way you see money, yourself, and what’s possible for your financial future.

Follow Rahkim: Website/Instagram

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Join my next trauma informed yoga teacher training!

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Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik

In this first of a two-part series, Lara Land sits down with Ron Souers—ADHD advocate, podcast host of Don’t Mind Me, I’m Different, and author of The Self Discovery—to explore the lived experience of ADHD and the unexpected strengths that come with it. Ron shares his personal journey with ADHD and depression, from the challenges of racing thoughts and emotional dysregulation to the harmful impact of being told “you’re not good enough” at a young age. He breaks down the three types of ADHD, common misconceptions, and how sensitivity often fuels both overreactions and deep empathy. This episode highlights how ADHD is not a deficit but an overload of information, and how reframing that difference can unlock creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Ron also offers practical strategies—mindfulness adaptations, projecting into your future self, and nature-based practices—that help him stay grounded and focused.

Together, Lara and Ron discuss:

What ADHD feels like from the inside

How friends, family, and colleagues can better support those who are neurodivergent

The dangers of forced conformity and the power of self-acceptance

Why mindfulness is Ron’s go-to tool for balance, resilience, and presence

This conversation is full of wisdom, honesty, and encouragement—whether you’re living with ADHD or simply want to understand it better.

Stay tuned for Part Two of this conversation on Ron’s podcast: Don’t Mind Me, I Just Have ADHD.

Website | Instagram

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Your support keeps this podcast going! Please consider donating if you found this episode helpful.

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Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik

In this powerful episode of Beyond Trauma, I sit down with therapist and CMI™ practitioner Estefana Johnson to explore why we get stuck in loops, triggered by small things, and repeating the same patterns—despite our best efforts to change.

Together, we dive into:

• The three tiers of trauma memory and why self-talk or breathing techniques don’t always work
• How culture and past experiences shape present reactions
• Why focusing on whether an event was “traumatic” can miss the point—and how looking at critical memories and congruence offers a path forward
• The essential difference between managing symptoms and addressing root causes
• How the CMI™ method protects clinicians from burnout while helping clients access lasting healing
• Why letting clients lead—making their own connections and discoveries—creates sustainable transformation

Estefana shares how trauma is less about the event itself and more about how the body reacts without our consent in moments of survival. If you’ve ever felt “stuck,” overresponsive, or weighed down by the past, this conversation will show you why deep healing means going beyond symptom relief—and how finding and transforming the root of our hampering beliefs can free us to live fully, authentically, and with congruence.

Website

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Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik

Julie McGuire shares her journey from suicidal depression to discovering purpose through the mountains. Using her mantra, “let me see how far I can get,” Julie illustrates how life’s hardest experiences can become tools to help others, even when our lives don’t turn out as we envisioned. Through her story, she demonstrates that you don’t have to be the best at something for it to be meaningful, and that hobbies—especially those pursued for joy, not profit—can guide personal growth, slow down the nervous system, and open you up to life’s signs.

Julie is a high school English teacher, backcountry skier, and the first woman to ski all 33 Catskill High Peaks. She volunteers with Winter4Kids, teaching students from the South Bronx to ski, and maintains trails through the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference in collaboration with the Catskills 3500 Club. She is currently pursuing a project to ski the “lower 67” and hopes to become the first person to ski the 100 highest mountains in the Catskills.

This episode discusses suicide. If you are thinking of suicide, please call 988.

In this episode, we explore:

• The significance of hobbies in trauma healing and personal growth
• How skiing and outdoor challenges helped Julie process grief, betrayal, and depression
• The power of sharing your story to help others feel seen
• Practical ideas about self-talk, goal setting, and connecting with nature
• How experiences of hardship can make us more sensitive and impactful in our relationships
• Julie’s work bringing students into the mountains, and the ripple effect of small gestures of kindness

Julie’s story is also featured in the film Queen of the Catskills and is part of the Girl Winter Film Tour.

Learn more:

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Follow Lara at Website | Instagram | YouTube

Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik

In this energizing episode of Beyond Trauma, Lara Land sits down with coffee scientist and author Shawn Steiman to explore the surprising intersections between coffee, culture, and mental health. From morning routines to religious rituals, coffee has long been more than a beverage—it’s a way of connecting, bonding, and even healing. Together, they unpack the pros and cons of caffeine, including its impact on memory, mood, and even cholesterol.

Shawn also pulls back the curtain on the ethics of coffee: Does fair trade really work? Should you prioritize organic? And which regions produce the best beans? Along the way, listeners get a mini masterclass in how to think critically about coffee research, plus insights on brewing methods, cultural traditions, and why taste itself can be a benefit. Whether you’re a casual sipper or a true coffee devotee, this episode will deepen your appreciation of your daily cup.

Shawn Steiman, Ph.D, is a coffee scientist, consultant, and entrepreneur. His coffee research has included coffee production, pest management, ecology, physiology, biochemistry, organoleptic quality, and brewing. He owns Coffea Consulting, a coffee-centric consulting firm, and Grok Coffee, a coffee delivery, event, and education company. He was also a co-founder of Daylight Mind Coffee Company. He has authored numerous articles in scientific journals, trade magazines, newsletters, and newspapers. He is the author of The Hawai‘i Coffee Book: A Gourmet's Guide from Kona to Kaua‘i, The Little Coffee Know-It-All: A Miscellany for Growing, Roasting, and Brewing, Uncompromising and Unapologetic, and is a co-editor and author of Coffee- A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry.

grokcoffee.net, coffeaconsulting.com, @grokkingcoffee (IG/FB), https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnsteiman/.

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Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik

In this rich and compassionate conversation, Dr. Mercedes Okosi shares her clinical insights on healing complex trauma—what works, when, and why. We explore her go-to modalities like Prolonged Exposure and Narrative Therapy, and why using the present tense and senses is so powerful when revisiting painful memories. Mercedes breaks down the counterintuitive truth about avoidance, how to prevent emotional flooding, and grounding tools she uses to help clients stay present. We also dive deep into group therapy—how it works, who it helps, and what makes it transformative. Mercedes shares how she builds trust in groups, even for hesitant or shy clients, and why witnessing others’ healing journeys can be profoundly motivating.

With nuance and cultural awareness, she discusses working with immigrants and first-generation clients—addressing multigenerational trauma, value conflicts, and the layered process of acculturation. Plus: the two sides of resilience, the clinician's role in advocacy (and burnout), and why finding authentic community is essential to healing.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating trauma, considering group therapy, or working at the intersection of mental health and identity. Website/Instagram

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Intro & Outro Music by Daniel Zaitchik