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Carolyn Cowan & Devotion Trading

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Home Altered States February 2021

Altered States February 2021

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Who am I?

You could glean public information about me from my Wikipedia page, or read through ten years of weblog to discover my more personal thought processes.

Carolyn on Wikipedia

I was born in Chelsea in 1960. This seems relevant because it frames my open-minded and creative approach to my work as a psycho-sexual and relationship therapist. My areas of interest, work and specialisation include, in no particular order, sex therapy, couples and relationship work, Maternal Perversion, trauma both past and current, addiction in all its forms, anxiety in all its forms, and pre and post natal issues including birth trauma, diastases recti and tocophobia. I am an embodied psychotherapist and work with the internal trauma cycles as they affect the mind, behaviour and regulation of the self.

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For Class & Client enquiries click here to send an email

For Author & Speaking enquiries click here to email Carolyn

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Mondays: Strong Breath Clear Mind

Tuesdays: Kundalini Rising February 2026

Wednesdays: Psychology of Deserving

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carolyncowanofficial

Change Maker.
A Specialist in Shame, Anxiety, Addiction, Sexuality, Breathwork and Yoga.
Kundalini Global Yoga Founder
Join classes and workshops:

The Shame Workshop runs this weekend in Battersea,

The Shame Workshop runs this weekend in Battersea, London. 13th-15th. In person.

Details via the link in my bio.

It is a brave and fearless thing to do, beautiful person, but so worth it.

Shame tells you that you’re tainted. That you are a bad, unworthy person.

Because we cannot bear that idea…

…shame gives rise to all kinds of other behaviours.

We use these behaviours as a way to leap away (or out) of the true feelings we hit when we brush up against our shame.

How this plays out for you will be unique. Common manifestations are things like anxiety, people pleasing, addiction, anger…

Most of us have a variety of safety mechanisms that are layered over our shame.

I believe that shame is the worst possible feeling we can have inside of ourselves, about ourselves. There is a way to work with it, a way to let it go. This workshop will require a leap of faith but if you want to change things in yourself and in your life it is good. It is very good.

If you have questions let me know.

Details on www.carolyncowan.com

Sacred shame. We hold stories, things said to us,

Sacred shame. We hold stories, things said to us, about us, and the believing of terrible things about ourselves, as sacred. We have triggers, often lots of them, that allow us to stay in shame.

We do this because it means to hold a power position. We use triggers to hurt others or ourselves. We do, to ourselves, and for ourselves, what was done to us.

The invitation, what we need to put in, simple thought it is, is this... don’t!

If you’re ready to work with this, The Shame Workshop is brave and fearless to do. It is not an easy experience, and not for everyone, but if you really want to bring some change to how you feel about yourself, your story, what happened to you, and if you would like to have a better understanding of how shame influences your relationships to others, do consider joining me.

In this 3 day workshop talking, lecture, group-work and frank discussion will give us a clear view of how to identify our shame, how we hold shame for others, and how we do, if we have shame, shame others. It takes place next weekend 13-15 March in a lovely studio in Battersea, London.

Details on my website and if you have any questions please do ask.

www.carolyncowan.com

As a therapist, I walk beside clients as they lear

As a therapist, I walk beside clients as they learn to adult themselves. I guide people who come to classes to recognise that they can feel differently and can change their responses, too.

Most of us find shame utterly unbearable. Even when conscious of it, and when we’re ‘in’ shame, we largely do things, all kind of thing, to leap out of it.

The patterns that exist in how we leap out of it are one way of thinking about beginning to identify your safety mechanisms.

We can all learn to bear ourselves, to switch off the reactive shame mechanisms and go on to be able to cope with life as it hurls experiences and growth curves our way.

We can acquire tools, thought processes and ways of doing and being differently, to become, fully, the amazing, creative, power-houses that we deserve to be.

If you’d like to begin to work on putting down behaviours that sit in the way, The Shame Workshop is happening next weekend in Battersea, London. 13-15 March.

Spaces are filling up quickly. If you’d like to attend you can find more information on my website via the link in my bio.

carolyncowan.com

The truth is, and it may be hard to believe, we ho

The truth is, and it may be hard to believe, we hold our shame as sacred.

Sacred shame. We hold stories, things said to us, about us, and the believing of terrible things about ourselves, as sacred. We have triggers, often lots of them, that allow us to stay in shame.

We do this because it means to hold a power position. One where we use triggers to hurt others or ourselves. We do, to ourselves, and for ourselves, what was done to us.

