198 How To Optimize Happy, Healthy and Successful In Your Life Through Kundalini Yoga With Kara Nicole Bitar
Kara Nicole Bitar is a Kundalini Yoga teacher and a Performance Coach.
She helps her clients become the happiest, healthiest, and most successful versions. She earned her Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Legal and worked at one of the region’s largest law firms in high-stakes corporate litigation. She combines the dedication and focuses required to become a successful attorney with extensive research, experience, and training on making the most of our lives.
Since she was a little girl, Kara has always wanted to be a lawyer. She received a full scholarship to law school and graduated with honors. She worked for some of the country’s largest law firms, managing business litigation and domestic violence cases.
On the surface, Kara appears to have everything under control. Her life was one that everyone wished for, as was the renown and respect she garnered from her substantial legal work. Despite all of this, she was unhappy and felt she lacked the strength and motivation to continue living, despite her many pleasures and benefits.
We establish higher standards for ourselves in terms of degrees or acquired riches in our job but lesser standards for how we feel. We are continually under the impression that once we earn that promotion, buy that dazzling product, or do anything, we will be pleased. We have unconsciously linked our happiness to these things, and when we obtain them and the emotion is not fulfilled, we are saddened and disappointed.
Kara is becoming increasingly miserable as she realizes that being a lawyer is all she ever wanted to do. A part of her believes there is more to life than this. As a result, her body responded to all of the extra stress from her constant adrenaline rush. She devoted her time and energy to genuinely discovering life’s meaning.
Kara conducted her study and experimented with various physical activities, including saunas, floats, colonics, and cleanses. She experimented with many modalities to figure out why certain practices work. She didn’t rule out any possibilities of discovering the genuine meaning, even if they seemed strange.
Kara’s story is an excellent example of how our expectations of what we want in life may not always be the best place to find pleasure. It’s tempting to equate satisfaction with wealth, power, or prestige, but these are fleeting and replaceable things. What happiness means to you depends on your perspective and your fulfillment from making good decisions and serving others.
Episode 198 of The Beyond Adversity Podcast is a must-listen for anyone who feels like happiness can have when you acquire something of value. We must remember that joy and contentment aren’t gage with how much or how many you have; it’s the people’s lives and the values you resonate with.
“The Beyond Adversity Podcast with Dr. Brad Miller is published weekly with the mission of helping people “Grow Through What They Go Through” as they navigate adversity and discover their promised life of peace, prosperity, and purpose.
Website: https://www.karanicolebitar.com/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-nicole-bitar-aa635a21b
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karanicole.bitar.7
Transcript
That's why today we have an optimization coach and yoga teacher with us. Her name is Kara Nicole Bitar.
Dr. Brad Miller:But she comes from a background as of a, of a in the legal world as a as a lawyer, and where she
Dr. Brad Miller:was involved with the corporate world. And she made some decisions to change the things in her
Dr. Brad Miller:life, and now is involved with helping you to optimize your life and with yoga. Kara, welcome to
Dr. Brad Miller:Beyond adversity.
Kara Nicole Bitar:Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here.
Dr. Brad Miller:You, it is a pleasure to have you with us today here on Beyond adversity. And the way we like to
Dr. Brad Miller:talk about things here Kara is we really like to hear, we know you have a lot to offer to other folks
Dr. Brad Miller:through your coaching and through your teaching and through being an advocate for yoga. But
Dr. Brad Miller:we know that there is a almost everybody has a story to tell about something that caused them to
Dr. Brad Miller:make some pivots in their life. So tell us a bit about where you were in life. And not too long ago,
Dr. Brad Miller:when you decided to make a pivot? What kind of situation did you find yourself in? And what kind
Dr. Brad Miller:of adversity did you face?
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah, so I was, as you said, Before, I was a corporate litigator, I worked for one of the largest law
Kara Nicole Bitar:firms in the southeast. And just to give a little bit more background. So since I was in probably fifth
Kara Nicole Bitar:grade, I planned on becoming an attorney. This was Michael and I worked very hard to this end, I
Kara Nicole Bitar:graduated highest honors in high school. And then I graduated summa cum laude from college.
Kara Nicole Bitar:And then I went on to Duke law on a scholarship and I published while I was at Duke, I also
Kara Nicole Bitar:published as a when I was an undergrad in college. And then I was recruited by and I went on to
Kara Nicole Bitar:work for, again, what I said one of the largest law firms in the southeast doing corporate litigation.
