From The Heart: Conversations With Yoga Girl

In this episode, Rachel talks about her absolute inability to slow down. After a very intense few years culminating with back-to-back retreats and trainings, her body has started giving her serious signals to work at a slower pace. How do you slow down when moving fast is all you know? Rachel wraps her head around the fact that there is never a time that she is not working. Not on her honeymoon, not after having a baby, not even when she got so sick she had to get a steroid injection in her butt!  She talks about how leading her latest yoga teacher training while incredibly sick finally allowed her the space to slow down, take a real vacation, and make the decision to go on a very overdue maternity leave. And it also helped her to realize that the world will not stop if she is not constantly on the move. Our life’s purpose is not something that comes easy for us, it is something we have to work at. Rachel discusses her own life purpose - which just may be learning to slow down and sit with her emotions. Tune

In this episode, Rachel continues sharing with her group of yoga teacher trainees as they discuss Fear and the answer to the question, “What Scares You?” How does fear hold you back? Does it run your life? Does it paralyze you? How does it show up day-to-day? Listen to what this community had to say about it - it may sound very familiar. Then of course, the participants turn to another question, “What if that fear wasn’t present?” Or “What if fear didn’t have such a big part of our lives?”. What would your life be like without this fear steering the ship? What is the first thing you would do? How would you live differently? Tune in for the second segment of this raw and beautiful podcast. Especially if you’re in need of a good cry, a bit of heart opening, or you just want to sit down and feel your feelings for a moment. Fear may be present in all of our lives, but the first step to moving past it is to recognize that we all fear the same things. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices vi

In this episode, Rachel is once again joined by her yoga teacher trainees for a special two-part podcast segment. The topic of this group sharing is Fear and answering the question “What scares you?”. We are all dealing with fears somewhere in our own lives - in our relationships, family or work lives. Sometimes fear is purposeful, but often it holds us back or paralyzes us. Here, the participants share their deepest fears for the world to hear, speaking openly on their challenges and struggles in a way that will move your heart deeply. The sharing then turns to a second question, “What if that fear wasn’t present?” Or “What if fear didn’t have such a big part of our lives?”. If we were released from what holds us back the most - how would our lives be different? How would we act differently? Sharing powerful statements, the participants speak their hearts’ deepest desires - what they crave the most and how they would fully embrace life released from worry, anxiety and fear. Tune in for another beautiful epis

In this episode, Rachel is immersed in leading her third yoga teacher training while Luna is with grandma and Dennis is at an Iron Man race.  Rachel reminisces on all the programs she has led since Luna was born, from the ones that were super overwhelming while breastfeeding to the ones that are easier now that Luna is older. Rachel is used to hosting large groups, but it was having a baby that made her realize she has a deep desire to merge her community with her family life and be more accepting and supportive of families as a whole. This idea was challenged recently when she shared a post of Luna laughing in the group of teacher trainees and received incredible backlash for allowing her daughter to join the circle. This leads her into a deep conversation on social media drama, her own triggers and the epidemic of judgement that exists especially for mothers. Disagreements are part of life, but the next time you find yourself disagreeing with someone can you bring more compassion and understanding into the 

In this episode, Rachel is joined once again by her husband and baby daddy, Dennis Schoneveld! Both Rachel and Dennis have big things coming up - Dennis is participating in his second Iron Man at the same time that Rachel is leading a yoga teacher training. They discuss what happened the last time Dennis did an Iron Man - and how it was the most they’ve ever fought as a couple. Recognizing that Rachel is much calmer this time around (maybe due to the Path of Love retreat she recently attended?), the couple makes a deal - Dennis will attend a Path of Love retreat if Rachel will participate in a Half Iron Man (!!). Finishing off the episode with some questions from the community, Dennis discusses Rachel’s nagging, what gives him anxiety, how he handles social media drama, what finally made him go vegan - and of course, when to expect baby number two.  Tune in for another great conversation between Rachel and Dennis that will redefine the word ‘compromise’ and have everyone cracking up. To learn more about lis

In this episode Rachel begins by discussing her newly launched Yoga Girl Community - a safe space for people to open their hearts online. From receiving so many deep and personal messages through emails and social media, she knew she needed to find a space to connect us all in a deeper and more tangible way. With the Yoga Girl Community comes the tradition of Sharing Sunday. Speaking deeper on this and sharing herself, Rachel opens up about her desires to be a participant again - to be unknown and invisible. To step away from things to do deep, emotional work anonymously. To be a regular person and take regular vacations. Diving further, Rachel notices a striking duality that is present in her life - she wants to let go of everything and step away, but at the same time she has a need to control all around her. Noticing that this pattern is related to the environment she grew up in, she discusses the idea that in order to change something about ourselves, we need to go all the way back to the root of what caus