The invitation, what we need to put in, simple thought it is, is this... don’t!

If you’re ready to work with this, The Shame Workshop is coming up 13-15 March. It is not an easy experience, and not for everyone, but if you really want to bring some change to how you feel about yourself, your story, what happened to you, and if you would like to have a better understanding of how shame influences your relationships to others, do consider joining me.

In this 3 day workshop talking, lecture, group-work and frank discussion will give us a clear view of how to identify our shame, how we hold shame for others, and how we do, if we have shame, shame others. March 13-15 in Battersea, London.

Details on my website and if you have any questions please do ask.

www.carolyncowan.com

Gently. Can you be gentle? With yourself? If you

Gently. Can you be gentle? With yourself?

If you want to explore creating enough safety to work through your relationship with yourself, do take a look on my website for all I have on offer.

carolyncowan.com

Most of us are more hideous to ourselves than anyo

Most of us are more hideous to ourselves than anyone else has ever been.

Notice what it is that you’re telling yourself.
Do you speak to yourself kindly? Are you gentle with your body? With and in your mind? Is any part of your day slow and considered?

Imagine you’re lying in a relaxation posture at the end of a yoga class and the teacher starts to say ‘begin to breathe more deeply.’

Do you immediately jump? Move? Or can you come back kindly? Gently? Slowly?

Noticing that. It’s important.

We hear a lot about being kind, outwardly. If you want to be able to be kind to those around you, consider it an idea to hold this intention for how you think about yourself, too.

The slow, considered, movement in my classes, along with the invitation to be kind, creates a different energy field.

We often invite the breath to be gentle. Gentle, quiet, soft, which may allow for a new experience of where the breath can take you.

In classes, I invite gentleness in body and breath in the pauses and rests between postures.

Over time, the experience of being gentle with yourself becomes more readily accessible.

It is one of the most transformational aspects of a breath or yoga practise and one we invite you to explore.

#kundaliniyoga

Tomorrow evening, 18 Feb, 18:30-20:00 UK time, I b

Tomorrow evening, 18 Feb, 18:30-20:00 UK time, I being a series of six, 90-minute, classes on ‘The Psychology of Deserving’. These are focused on tools - on yoga and breathwork - but each class will be framed with a short talk/lecture of five to ten minutes at the start, to guide us through a look at how to begin to work with your inner concept of deserving. Deserving calm. Deserving stillness. Deserving rest. Deserving to put your phone down and stop watching reels like this at 10pm on a Tuesday evening.

The classes run over seven weeks. I am away during the third week, so you’ll get a bonus pre-recorded class that week.

All classes are recorded. Every Wednesday evening.

The cost works out around £8 per class.

You do not need experience with yoga or breathwork.

Sense of humour is helpful.

Try out my approach to working with the brain mind and body in the comfort of your own home. In privacy. I don’t watch, adjust, check. I act as a guide. Come early to chat before class. I’d love to see you there.

Register via the Link in my Bio. ‘The Psychology of Deserving’ - understanding changes much.

Starting on Wednesday evening at 18:30-20:00 UK.

Starting on Wednesday evening at 18:30-20:00 UK.

Beautiful Person,

So much of our anxiety, overworking, people-pleasing and self-criticism sits the quiet, painful belief: I don’t deserve.

In this Wednesday evening series, The Psychology of Deserving, we will explore where that belief began and how to loosen its grip.

Deserving isn’t about entitlement.

It’s about not abandoning yourself.

If you find it easier to give than to receive,
rest feels uncomfortable or love feels conditional…

This is for you.

Wednesdays on Zoom.

With love,
Carolyn x

Starting Tomorrow Morning Beautiful People £24,

Starting Tomorrow Morning Beautiful People

£24, or £4 per live class. This series actually runs over seven week, with a bonus pre-recorded class on week three. You have access to recording for an additional 4 weeks after the series ends.

Half an hour of strong breathwork to begin the week right.

What could be finer? No experience needed.

Book via the link in my bio or at carolyncowan.com

#breathwork

Kundalini Rising, 1 hour Yoga Classes on Tuesdays:

Kundalini Rising, 1 hour Yoga Classes on Tuesdays: 17th, 24th of February and the 3rd, 10th, 17th 24th and 31st of March 2026  09:00 – 10:00 UK, via Zoom and Now Recorded for Catch Up

A series of six, strong, 60-minute, Kundalini Global yoga classes that play with the power of presence. My long-standing Tuesday morning class is now one hour long and booked in blocks of six. By popular demand, it will also be recorded.