Kara Nicole Bitar:And in addition to the litigation work that I did for our clients, I also did a lot of pro bono work for
Kara Nicole Bitar:victims of domestic violence. And I was eventually named the head of that pro bono project at our
Kara Nicole Bitar:firm, which was a relatively large project. And so I'm in this job. And on paper, my life looked
Kara Nicole Bitar:perfect. It looked like I had everything that I had worked for, everything that for. And on top of
Kara Nicole Bitar:that, it was like I had this kind of like prestigious job, I was making a lot of money. And I was, I felt
Kara Nicole Bitar:very respected and appreciated by my colleagues. And I was doing legal work that would be
Kara Nicole Bitar:considered significant legal work. And I also had, like the beautiful house in the city and the
Kara Nicole Bitar:beautiful wardrobe. And you know, when I had time, I got to go on nice vacations. And so, you
Kara Nicole Bitar:know, my life really did look perfect. But despite this, I was, I would say, deeply unhappy. deeply
Kara Nicole Bitar:unhappy to the point that it was just like, I really did hope I didn't wake up in the morning. And it
Kara Nicole Bitar:was like, it was such a confusing thing for me. Because I had everything that I thought I wanted. I
Kara Nicole Bitar:had everything that I had worked so hard for I had everything that I had planned for. I had
Kara Nicole Bitar:everything that I had been told, were the things that were going to like, make you happy, were
Kara Nicole Bitar:going to fulfill you. And so it was confusing for me, like how can I have all of these things like I
Kara Nicole Bitar:should be happy, I should feel good about my life. I should feel good about myself. But I didn't.
Dr. Brad Miller:So you had this big tension between the outer appearances, corporate ladder and so on so forth,
Dr. Brad Miller:and your career going well, but the inner life was messed up. Is that fair?
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah, that's fair. I mean, it was like on the outside, I think I looked to like I had it all together. And I
Kara Nicole Bitar:think people would have been surprised to know and I think people weren't, quite frankly
Kara Nicole Bitar:surprised, because I did end up leaving this job. They would have been surprised that I was so
Kara Nicole Bitar:unhappy that I was so unfilled, unfulfilled, and it was just like, I had all of this stuff, but there was
Kara Nicole Bitar:this part of me that was like, this is all that life is it felt so it felt empty to me. And it felt
Kara Nicole Bitar:meaningless, even though I was doing this work that was, you know, significant. And even though
Kara Nicole Bitar:like with the work with the victims of domestic violence, they were so appreciative of what I did,
Kara Nicole Bitar:but it was like, you know, they'd be appreciative of what I did, or like, we'd win a big case and I'd
Kara Nicole Bitar:have this like, moment of like, Oh, that felt good, but then it just you know, that The vast, back to
Kara Nicole Bitar:the back to the grind. It was just like, but that was just this a momentary and it was just like, well,
Kara Nicole Bitar:you know, is this what life is you have these these moments of joy maybe when something like
Kara Nicole Bitar:that happens or maybe when you go on vacation? But that's it, you know? And like, is that all that
Kara Nicole Bitar:life is? And so I just it was confusing to me. And I kept trying to make it work. Like I kept trying to
Kara Nicole Bitar:make myself happy in this job, I kept trying to make myself feel good. And you know, there was
Kara Nicole Bitar:this part of me that was like, well, once you make partner, then like, then you'll be happy, you
Kara Nicole Bitar:know, but, you know, the thing was, is I saw my, my colleagues make partner and their lives didn't
Kara Nicole Bitar:really seem to change that much. And also, too, I had done that too many times. Like, I didn't
Kara Nicole Bitar:really like law school that Well, I didn't really like college that well. But it was just like, it was just
Kara Nicole Bitar:there was this constant like, but it's okay. Because once I get to that thing, then I mean, like, once I
Kara Nicole Bitar:get that job, once I become that attorney, then then I'll be happy, then I'll be fulfilled, then I'll feel
Kara Nicole Bitar:like I have a sense of like, worth and value. And when that didn't happen. It was just like I Yeah, it
Kara Nicole Bitar:was like I was to the point where I was like, I don't think this next thing of making partner, that's
Kara Nicole Bitar:not going to be the answer.
