Amy Weintraub: Hand and Breath Practices to Shift Energy and Mood | Episode 176Amy Weintraub: Hand and Breath Practices to Shift Energy and Mood | Episode 176
Brain Shaman
Yoga therapist Amy Weintraub shares practical hand and breath practices with host Michael Waite, showing how small physical shifts can change energy and mood. The conversation focuses on safe ways to use energising and calming techniques to support depression, anxiety, trauma and recovery.
1:10:04•1 Jul 2026
Hands, Breath and Brain: Amy Weintraub’s Simple Practices to Shift Your Mood
Episode Overview
- Simple hand mudras such as Hakini ("basket") mudra can change how the breath moves in the body and create a fuller, calmer breath.
- Fiery practices like kapalabhati and brahma mudra with the mantra "ram" may lift low mood but should be balanced with grounding breaths and body sensing.
- Regular use of these practices can create brief "windows" through depression or dark thoughts, which may widen with consistent practice.
- Standing movements and breath, like pulling prana, can both energise the body and clear mental clutter, making it easier to sense authentic intentions.
- Facial mudras combined with bee breath can stimulate cranial nerves, quiet the senses and bring a bright, sun-like quality to mood.
“The body is always present. The mind is a time traveller.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety and better mental health? This Brain Shaman conversation with yoga therapist and author Amy Weintraub offers a very practical angle: tiny movements of your hands and simple breaths that can shift how you feel in real time. Host Michael Waite and Amy keep things grounded and experiential.
Rather than talking theory for an hour, they actually guide through hand gestures (mudras) and breathing practices you can try in a chair or standing up.
You’ll hear Michael report live on what happens in his body and mind as he experiments, from feeling his lungs change with different finger positions in Hakini ("basket") mudra, to describing a post‑practice state where "all the noise kind of just disappeared." Amy shares how specific tools help with depression, anxiety, PTSD and even the edgy states that can come when people push intense breathwork too far.
She explains why fiery practices like kapalabhati and belly-pumping mantras such as "ram, ram, ram" can lift low mood, and why they always need to be followed by grounding breaths and body sensing. Her own long history of depression and coming off medication makes the conversation especially relatable for anyone using yoga alongside recovery or therapy.
You’ll also hear how standing movements like "pulling prana" and bee breath with facial mudras can clear mental clutter, brighten mood and create what Amy calls a "window" through dark thoughts. That window, practised regularly, can widen into a more stable way of living. If you’re curious about using your body as a direct lever on mood—whether you’re dealing with addiction, depression, trauma, or just an overcooked nervous system—this gentle, experiment-heavy session might give you a few new favourites.
Which simple practice could become your go-to reset when your brain feels stuck?
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