Whilst I describe these hour-long classes as ‘strong’, there is a gentleness in their intention.

When I teach yoga online, globally, even though we can’t touch, we make extraordinary change via how the group energy has a butterfly effect.

We work hard in the class (though we laugh, experience stillness, do all kinds of things). Afterwards, each of us disperse from the class and move back out into our lives. We do so feeling and behaving differently. Being present.

Remember, beautiful person, your mat is a magical space.

When we can become still and present we’re capable of incredible transformation.

These 60-minute, classes will include breathwork, and a yoga series that is framed around an intention for each class. We will play with the Kundalini, we will create our own change.

Tuesday classes are now recorded, available via Vimeo until four weeks after the classes end. A new series will begin every six weeks. You can sign up at any time.

You do not need any previous experience with Kundalini Global, Kundalini Yoga, or indeed yoga, at all.

Classes are open to all levels of ability. Please note: the class on Tuesday 3rd March will be pre-recorded, as I’ll be away that week. This means you’ll receive seven classes for the price of six.

#kundaliniyoga

Strong Breath, Clear Mind Monday Morning Breathwo

Strong Breath, Clear Mind

Monday Morning Breathwork 6:00–6:30am UK time, via Zoom & Recorded

16th, 23rd of February and the 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th March

Join me for a new series of early-morning breathwork classes designed use strong breathwork to clear the mind.

The way we breathe shapes the way we think, feel, and move through the world. When the breath is shallow, rushed, or constricted, the mind follows. When the breath is strong, steady, and intentional, clarity begins to emerge.

In these seven 30-minute sessions, we’ll work with a range of breath practices that build capacity, resilience, and focus. Some breaths will be energising, some grounding, some deeply settling, all are designed to support a calmer nervous system and a clearer internal landscape.

Just £4 per live class (less if we include the bonus class this time!) What could be finer?

Register on my website

carolyncowan.com

#breathwork #pranayama

If you are new to me, to yoga, to Kundalini… my Tu

If you are new to me, to yoga, to Kundalini… my Tuesday morning classes are a great place to start.

A new series begins on Tuesday. This time the classes run over seven weeks.

Classes include Kundalini yoga and breathwork. They run for one hour on Zoom from 9-10am UK time. They are recorded.

You do not need any experience with yoga.

The practice is strong but steady. It will change how you feel.

Step out of the pain of the past and fear of the future and be right here, right now.

You will not be watched, compared, corrected. The practice is all about building self-awareness and being grounded in your body. I join classes early so you can chat before we begin.

If you have any questions please do ask.

The link to register is in my bio. Tuesdays run in blocks of six and cost £42 for the series. That’s his £7 per class. This time, the series runs over seven because I am away for one week. This means you get a free bonus class that will be pre-recorded on week three.

The recordings of each live class are uploaded into a Vimeo showcase, accessible only to those signed up, where you can catch up on missed classes, or so classes again, both over the seven weeks and for an additional month after the series ends.

If you’re curious about my teaching, about accessible yoga, about breathwork, about Kundalini… join me.

#kundaliniyoga

The Psychology of Deserving 18th, 25th of February

The Psychology of Deserving 18th, 25th of February, the 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th of March and an extra class on the 1st April 2026

Six evening classes: Yoga, Breathwork & Lecture
18:30–20:00 UK time, via Zoom & Recorded

Join me for a series of evening classes exploring the psychology of deserving. We will look at why so many of us struggle with it, how it forms, and how it quietly shapes our choices, relationships, and sense of self.

Deserving sits at the very heart of our inner lives. It influences what we allow ourselves to receive, how visible we feel permitted to be, how much rest, pleasure, success, or care we unconsciously believe we are entitled to. For many people, a lack of deserving isn’t loud or dramatic. It can. be subtle, woven into patterns of self-denial, over-giving, anxiety, shame, or exhaustion.

Across these six 90-minute classes, we’ll explore how ideas of deserving are formed through early experience, trauma, attachment, and social conditioning, and how they are held not just in the mind, but in the body. Each class begins with a short lecture, followed by breathwork and a yoga series designed to gently challenge internalised beliefs and support the nervous system in receiving something different.

This is not about positive thinking or forcing new narratives. It’s about understanding the systems that learned you must earn, you must be good, you must be less, the ‘shoulds’ we carry, and offering them a new experience of safety, permission, and support.

Yoga and breathwork become practical tools for this exploration, softening habitual contraction, building tolerance for rest and pleasure, and creating space for a more compassionate relationship with yourself.

