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Helen Lavretsky, MD, MS - Living From The Soul: The Neuroscience of Spiritual Awakening
Season 1
Episode 776
Published 1 month, 1 week ago
Description
Interview starts at 27:10 The neuroscience of spiritual awakening, how Kundalini yoga shaped her life, and why she believes listening inward is especially important in a time of cultural confusion. She also explains how her work in geriatric psychiatry connects spirituality, brain health, stress regulation, and prevention strategies for aging populations. Helen Lavretsky, MD, MS, is a Professor In-Residence in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA (Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior), a leading geriatric integrative psychiatrist, and a pioneer in mind-body approaches to late-life mental health. https://drhelenlavretsky.com/book/living-from-the-soul/ https://drhelenlavretsky.com/about/ In this episode:
- Dr. Helen Lavretsky shares her unusual path from the former Soviet Union into psychiatry, neuroscience, and later Kundalini yoga teacher training.
- She explains how growing up in an atheist Soviet environment still left room for underground spirituality passed through families and oral tradition.
- She describes a six-month temporary enlightenment experience after Kundalini practice and why it was physically intense, hard to describe, and initially unsustainable.
- The conversation focuses on her book Living from the Soul and the idea that people are increasingly being pushed to trust their own wisdom instead of outside authorities.
- She discusses how spirituality shows up in geriatric psychiatry, especially for older adults, dementia caregivers, and long COVID patients dealing with mortality and stress.
- She argues that meditation, breathing practices, yoga, tai chi, and qigong can improve self-regulation, brain health, and decision-making under pressure.
- She outlines how brain health should be cultivated across the lifespan, starting in childhood and even in utero, rather than only addressed later in life.
- She notes that lifestyle factors such as sleep, movement, diet, and stress management matter for dementia prevention and broader cognitive resilience.
- She emphasizes that meaning, purpose, and connection to soul are central to mental well-being.
- Soul-based self-inquiry- asking inwardly what is right for you rather than defaulting to external authority
- Brain health across the lifespan- prevention beginning in childhood and even before birth
- Stress self-regulation toolkit- breathing, meditation, yoga, tai chi, and qigong as practical nervous-system supports
- Constitutional approach to diet- different people may need different foods based on ancestry, metabolism, and predisposition