Dr. Brad Miller:So like, you also seem to think that you noticed you became a notice or of what other people were
Dr. Brad Miller:experiencing, which was, you just helped me out here, tell me if I'm wrong affirm, right, that other
Dr. Brad Miller:people were not nearly as quite as fulfilled in what they were doing as you thought maybe they
Dr. Brad Miller:would be or where you might end up going be a partner, for instance, they weren't quite as
Dr. Brad Miller:fulfilled, either. And therefore, you know, kind of case for us, or is that is that all there is here? You
Dr. Brad Miller:know? And am I right at all that you saw evidence and others about this,
Kara Nicole Bitar:where you did? Guess you're correct, I saw evidence and others, I didn't see it in everybody. Now
Kara Nicole Bitar:there were some people who really thrived in that job and who felt I think you felt very fulfilled by
Kara Nicole Bitar:the life they were living. And I, I always want few people, because I felt so good around them. But
Kara Nicole Bitar:it was so interesting to me to like I saw in others though, it was like, we set this really high bar for
Kara Nicole Bitar:ourselves of like the degrees that we were going to have, do you know what I mean? That's the
Kara Nicole Bitar:kind of that that kind of success that we're gonna have. But then I felt like we set this really low
Kara Nicole Bitar:bar for ourselves in terms of how we actually felt. So for instance, when I was speaking with one of
Kara Nicole Bitar:my colleagues, I mean, this was an individual who went to Harvard. I mean, he was highly
Kara Nicole Bitar:educated, he had worked for a big law firm in New York City. So just really kind of top notch, top
Kara Nicole Bitar:of his game, really, in terms of like, being a lawyer. And I remember talking to him, and I just said,
Kara Nicole Bitar:so are you. Like, are you excited to get up in the morning? Like, do you feel energized by life? Do
Kara Nicole Bitar:you feel like passionate about what you're doing? And he was just like, No, it's like, but, but this is
Kara Nicole Bitar:what life is. Yeah. And we haven't good because we make a lot of a good job. And so so now I'm
Kara Nicole Bitar:not really I'm not really excited by life, I can't wait to get a break. I can't wait to go on vacation.
Kara Nicole Bitar:But like this is just just kind of accept it. Like this is just what life is. And that's just like that, that
Kara Nicole Bitar:just like it's like sucks the life out of me. Like, no, there has to be more,
Dr. Brad Miller:let's talk about that has to be more because a lot of people have that point of kind of
Dr. Brad Miller:understanding, hey, I'm not really happy, or I'm miserable. But this is the way it is, you know, I
Dr. Brad Miller:gotta suck it up is what I hear people say sometimes, especially from my generation, you know,
Dr. Brad Miller:just suck it up and get after it. This is what you got to do. And yet for you, it became not enough.
Dr. Brad Miller:And I think there's a you know, a lot of folks in this era, last couple of years of COVID or, you know,
Dr. Brad Miller:the great resignation, you probably have heard that term people leaving whatever they were
Dr. Brad Miller:doing, it was not satisfying in order to do something else. But, you know, apparently you've had
Dr. Brad Miller:this moment, there must have been a moment somewhere, Cara, where you said, okay, you know,
Dr. Brad Miller:this is not going to do I must make a change. So tell me about that moment, or that series of
Dr. Brad Miller:moments?
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah, I think it was a series of moments. It was like, I just I kept staying in that job. And I kept just
Kara Nicole Bitar:getting more and more unhappy. Like I'd go home at night and just like, go for a walk in the dark
Kara Nicole Bitar:by myself and just be like, oh my goodness, like is this this can't be life. Right? You know, come
Kara Nicole Bitar:home at night, like lay on the floor and cry, but I knew I knew at a certain point that didn't do any
Kara Nicole Bitar:good. Yeah, I mean, so it was actually a series of moments and the thing was it that job, but it
Kara Nicole Bitar:really took me a while. So I really kind of kept myself in a state of unhappiness, trying to make this
Kara Nicole Bitar:work just like no, this has to work. And also Ted worked my whole life for it. So it's just like, part of
Kara Nicole Bitar:me is just like, No, I should be happy. And also, I've worked my whole life for this, like this should,
Kara Nicole Bitar:this needs to work out for me. And so I had a lot of moments where I just, I felt like something had
Kara Nicole Bitar:had to change. But then it was like, it was a conflict, there was this, I didn't have this great mental
Kara Nicole Bitar:clarity that, you know, because then part of me was like, Well, what's gonna change I have
Kara Nicole Bitar:everything changed. I mean, and if I leave this on, then I'll have nothing. And so
Dr. Brad Miller:you got to take a leap of faith into the great unknown, which includes uncertainty. Whatever is
Dr. Brad Miller:next is not very, very certain. But you did it, you did it. So tell me about the actual transition point,
Dr. Brad Miller:tell me about when you actually went into tell whoever the you know, the head of your firm or
Dr. Brad Miller:whatever it would be that okay, this is it. And then you also had to share this news with other
Dr. Brad Miller:people in your life, family or friends, colleagues, whatever, there's got to be some tension, there's
Dr. Brad Miller:got to be some momentary get let's, let's go there, Kara, you know what I'm talking about.