Find the link to book in my bio. £50 for seven, 90-minute, classes. Plus access to recordings for a total of 11 weeks.

#traumatherapist #kundaliniyoga #breathwork

The work I do, in therapy, breathwork, yoga, and w

The work I do, in therapy, breathwork, yoga, and workshops, is about guiding people out of the pain of the past and the fear of the future, and back into calm, presence, and the body.

Go to my website to learn more

carolyncowan.com

#therapistofinstagram #yogateacher #breathworkfacilitator

Today is my birthday. I feel extremely grateful fo

Today is my birthday. I feel extremely grateful for the life I have built.

Gratitude is the opposite of anxiety.

If you would like to be softer and more present in your life, in any moment, you could consider working with gratitude.

A good place to start is to go to bed overnight and do your best to fall asleep smiling.

Make gratitude a manageable process.

Start small. See what it does.

The universe is amazing. Nature is amazing all the time. Around us. Notice. If you don’t know how to tell the universe how amazing she is, learn to. Say thank you.

The universe puts on displays, 24/7, for you. The universe does not stop making the most glorious ways for you to love her. And to be grateful.

#gratitude

The truth is, and it may be hard to believe, we ho

The truth is, and it may be hard to believe, we hold our shame as sacred.

Sacred shame. We hold stories, things said to us, about us, and the believing of terrible things about ourselves, as sacred. We have triggers, often lots of them, that allow us to stay in shame.

We do this because it means to hold a power position. One where we use triggers to hurt others or ourselves. We do, to ourselves, and for ourselves, what was done to us.

The invitation, what we need to put in, simple thought it is, is this... don’t!

If you’re ready to work with this, The Shame Workshop is coming up in March. It is not an easy experience, and not for everyone, but if you really want to bring some change to how you feel about yourself, your story, what happened to you, and if you would like to have a better understanding of how shame influences your relationships to others, do consider joining me.

In this 3 day workshop talking, lecture, group-work and frank discussion will give us a clear view of how to identify our shame, how we hold shame for others, and how we do, if we have shame, shame others. March 13-15 in Battersea, London.

Details on my website:

carolyncowan.com

Strong Breath, Clear Mind Monday Morning Breathwo

Strong Breath, Clear Mind

Monday Morning Breathwork 6:00–6:30am UK time, via Zoom & Recorded

16th, 23rd of February and the 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th March

Join me for a new series of early-morning breathwork classes designed use strong breathwork to clear the mind.

The way we breathe shapes the way we think, feel, and move through the world. When the breath is shallow, rushed, or constricted, the mind follows. When the breath is strong, steady, and intentional, clarity begins to emerge.

In these seven 30-minute sessions, we’ll work with a range of breath practices that build capacity, resilience, and focus. Some breaths will be energising, some grounding, some deeply settling, all are designed to support a calmer nervous system and a clearer internal landscape.

A strong breath doesn’t mean forcing or pushing. It means learning how to meet the breath fully, how to use it intelligently, and how to allow it to support you mentally, emotionally, and physically. From that place, clarity becomes much more accessible.

Each Monday morning class offers a gentle but powerful reset for the week ahead. You’re welcome exactly as you are, if you’re sleepy, quiet, wrapped in a blanket, pyjamas encouraged.

Book your place for just £4 per class

www.carolyncowan.com

The Psychology of Deserving 18th, 25th of February

The Psychology of Deserving 18th, 25th of February, the 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th of March and an extra class on the 1st April 2026

Six evening classes: Yoga, Breathwork & Lecture
18:30–20:00 UK time, via Zoom & Recorded

Join me for a series of evening classes exploring the psychology of deserving. We will look at why so many of us struggle with it, how it forms, and how it quietly shapes our choices, relationships, and sense of self.

Deserving sits at the very heart of our inner lives. It influences what we allow ourselves to receive, how visible we feel permitted to be, how much rest, pleasure, success, or care we unconsciously believe we are entitled to. For many people, a lack of deserving isn’t loud or dramatic. It can. be subtle, woven into patterns of self-denial, over-giving, anxiety, shame, or exhaustion.

Across these six 90-minute classes, we’ll explore how ideas of deserving are formed through early experience, trauma, attachment, and social conditioning, and how they are held not just in the mind, but in the body. Each class begins with a short lecture, followed by breathwork and a yoga series designed to gently challenge internalised beliefs and support the nervous system in receiving something different.

Register in my website:

www.carolyncowan.com

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