Welcome to the third episode of season 3 of Conversations with Kara-Leah, recorded in my new home - Squamish Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Canada. My guest today is poet Laura Sharp. Laura is a Scottish Poet and Bodyworker living and working in Squamish (Skwxwú7mesh.) She’s 31 years old and has had as many different jobs, and as many different addresses in as man…

Welcome to the second episode of season 3 of Conversations with Kara-Leah, recorded in my new home - Squamish Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Canada. My guest today is Bhairav Thomas English. Bhairav is a dedicated teacher, practitioner, and empowered guru of Tantra and Kundalini Yoga with over 25 years of experience. His journey began after a near-fatal car acciden…

Welcome to the first episode of season 3 of Conversations with Kara-Leah, recorded in my new home - Squamish Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Canada. (Listen to the correct pronunciation here.) My first guest this seasion is Warren Hooley. Warren Hooley is from Penticton, British Columbia and was born of Okanagan/Syilx, English and Ukrainian heritage. He is passionat…

This conversation went to ALL the juicy places - the playful, the painful, the divine, and everything else in between. We talk about Adam's personal journey with trauma and how he found healing. We get into hot-topic issues around gender, sexuality, identity, and Adam's experiences as a gay man in New Zealand. And we talk about making Transformatio…

Aaron Hendry is a Youth Worker, rangatahi advocate, writer, and political commentator on social justice issues. In this episode, we focus on youth homelessness in Aotearoa and how Aaron's Christian faith motivates him to work with the most structurally marginalised people in our society. We also get into personal responsibility vs collective respon…

Join us for a playful and enlightening exploration of Lara's extensive experience with plants, planets, and prayer. Lara spent over 5 years in full-time training with traditional shamanic plant medicines in the Peruvian Amazon, and she shares with us some of the depth of knowledge of that tradition and the power of plants as allies. Along the way, …

BLASE is an Auckland-based DJ and Embodied Ecstatic dance facilitator known for his diverse, multi-genre music journeys. I've had the delight of dancing to his incredible DJ sets, so I was fascinated to hear about how he found his way to facilitating ecstatic dance experiences in just a couple of short years, and what makes his sets so damn good. W…

A classic Aussie bloke working as a bricklayer, Tyran's been on an incredible journey. There's sex, drugs, bikie gangs, porn addiction, plenty of drama, and an intense downward spiral. All of which led Tyran into deep self-inquiry, a ton of learning and now the work he does today as a men's health and sex coach. We talk all things conscious sexuali…

I adored this conversation with Laura-Ellen. Join us for real talk on our experiences with entrepreneurship - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the transformative. We go into burnout, money shame, how we're navigating the current economic downturn, and why sometimes it's beneficial to embrace day jobs and take a break from the hustle. With a deep-ro…

I loved this deep yet playful conversation with Rana Hamida. Rana is an incredible DJ, musician, singer, dancer, artistic director, and a Yin Yoga/Yoga Nidra guide who was born in Syria and was living there as a university student when the civil war began in 2011. Fleeing the conflict, Rana and her family came to New Zealand as refugees. In unpacki…

There’s so much juicy content in here folks! Kim and I talked energetic orgasms, astral sex, hedonism, aging as a spiritual practice, yoni mapping AND anal mapping, and the joy of butt plugs for relaxation and pleasure. Plus we also had a nuanced conversation about Kim’s experiences with ISTA (International School of Temple Arts) and her take on ho…

I was curious to talk to Rebecca about her experiences of operating in both the mainstream and alternative worlds, and how these worlds can merge in productive ways. Rebecca experienced a spiritual awakening in her early twenties that resulted in a dramatic shift in her worldview and required some significant changes in her relationships with her f…

Melissa Billington is a talented yoga teacher, creatrix, inspiratrice, and also a dear friend of mine. Born in Virginia, Melissa is the 13th lineal descendant of Pocahontas and she shares how she has worked to transmute her family’s ancestral trauma into healing. We also explore why and how Melissa has chosen to take her yoga off the mat and more w…

