Amy Weintraub: Yoga for Mood and Energy | Episode 171Amy Weintraub: Yoga for Mood and Energy | Episode 171
Brain Shaman
Yoga therapist Amy Weintraub talks with Michael Waite about using yoga, breath, sound and hand practices to shift depression, anxiety and trauma-related moods. The conversation blends personal story, brain science and guided exercises that highlight how simple tools can restore a sense of connection, safety and self-trust.
1:12:00•27 May 2026
Yoga, Brain Chemistry and Mood: Amy Weintraub on Feeling Whole Again
Episode Overview
- Depression is framed as nervous system dysregulation and a sense of separation from wholeness, rather than a fixed personal flaw.
- Regular yoga practice can shift brain structures and chemistry linked to mood, including the amygdala, hippocampus, GABA, cortisol and heart rate variability.
- Short, accessible practices using breath, sound and hand positions can meet agitation or sluggishness where it is and gently shift it.
- Invitational language and personalised imagery help people feel human, safe and in control, instead of like passive patients following a protocol.
- Building self-efficacy through these tools can reduce emotional dependence on therapists and support long-term mood stability and recovery.
“"The body is always present. The mind is a time traveller. But when we bring our awareness to the tingling in the palms, we are that presence."”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation on Brain Shaman zooms in on mood, energy, and that deep sense of connection many people chase with substances, but through yoga instead of a bottle. Host Michael Waite sits down with yoga therapist and author Amy Weintraub, founder of LifeForce Yoga, to talk about depression as nervous system dysregulation rather than a personal failure.
Amy shares her own history of childhood trauma, suicidal depression, long-term psychiatric medication, and how a committed yoga practice including breathwork, sound and simple postures helped her come off meds under medical supervision and stay well since 1989. Youll hear her explain depression from two angles: the yogic view of separation from our wholeness and the neuroscientific side, where practices can shrink an overactive amygdala, boost hippocampal volume, lift GABA, reduce cortisol, and increase heart rate variability.
She links this to why yoga can be such a powerful ally for those dealing with anxiety, trauma, and the emotional fallout that so often fuels addictive patterns. The real magic is that Amy doesnt just talk about it she leads several short, do-able practices right in the conversation.
Theres a stair-step breath for agitation, a punchy bellows breath that somehow leaves you both calmer and more awake, and hand mudras that subtly shift your breathing and sense of safety. She shows how language like if you wish and when youre ready helps people feel human rather than like a machine being fixed. By the end, yoga sounds less like stretchy gymnastics and more like a practical toolkit for mood regulation, self-efficacy and spiritual connection.
If mood swings, anxiety or old trauma tug at your sobriety, could a few minutes of breath and hand positions become part of your daily recovery ritual?
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