Yoga as Self-Inquiry
Description
Episode Description
In this conversation, Keri sits down with yoga teacher and clinical social worker Karen DeBaun, owner of Yoga Moodra, to explore yoga as a practice for living—not just another form of exercise. They talk about midlife beginnings, healing from trauma, and how yoga can become a framework for pausing, reflecting, and living more consciously in chaotic times.
Karen shares why discomfort and anxiety are often the doorway to real change, how curiosity keeps us from hardening into certainty as we age, and why she sees herself as an “ambassador of love and peace” in a culture that rewards speed, productivity, and numbness. This is an invitation to step off autopilot and into a more deliberate, awake way of being.
In This Episode, We Explore:
Yoga in midlife and beyond
How starting yoga in her 40s shaped Karen’s teaching
Why so many of her students have stayed with her long-term
What it’s like to come to yoga without being a “bendy 25-year-old”
Yoga as a practice for the mind, not just the body
The line that hooked her: gaining flexibility in the mind
How yoga supported her emotional and physical recovery after a serious motorcycle accident
Why she believes yoga is “a practice for living,” not just fitness
Capitalism co-opting yoga
Hot yoga, power yoga, and speed as the dominant narrative
What we lose when yoga becomes just another workout
Reclaiming yoga as “a sacred practice of remembering who you are”
Pause as quiet rebellion
How yoga classes are built around intentional pause and integration
Why rest, reflection, and stillness are almost nonexistent in our culture
Why even one hour a week of true pause can begin to change a life
Habits, autopilot, and conscious living
The difference between helpful routines and unconscious habits
Why Karen and Carrie are more interested in undoing habits than just trading old ones for new
How habits can become “brain shortcuts” that keep us from actually being present
From reactivity to response
How yoga has helped Karen become less reactive and more deliberate
The ripple effects of one person becoming calmer, clearer, and more rooted in their values
How this inner work quietly shapes our culture and communities
Yoga, activism, and being an “ambassador of love and peace”
Different roles people can play: activists, supporters, question-askers, rabble-rousers
Karen’s personal mantra: “Ambassador of love and peace”
Expanding the idea of activism beyond protests and picket signs to how we move through the world every day
Discomfort as a catalyst for transformation
Why anxiety and discomfort are often what finally move us to change
Karen’s own leap into yoga teacher training in her 40s (and imposter syndrome all along the way)
How to reframe discomfort as information and invitation, not failure
Why it’s so hard to try new things
From Karen’s article “5 Reasons Why It’s Hard to Try New Things”:Our built-in negativity bias and brain’s obsession with safety
Our love of the comfortable and predictable
Social fears: not wanting to look awkward or out of place
Misinformation and assumptions about what something (like yoga) will be
A deep lack of faith in ourselves and our ability to handle the unknown
Curiosity and unlearning
Curiosity as a spiritual practice and a way to soften certainty
How assumptions flatten other people into two dimensions
The courage it takes to unlearn beliefs and patterns that “got us this far”
Beginner’s mind on and off the mat
Tiny glimmers of enlightenment
Rethinking enlightenment as fleeting moments of connection, wonder, and alignment
Why Karen doesn’t chase permanent bliss states but treasures brief openings
How pausing long enough to notice “little moments of magic” may be the most accessible form of awakening for modern life
Creativity as spiritual practice
Karen’s ongoing relationship with The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron)
How creativity is less about making “art” and more about how you live your life
Carrie’s love for Big Magic (Elizabeth Gilbert) as a companion text
Vulnerability, imperfection, and why our human “clumsiness” is often what connects us most
A gentle invitation to try yoga
For those curious but hesitant: why you’re allowed to dabble
The value of trying something simply to expand your experience, even if you decide it’s not for you
How online gentle yoga can be a low-pressure, accessible starting point—no fancy clothes or commute required
About My Guest
Karen DeBaun is the owner of Yoga Moodra, where she teaches online gentle yoga to adults in midlife and beyond. With 18 years of experience as a yoga instructor and 30 years as a clinical social worker, Karen blends yoga, mental health, and holistic wellness to help students reduce stress, build strength, and cultivate a deeper connection between mind and body.
Her classes emphasize accessibility, compassion, and curiosity, making yoga feel like a practice for real life rather than performance. Karen is also a speaker on anxiety, stress, burnout, and finding calm in uncertain times, and is the author of an upcoming daily reflections book, See You on the Mat: Reflections for Presence and Peace.
Resources & Links Mentioned
Karen’s website & classes:
Yoga Moodra – gentle online yoga for midlife and beyond
https://www.yoga-moodra.com/contact.htmlFree class for podcast listeners
Karen offers one free gentle yoga class for Awaken Your Power listeners.
(Check her site or contact page for the “First Yoga Class Free” link.)Article:
5 Reasons Why It’s Hard to Try New Things – downloadable/free resource from Karen (via her website).Books mentioned:
Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Teacher referenced:
Andrew Harvey – writer and teacher on sacred activism
Caroline Myss – for the “skyscraper of awareness” metaphor
Karen DeBaun is the owner of Yoga Moodra, teaching online gentle yoga to adults in mid-life and beyond. Karen helps adult yoga students reduce stress, build strength, and enhance their overall wellbeing by offering a compassionate space where students can explore and deepen their connection to mind and body. With 18 years of experience as a yoga instructor and 30 years as a clinical social worker, Karen blends yoga practice and holistic wellness to provide a supportive online yoga environment where all students feel welcome and successful. In addition to teaching yoga, Karen is a speaker and presents on topics such as anxiety, stress and burnout, and finding calm in times of uncertainty. Karen is also the author of a soon-to-be published daily reflections book titled: See You On The Mat: Reflections for Presence and Peace.
United States