Kara Nicole Bitar:So I finally made the decision that I was going to leave that job. And like I said, it took me years to
Kara Nicole Bitar:get up the courage to do this. And I remember sitting in my office thinking, like, because I had
Kara Nicole Bitar:made a meeting with the partner that I was supposed to talk to. And I was just thinking, like, I
Kara Nicole Bitar:can't do this. And I remember, I remember like walking down the hall, if it felt out of body, like, This
Kara Nicole Bitar:is the craziest thing I've ever done in my life. And here's the thing, too, this is what made it I think,
Kara Nicole Bitar:really challenging for me. And this is something that I did, I don't know if anyone at that firm has
Kara Nicole Bitar:ever done this, which is what I decided to do was just to leave without any sort of plan as to what I
Kara Nicole Bitar:would do next. So working at a big firm like that, having the resume that I had, if I wanted another
Kara Nicole Bitar:job, the firm would have helped me get one, because they're so well connected. You know, if I
Kara Nicole Bitar:wanted another job, I could have gotten one just even without their help based on my resume. But
Kara Nicole Bitar:there was this part of me that was like, if I do that, it's going to be different faces different places,
Kara Nicole Bitar:but I'm going to feel the same. Yeah, so
Dr. Brad Miller:just kind of movie location or moving circles. Yeah, but not actual, changing the what needs to be
Dr. Brad Miller:changed, which had to do with how you felt because you mentioned earlier how you were at the
Dr. Brad Miller:end of your rope, you know, you were Bill desperate, you even mentioned some things about how
Dr. Brad Miller:you just felt you know, meaning less pneus in your life. So what do you do, then? What was what
Dr. Brad Miller:happened in so what did you start? When did you start to transition from this leap of faith here to
Dr. Brad Miller:something else?
Kara Nicole Bitar:Right, so I left my job. And then after I left my job, so again, I wasn't like this confused state. It's
Kara Nicole Bitar:not like I had this great mental clarity, like part of me was like, if I leave my job, oh, my goodness,
Kara Nicole Bitar:I'm not gonna know what to do. I'm not gonna have anything to do. And then there was other part
Kara Nicole Bitar:of me, that's like, give me two weeks away from this high stress, high pressure job, you know, and
Kara Nicole Bitar:I'll figure something out. So what ended up happening was after I left that job, it was like, this, the
Kara Nicole Bitar:stress and the adrenaline kind of like this that went away. And it was like I completely crashed. I
Kara Nicole Bitar:went from being able to operate at this really high level, to feeling like I couldn't drive somewhere.
Kara Nicole Bitar:It was like, everything in my body started to ache. I just felt terrible. And I eventually realized, like,
Kara Nicole Bitar:oh, well, I had been operating on adrenaline, I hadn't been operating from a place of like just
Kara Nicole Bitar:being energized by myself. And by life. And by what I was doing, I was just operating based on
Kara Nicole Bitar:stress. And so my body was in a really bad state. And the other thing that happened, and so that,
Kara Nicole Bitar:that surprised me, quite frankly, because I had really tried to take very good care of myself. I knew
Kara Nicole Bitar:I was working. I knew I had a high pressure job, but I still tried to take care of myself. But the thing
Kara Nicole Bitar:that surprised me more that happened after I left that job was you would think that having done
Kara Nicole Bitar:everything that I did, having the resume that I had haven't gone to Duke having worked for this
Kara Nicole Bitar:firm, even though I decided to leave that I would still have some sense of value, some sense of
Kara Nicole Bitar:worthiness, like okay, I'm not doing this now, but I did it. But what ended up happening was it was
Kara Nicole Bitar:like every shred of kind of self worth or value that I had it just like it When I with it, I felt
Kara Nicole Bitar:completely an utterly worthless, I felt completely and utterly like, just like I had no value. And it
Kara Nicole Bitar:was such a terrible feeling. And I think I've felt that actually, I've felt that way for a long time. But
Kara Nicole Bitar:it's like, I didn't fully realize it because I kept kind of, I just kept going, Well, I'm gonna do this thing,
Kara Nicole Bitar:and I'm gonna do this thing, and I'm gonna do this thing. And then I did it, and then I had it. And
Kara Nicole Bitar:so when those two things happened with my health, and with how I felt about myself, what I did
Kara Nicole Bitar:was I made the decision I'm going to give, every single thing I have, I'm going to make it my full
Kara Nicole Bitar:time job, I'm going to give all my resources all my time and all my energy to finding answers to
Kara Nicole Bitar:finding how can I heal my body? And to finding, you know, can we have a different experience of
Kara Nicole Bitar:this life? Is there a different experience for us to have? And so that's what I did. So you
Dr. Brad Miller:really focus, here's the pivot here, I wanted to get with your camera, you started to pivot away
Dr. Brad Miller:from external expectations to a physical health and a mental spiritual health focus in that
Dr. Brad Miller:transition was a tough one, it may even meant that you had to go through, you know, some real
Dr. Brad Miller:physical and emotional manifestations of that. So let's go here, where's what I want? What I want
Dr. Brad Miller:to kind of focus in zero in with you now, when you'd made that decision to do that, what were
Dr. Brad Miller:some of the things that you actually did? What did you do? I'm, I'm after actions. That's what I
Dr. Brad Miller:want to do to help my audience. What are some actions that you took?