In this episode Rachel is joined by JP Sears, the comedian, author, speaker, emotional healing coach and YouTuber (with over 300 million accumulated views!). Sharing from the heart what has been present in his life lately, JP opens up about feeling lonely and insignificant and how it is through merging comedy and spirituality that he seeks to bring awakening to others. It is, as he says, one of the best ways to let go of the ego, not take things too seriously, and have some fun along the way. With that, JP even shares the only video he has ever deleted and how to handle negative or critical comments from others. Diving from there into a deep conversation on vulnerability, Rachel and JP notice a common thread as they discuss the emotional distance they felt from their fathers, as well as their need to be “rescuers”. As the discussion draws to a close, Rachel and JP discuss how important it is to feel your feelings as they come - and how this will lead to true change in this world. How can we drop our ego and o

In this weeks episode Rachel speaks to us from Path of Love, a retreat she has been assisting for the past week in Motala, Sweden. To begin, Rachel tells the story of her own Path of Love experience when she participated in May, 2016. She shares the story of what brought her there (she finally went after booking it twice and cancelling!) and what came out of it (Hint: Her name is Lea Luna).  Rachel has been waiting to return to Path of Love ever since, and again has been experiencing new epiphanies each and every day. She speaks of the dualities between the masculine and feminine that exist in her life and relates them to her relationship with her mother and father. It is by doing this work that Rachel has realized how her past and her relationships have shaped her into the person she is today - a person who can take all that she has learned and transform it into meaning. What we go through in life is challenging, but it does not come without purpose. Sometimes it is easy to see the lesson we are learning, so

In this episode Rachel is joined by none other than Cheryl Strayed! Cheryl is a novelist, essayist, column writer and podcast host with the Number 1 New York Times best selling memoir “Wild” (you’ve probably seen the movie, starring Reese Witherspoon!) along with several novels under her belt.  Rachel begins the episode by reminiscing on Cheryl’s novel “Tiny Beautiful Things” and how it was on her bedside table for years to support her whenever she was going through something challenging. Discussing her Dear Sugar days, Cheryl opens up about the deep and emotional messages she received and how she poured herself into this work that created the deepest sense of kinship with her readers that she has ever known. Diving into a beautiful conversation on perfectionism and how striving for unattainable balance is a form of imbalance, Cheryl and Rachel beautifully note the dualities of life - especially how they relate to the grief we experience in heartbreaking moments that stays with us for a lifetime. Release old

The wait is finally over. Welcome to Yoga Girl! In this episode, Rachel shares the news she has been wanting to spill forever - we have launched! All the secrets and hints are finally being revealed and this podcast is all about Yoga Girl - the lifestyle, the movement, the brand and the community. Rachel answers all the questions that come in and goes in depth into detail on why she created this platform and what it means for the future. How did this grow from an instagram handle into a community focused on self-love, sustainability, and inclusivity? From the moment six years ago when the @yoga_girl instagram began, Rachel shares the critical moments from losing her best friend, to getting married and having Lea Luna that shaped her - and all of us - into what it is today. Join us on www.yogagirl.com to read authentic stories, take heartfelt yoga classes, and be of service to the world. Yoga is for everyone - no matter your age, size, gender, or anything else. This practice is for us all. We can all look with

Feeling emotional, Rachel begins her first solo episode in almost a month catching up on all the recent changes that have come about in her life – from launching her YouTube channel to getting steps closer to the big initiative she has been hinting at so much. With James Aspey visiting Rachel in Aruba, it is no surprise that veganism has also been a topic on her mind. She discusses her family dynamic; how Rachel and Luna are vegan while Dennis is not – and how Dennis was admittedly worried about living with 4 vegans for more than a week (tune in to see how that worked out for him!).  From smaller things like what we eat in a day to larger things like the complicated topic of cultural appropriation, Rachel touches on judgment and how the fear of being judged is often the first to surface when others view parts of our lives negatively. Moving from this space, she opens up about what she has learned, the changes she has made so far, and how making the yoga practice available for everyone is her number one priori

In this episode, Rachel introduces her community to Rachel Cargle. A writer, speaker, and educator, Rachel Cargle’s work is centered around educating white women on how they can support women of color in genuine ways. Rachel Cargle begins this discussion by sharing how she began this journey of activism and how she didn’t have a choice as a black woman trying to exist in a world not built to support her. Oppositely, our host Rachel openly shares her ignorance and her fears as a white woman – how scared she was to have this conversation, to do something wrong, and to come across as racist. This sparks one of the most honest and deep conversations yet, on why it is so crucial for all of us to have this conversation – and why it is a privilege if you choose not to have it. Offering clear definitions and examples of tone policing, spiritual bypassing, white saviourism and exceptionalism, Rachel Cargle clearly shows how good intentions are not enough to erase our impact on society. The truest form of love is ancho

In this episode, Rachel invites Susanna Barkataki to discuss the topic of cultural appropriation. Susanna is a teacher, inclusivity promoter, yoga culture advocate and the author of the original article, “How to Decolonize Your Yoga Practice” that was widely circulated across social media over the past few weeks. The conversation begins with Susanna speaking on her personal history of experiencing racism and marginalization growing up in an Indian-British family in the UK and US. Using this as a starting point to discuss what has happened to yoga culture in the Western world, Rachel and Susanna then dive into a deep conversation on this topic.  What is cultural appropriation? Where do we draw the line between cultural appreciation and appropriation? Rachel opens up to share her fears and past behaviours while Susanna offers true heartfelt advice on how westerners can continue practicing with deep respect for this ancient practice. Join Rachel and Susanna as they discuss these difficult but important questions