21 years ‘clean’ from drug & alcohol addiction and work in the sex industry, Ninakaye is a powerhouse of a woman who works in the New Zealand music industry and is also involved in sexual violence treatment and harm prevention. In this episode, Ninakaye and I share some of our personal experiences of exploring sexuality and dating as older women, p…

Sophia is a former social worker who moderates the Culty Conversations NZ Facebook group and I was eager to talk with her about the nature of cults and high-demand groups in New Zealand, particularly in the spiritual community. Sophia shares her perspective on power, charismatic leaders and group dynamics, and what leaders and teachers in the spiri…

In 2022 one of Lauren’s Instagram posts for her coaching business was ridiculed by a satirical Instagram account that remixed and reshared her post, and other content from her business, over the course of several days. What I love about Lauren’s story is that even as she was dealing with the pain and trauma of this experience she also saw it as an …

CW: This episode contains a discussion on resolving childhood sexual experiences. Darren Bruce is a connection coach who discovered the power of emotional vulnerability and relational skills after a career in the military and fitness industry. Despite operating at an incredibly high level of physical skill and intensity in his military role, Darren…

Ellie Wilde is a Trauma Trained Transformational Guide, who, through her life’s struggles and 20+ years of training and service has become an activist and revolutionary for Conscious and Embodied Relating. In this conversation, we dive into her journey with ISTA (International School of Temple Arts), some of the issues with this organization, and w…

David Harshada Wagner is a master meditation instructor, author, artist, dad, and wisdom teacher with more than 25 years of teaching experience. He's classically trained in the wisdom traditions of Yoga, Bhakti, Vedanta, and Tantra, his teachings come from his decades of working with people helping them learn to live more fulfilling, soul-centred, …

This episode was originally recorded in November 2022. Dane is a fascinating human to dialogue with because he's a voracious information consumer, assimilator and systemiser. He looks at human behaviour through a systems lens and sees beyond black and white, good and bad, right and wrong. He both adores the New Age swamp, as he calls it, and has no…

This episode was originally recorded in October 2022 to celebrate Kylie Rook's successful completion of 1000 Days in a row of Ucchāra Practice. Kylie attended a Direct Realization Training with Kara-Leah in January 2020, where she learned Ucchāra and made the commitment to show up every day to the practice, no matter what. And she did it! We discus…

This episode was originally recorded in July 2022, and details Claire Eli's journey from anxiety to confidence. Claire has spent the last decade studying the body and mind and draws from many different practices including; yoga, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and embodiment practices. She talks about being paralysed by chronic anxiety, negati…

This episode was originally recorded on July 26, 2022, in the wake of Sarsha stepping down from co-facilitating a retreat with Matiu Te Huki because of her ethical concerns. Our conversation begins just after Sarsha led a beautiful meditation - hence me thanking her! The ending is a little abrupt because we were recording Live on YouTube at the tim…

This conversation was originally recorded in May 2022. In this conversation, we explore the role of Anxiety, Grief and Rage, and how Ahly was able to work with these emotional states throughout the highly polarised time leading up to the Profest occupation at Parliament grounds. On February 7, 2022, a Freedom Convoy converged on Parliament Grounds …

This episode was originally recorded in March 2022 as part of a series where I spoke to people intimately involved in the NZ Parliament Protest Feb 8 - March 2, 2022. Alistair is the owner of the Backbencher Pub in Wellington, which was on the outskirts of the Protest. The pub ended up operating as 'neutral' ground as Alistair used his contacts to …

Welcome to Episode Zero, recorded in February 2023. I outline the origins of this podcast, which began three years ago with a YouTube series. Find out more about me, my background, and how I intend on holding the space in these conversations. More from Kara-Leah Conversations with Kara-Leah on Video • YouTube PlaylistWeb: https://karaleah.com/The T…