Kara Nicole Bitar:So what I did was I researched and I experimented. So I looked for, okay, you know, what are the
Kara Nicole Bitar:different things out there that can improve my health and so I tried different physical things like
Kara Nicole Bitar:saunas and floats and colonics and cleanses. I trained in a number of different modalities, like I
Kara Nicole Bitar:became a Reiki Master, I became a Theta Healing practitioner, I trained in something called
Kara Nicole Bitar:they say they work, and I really want to learn, I want to go in depth with them. That's why I didn't
Kara Nicole Bitar:Splunk. NASS like, I went into kind of these different modalities to see like, okay, you know, why do
Kara Nicole Bitar:just, I really, like I got certified in them. I went and saw a number of different healers. So, and I
Kara Nicole Bitar:really didn't, I didn't limit. So when it came to me trying these things, what I was after was results.
Kara Nicole Bitar:So even if something seemed kind of different, or out there, I would try it. If I thought it potentially
Kara Nicole Bitar:could give me a result. And so, you know, whether it was like a shaman and kind of dancing
Kara Nicole Bitar:around me with, you know, instruments, whatever it was, like, I really, I was like, I want a result.
Kara Nicole Bitar:That's what I'm after. And eventually,
Dr. Brad Miller:you still took it away, helped me out and see if I'm right or wrong here. Because it could take a
Dr. Brad Miller:little bit of your legal training some of that process that a legal mind has to have, and you played
Dr. Brad Miller:it to this problem in your life, that you were after results. You weren't just after the experience only.
Dr. Brad Miller:You're after results.
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah. 100%. And I used, you know, part of a large part of what I did as an attorney was I
Kara Nicole Bitar:researched and I looked for, you know, solutions to problems for our clients. Like that's what I did.
Kara Nicole Bitar:And so I took those trainings, I took the skills, and I did the same thing. And I was really meticulous
Kara Nicole Bitar:with what I did. So even though like I did try a lot of things, I was meticulous and how I chose
Kara Nicole Bitar:them. And I didn't just jump around like I wouldn't like I didn't just train in level one Reiki, like I
Kara Nicole Bitar:became a Reiki Master like I really,
Dr. Brad Miller:you mentioned, you were certified and or whatever the process was in several of these modes.
Dr. Brad Miller:Yeah, that correct?
Kara Nicole Bitar:Absolutely. And then I would like I worked in a Reiki clinic for a while. And I, I taught myself how to
Kara Nicole Bitar:do things like create flower remedies, which is like it's an interesting thing. I taught myself how to
Kara Nicole Bitar:do human design reading. So like some things I would go train some things I would teach myself
Kara Nicole Bitar:and I was trying everything on myself. Sometimes it would be I try it on other people. But again, I
Kara Nicole Bitar:was very focused on I, you know, I wanted a tangible result. Like I wanted to feel different about
Kara Nicole Bitar:myself, I want my body to feel different. I wanted it to be healthy. So So yeah, so that's what I did.
Kara Nicole Bitar:Well, how did you arrive then?
Dr. Brad Miller:It's, I know that a big part of what you're about is yoga, a particular form of yoga. And then you
Dr. Brad Miller:also are an optimal life coach. How did you kind of navigate through all these different at your
Dr. Brad Miller:experimentation stage, if you will, to arrive to kind of a place it worked for you?
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah, so what happened was after a year and a half of doing this, so a year and a half of making
Kara Nicole Bitar:this my full time job and when I say I made it my full time job like I made it my full time job. I
Kara Nicole Bitar:wasn't messing around. This is what I was doing. So after a year and a half, I would say I was in
Kara Nicole Bitar:worse health than I wasn't, I was working. And I felt worse mentally and emotionally. And so this
Kara Nicole Bitar:was after trying all of these different things. And basically, in my experience them, they didn't work
Kara Nicole Bitar:for me. And it was one of the darkest moments of my life. So to think that, like, I had dark
Kara Nicole Bitar:moments when I was working, that was really nothing compared to this, because this, this was
Kara Nicole Bitar:kind of the moment where I was like, Oh, my goodness, what I'm searching for doesn't exist. And
Kara Nicole Bitar:so like, when I was working, there was always this little part of me that was like, you know, it exists.
Kara Nicole Bitar:You just haven't truly tried to find it yet. You know, I mean, but now after doing all of this, it had to
Kara Nicole Bitar:be a dark place. It was a dark place. Yeah. And so, so yeah, so that's where I was after a year and
Kara Nicole Bitar:a half.
Dr. Brad Miller:So you still kept searching. And then you had to go to sounds to be even had to go to a deeper
Dr. Brad Miller:place even beyond where you're at. Is that fair?