In this episode, Rachel is joined by the talented, humble and down-to-earth guitarist from Snow Patrol, NathanConnolly. First discussing how they randomly ended up in LA together through the connection of a mutual friend, Nathan then dives into how the first show opening for Ed Sheeran went, and what life touring is like (hint: he needs it). From his beginnings singing in a gospel choir to joining Snow Patrol overnight when he was 20, Nathan talks through the history and dynamic of the band, what it felt like to gain recognition for your work, and the meaningfulness that comes when fans take your songs and make them their own. Admitting that he felt nervous talking personally about himself in the beginning of the show, Nathan didn’t let that stop him and Rachel from having a meaningful conversation on everything from brotherhood, living far away from your family, the fine line between being humble and apologetic, making music your life, mental health – and even whether or not he’s sick of the smash-hit “Chasi

In this episode Rachel is joined by none other than beloved international singer, Seal! True to the spirit of the From the Heart podcast, Seal begins the episode by giving a refreshingly honest answer to how he is feeling in his life now compared to a year ago. He shares how his perspective has changed from feeling helpless, victimized and isolated to feeling simply fantastic – and the incredible story that brought him there. After being forced to search for answers, Seal discusses the three major changes he recently made in his life, from how he lets go of control to his guidelines for connecting with other people. Offering beautiful wisdom and serious life advice – join Rachel and Seal as they discuss true happiness, the lessons they’ve learned from their children, finding your life purpose and everything in between. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does alignment mean for you? What do you need to feel good? Recognizing what is truly important for you is the first step to living a life rooted in your own truth.  Rachel begins this episode speaking from the heart on how she has compromised her alignment over the previous weeks. Through being tired from working non-stop for too long and getting caught up in late-night Netflix episodes she lost her routine of getting up before sunrise. She speaks on the patterns of misalignment that have showed up throughout her life – and how she even compromised herself for social media(!).  Comparing this to times in her life where she has felt 100% aligned, Rachel recognizes it is simple acts of self-care – simple things like waking up early, staying active, keeping your house in order – that bring the most peace to her life. With that, she speaks of the need for true rest, which does not take place in front of a television. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.

In this episode Rachel shares her all-time favorite books on Yoga and Spirituality. She dives into the words that came along with her on adventures, the stories that supported her, and the passages that changed her life. Books often represent so much more than the paper they are made out of. To Rachel, her books are sacred keepsakes that are filled with little notes, letters, and pictures that tell the story of what she was feeling as she held these books in her hand.  Do you have books in your life that you return to again and again for many different reasons? From “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle, “Be Here Now” by Ram Dass, Pema Chodron’s “When Thing’s Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times” to Rasha’s “Oneness”, join Rachel as she shares the personal connection she has to her favorite books and stories from her own life inspired by each one. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit http

In this episode Rachel continues sharing with the rest of her Yoga Teacher Training group on their Inner Critic. The group shares the judgmental, disapproving thoughts they harbour when that negative voice we all have in our heads is leading the way. Now hearing from 50 women from 15 different countries that have shared their most hurtful thoughts they carry about themselves, it becomes so evident that no matter where we come from or how old we are - we are all the same. Then turning toward the Inner Best Friend - the women share the voice that speaks to them with unconditional love and support. What does your inner critic say to you? What would life be like if we spoke to ourselves the way we speak to our best friends? Tune in for the final part of this emotional and vulnerable episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Rachel invites her Yoga Teacher Training group to join her in sharing a piece of what their inner critic - that judgmental, disapproving voice we all carry in the back of our heads - speaks of, and what life is like when we live from that place. 52 women from 15 different countries share from a place of deep vulnerability and then turn toward the Inner Best Friend - a voice that speaks with unconditional love and support. What would life be like if I spoke to myself the way I speak to the people I love? Tune in for a very different and heartfelt episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Rachel is joined once again by yoga teacher, physiotherapist and anatomy genius Lara Heimann. Currently leading a yoga teacher training together, Rachel and Lara discuss everything from their best mothering tips to Lara’s sustainable home. Diving into a deep conversation on the role functional anatomy plays in a yoga practice, Lara breaks down simple poses like downward facing dog, plank, and chaturanga, and notes the common misconceptions people typically bring with them to class. With social media glorifying the overly bendy yogi, they discuss the need to move away from the idea that yoga is simply a pose. Instead, Lara expresses the need for us to be constant critical thinkers when moving in our body in order to protect ourselves from injury. We can find this sense of confidence in our practice by truly connecting to our core – the center of our bodies where all is integrated. It is through our core that we find our sense of courage and strength in ourselves, and ultimately our goals and pu