Kara Nicole Bitar:I think that's fair. And so when I kind of hit that point, it was like, Okay, I'm not that far removed
Kara Nicole Bitar:from practicing law, I can go back, like, I can go back and practice law again. But there was this
Kara Nicole Bitar:part of me that was just like, keep going. So one day I, I put on a kundalini yoga class, I did not
Kara Nicole Bitar:know what Kundalini yoga was. I had done yoga for years, but I had not heard of or tried
Kara Nicole Bitar:Kundalini yoga. And so I took a kundalini yoga class, and after that class, I felt different. And so it
Kara Nicole Bitar:was like a, it was a palpable and noticeable difference. And so I kept taking Kundalini yoga
Kara Nicole Bitar:classes. And the more I took them, the better I felt, and I really committed to taking these classes.
Kara Nicole Bitar:And the more I took them, it was like, the aches and the pains in my body started to go away. And
Kara Nicole Bitar:I started to feel more energized, I started to feel more inspired. And I started to have these, like
Kara Nicole Bitar:these kind of these inklings of this worthiness and value that was internal to me, that was not
Kara Nicole Bitar:something that I was external to me that I was doing. And so
Dr. Brad Miller:you said something to the effect of that. Kundalini Yoga has helped you tap into your superpower.
Dr. Brad Miller:Say a little bit more about that. And help us define for those of us who just don't know, kind of
Dr. Brad Miller:what, you know, a lot of us are familiar with yoga in one form or another, but Kundalini yoga.
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah, yeah. So what Kundalini Yoga is ultimately doing is it's really tapping you into you, and to
Kara Nicole Bitar:the power that you hold into the magnificence that you are into the knowing and the intelligence
Kara Nicole Bitar:that you hold. That's what Kundalini Yoga is, ultimately about. And how it does that is because
Kara Nicole Bitar:we're dynamic and complex beings. I mean, we, you know, we're in a physical body. But we're not
Kara Nicole Bitar:just our physical body. What it does is it addresses all parts of our beingness. So it addresses the
Kara Nicole Bitar:particular works on critical systems of the physical body, like the nervous system and the
Kara Nicole Bitar:glandular system, the circulatory system, the immune system. It also works on the mind to help
Kara Nicole Bitar:one control and direct their mind. It works on an emotional level. So it helps you get rid of and
Kara Nicole Bitar:release suppressed emotions and deal with current emotions. It works on an energetic level. So if
Kara Nicole Bitar:we look at like the, you know, different traditions have different ways of understanding the body.
Kara Nicole Bitar:And so when we look at like the chakra system, and kind of from an energetic level, it's it's working
Kara Nicole Bitar:on that energetic level. And it's doing this through using postures and poses, which you know,
Kara Nicole Bitar:postures and poses are pretty commonly used in yoga. It also uses a lot of different breathing
Kara Nicole Bitar:techniques. It uses sound current, so it uses from it takes from the science of sound and uses
Kara Nicole Bitar:mantras. It uses hand position. So the hands are connected to different parts of the brain. It uses
Kara Nicole Bitar:AI positions, again, which are impacting different parts of the brain. It uses meditation, and it uses
Kara Nicole Bitar:relaxation, it uses all of these things to create a result and it uses all of these things to really work
Kara Nicole Bitar:all parts of us really treating us as the dynamic and complex beings that that we are
Dr. Brad Miller:physical, even metaphysical go are integrated here that this process here and tell me a little bit.
Dr. Brad Miller:I'm just big, big believer that we do have to make a connection between the actions that we take
Dr. Brad Miller:our physical part, if you will, and the aspect of healing part of a some sort of a connection with a
Dr. Brad Miller:higher power, a spiritual plane, something of this nature, I believe, for people to have true
Dr. Brad Miller:transformation, they have to have some form of that and to me But about that transformation for
Dr. Brad Miller:you, you know, the search for meaningfulness had a spiritual element, you've already described it
Dr. Brad Miller:in many ways, but go just a little bit deeper on that.
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah. So for me, it was it, what really it came down to was an understanding of who I was, it was
Kara Nicole Bitar:an understanding of the knowing the intelligence, the infinite creativity that I held within myself.
Kara Nicole Bitar:So it's like, we tend to see ourselves as these very limited beings, like I'm this physical body, I'm this
Kara Nicole Bitar:limited person, there's so much more to us and what is available for us to tap into and to
Kara Nicole Bitar:experience. And so you know, however, people want to kind of see it, they can either see it as like,
Kara Nicole Bitar:you know, your you can tap into infiniteness, you can tap into Infinite Intelligence and to infinite
Kara Nicole Bitar:creativity. Or it's almost like you hold that within yourself, and it's a matter of you expressing and
Kara Nicole Bitar:experiencing that. And it's like we, in many instances, we're not expressing and experiencing that,
Kara Nicole Bitar:because it's like, we're living from a false sense of who we are, we're living, we're living from these
Kara Nicole Bitar:beliefs that were like these very limited beings that come from a state of like, deficiency and lack
Kara Nicole Bitar:and powerlessness. And so it was, for me, really an understanding and a shift in, like, who am I?
Kara Nicole Bitar:What am I capable of? You know, what is actually, what am I? You know what I mean? And so,
Kara Nicole Bitar:yeah,
Dr. Brad Miller:well, let's shift down. You know, I'm also a believer that when we make the shifts here, if we're
Dr. Brad Miller:going to transform if we're going to go from, you know, being stuck in our adversity, whatever is
Dr. Brad Miller:the job, you couldn't stand, you know, the, the dark places to a place now, you're obviously young
Dr. Brad Miller:with a lot of energy in life and lighting, some great things to offer other people. But some of that
Dr. Brad Miller:has to do with how you change your life in terms of your habits, your your mental approaches to
Dr. Brad Miller:things you mentioned, in the legal profession, you had a very intense, adrenaline filled lifestyle.
Dr. Brad Miller:And I'm sure that it had all kinds of, you know, manifestations of that, tell us a little bit right now
Dr. Brad Miller:about some of the habits or disciplines or practices that you have now, especially in contrast to
Dr. Brad Miller:what you had before.
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah. So. So my, my focus is on me, understanding the truth of who I am me, knowing me, me
Kara Nicole Bitar:expressing me and me understanding truth, generally, generally, like, that is my absolute priority.
Kara Nicole Bitar:That is what I care about more than anything. And so, really, the discipline for me is like, no matter
Kara Nicole Bitar:what situation arises, I'm not so caught up. Like, it's like, I have to kind of take a step back, like, I
Kara Nicole Bitar:don't get caught up in the actual situation. The question for me is always like, am I expressing the
Kara Nicole Bitar:truth of who I am? And the situation? What is the truth of this situation? And so it's like, I've made
Kara Nicole Bitar:this decision. This is the priority for me, in my life. And so what that's then done to is, it's, it has
Kara Nicole Bitar:changed, you know, my physical habits, certainly, it's changed my priorities. But it really is this kind
Kara Nicole Bitar:of kind of whole kind of life approach. In a sense, it's not that I think, like, Oh, I just like, you know,
Kara Nicole Bitar:for me, it's meditating 10 minutes a day, like, that's my discipline, you know, I mean, which I do
Kara Nicole Bitar:believe in meditation, I think is very helpful. And I do think it's a good thing to commit to that. But
Kara Nicole Bitar:it's more of a commitment to me functioning as So, as me. And so one of the things that I learned
Kara Nicole Bitar:is that we're all unique beings, we each have our own unique set of gifts and talents. And we each
Kara Nicole Bitar:have ways in which we're structured to thrive. And so I'm very like, cognizant of and very
Kara Nicole Bitar:committed to being me, I'm very committed to understanding the I'm very committed to living in
Kara Nicole Bitar:ways in which I know that I thrive, I'm very committed to living in ways where I'm expressing my
Kara Nicole Bitar:gifts and my talents. And so it's kind of a more overarching kind of way of life for me, but at the
Kara Nicole Bitar:same time, I do commit to certain practices like Kundalini Yoga, I do commit to certain, you know,
Kara Nicole Bitar:ways of eating, and just generally ways of of living my life.
Dr. Brad Miller:And you've also have committed to serve others in this process. You committed to be a teacher,
Dr. Brad Miller:and a coach, a optimization coach, you have framed your, what you do, and a teacher of
Dr. Brad Miller:Kundalini. Yoga. So tell us what about what, you know, as you've now chosen to offer this to
Dr. Brad Miller:others? What does that mean? How does that manifest itself? If folks want to go to your website,
Dr. Brad Miller:for instance, or find out more about you in terms of what you have to offer into their life? What
Dr. Brad Miller:are they? What are they going to find that you can offer to them?
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah, so when I was working at the firm, to me, you know, I'm with these people who are so
Kara Nicole Bitar:intelligent, so driven, so committed, so sincere and what they were doing. And to me, it was such a
Kara Nicole Bitar:travesty that it was like, not all of them. But a number of them, including myself, it's like, we
Kara Nicole Bitar:weren't really living these lives, it just lit us that excited us that we were passionate about, we
Kara Nicole Bitar:weren't energized by life. And to me, that's such a travesty. And I know that didn't just occur in my
Kara Nicole Bitar:job. I know this is occurring in a lot of people. And, and here's the truth, like we're not here just to
Kara Nicole Bitar:survive, we're not here just to have this mediocre existence, we can have so much more I mean, we
Kara Nicole Bitar:can have a life where we revel in the magnificence of this experience, where we revel in our own
Kara Nicole Bitar:creativity, where we are in love with who we are, when we're in love with others, and when we're
Kara Nicole Bitar:expressing ourselves in our creativity. And so what I have done is committed myself to showing
Kara Nicole Bitar:people they can have such a different experience. And it doesn't mean to I just want to make
Kara Nicole Bitar:clear, it doesn't mean they have to leave their job, that was the path. For me, that's not the path
Kara Nicole Bitar:for everybody. And so what I offer to people is, you know, all these things that I tried that really
Kara Nicole Bitar:didn't move the dial, for me, that really didn't work. It was really through that experience, once I
Kara Nicole Bitar:really started to get a lot of clarity. After I was doing Kundalini Yoga, I really started to realize,
Kara Nicole Bitar:okay, these things don't work, what does like what does really work. And so I, I put together
Kara Nicole Bitar:programs that I developed, and I wrote, where I really set forth in a efficient and an effective way,
Kara Nicole Bitar:here are the things that work like, here are the things that can really show you and give you the
Kara Nicole Bitar:experience of and give you the result of having a very different experience of your life. And I have
Kara Nicole Bitar:two programs, one is called the foundation, and one is called thoughts. And in those programs,
Kara Nicole Bitar:there's a number of things in those programs, because what I did is I took the things that really
Kara Nicole Bitar:worked, and I put them all together in one program, again, so we get efficiency, effectiveness, and
Kara Nicole Bitar:we and people really get a result. Because I understood to, like I understand what it means to be
Kara Nicole Bitar:really busy. I know what that life is like. So I structured my program so that even if I was a
Kara Nicole Bitar:practicing attorney, I could take this program and benefit from it without it really impacting, you
Kara Nicole Bitar:know, with me being able to do it, given that kind of that lifestyle. So
Dr. Brad Miller:you've got some courses here and things in your Cocina in your yoga teaching, all part of what
Dr. Brad Miller:you're about. But you also have emphasized several times that our conversation care results. So
Dr. Brad Miller:let's talk now about results that people have when they connect up with you. Tell me about a
Dr. Brad Miller:person or situation that you've connected up with that you've had some influence on that you've
Dr. Brad Miller:seen some results with them? And then how that made you feel. Tell us about kind of a testimonial here.
Kara Nicole Bitar:Yeah. So it's really it's, you know, I have to say, and you talk about being fulfilled, It's so fulfilling
Kara Nicole Bitar:for me to see other people get results. And so one of the things that I'm you know, that I teach is
Kara Nicole Bitar:like, what you're ultimately focusing on is, is this is internal. That's what we're really focusing on
Kara Nicole Bitar:here. It's like you changing, are you coming to understand who you are and how you function. And
Kara Nicole Bitar:it's so fascinating that once I see people do that really understand, like, This is who I am, and this
Kara Nicole Bitar:is how I function. It's like, their life, like they'll still be going to the same job at the like first, like
Kara Nicole Bitar:when we you know, they'll still be going to the same job, they might still have the same
Kara Nicole Bitar:circumstances in their life. But they feel totally different. They go from this place of feeling
Kara Nicole Bitar:hopeless, they go from this place of feeling like they're a failure, even though like they're on paper,
Kara Nicole Bitar:they're not people can still feel as if they're a failure. They go from a place of feeling they cannot
Kara Nicole Bitar:have what it is that they really want. And in fact, they shouldn't even let themselves really think
Kara Nicole Bitar:about what it is that they really want. Because that's not possible for them. There's such a shift
Kara Nicole Bitar:and that they go they move into the state of I feel totally different about myself. I feel different
Kara Nicole Bitar:about life. And now I actually believe like I can Have the things that I really want. And I really am
Kara Nicole Bitar:letting myself go there. And they start to step into their power, they start to step into their gifts
Kara Nicole Bitar:and into their talents. And then what happens is that just can continue for them. Because it's like,
Kara Nicole Bitar:you can just keep going with that, because it's like you're not forcing these outside circumstances
Kara Nicole Bitar:to change.
Dr. Brad Miller:So you've seen this happen and other folks, you've seen it happen in yourself. And you want to
Dr. Brad Miller:spread that good news to others. So. So Carrie, how can people find you it's also where people
Dr. Brad Miller:can find you if they want to get connected with you and learn more about what you're about?
Dr. Brad Miller:How can people get connected with critical guitar.
Kara Nicole Bitar:So the best way to connect with me is on my website, www dot Khaira. Nicole bataar.com. And I
Kara Nicole Bitar:do offer free discovery calls so people can talk to me and we can find out if what I'm offering is
Kara Nicole Bitar:really the best fit for them. And on there, you can also sign up for a live stream Kundalini yoga
Kara Nicole Bitar:classes twice a week, they can sign up for those. And if they have any other questions, that's really
Kara Nicole Bitar:just a good way to connect with me because all my contact information is on there.
Dr. Brad Miller:We will put all that on our website, Dr. Brad miller.com. And it's been fascinating to have you with
Dr. Brad Miller:us today. Kara. She is an optimization coach and Kundalini yoga teacher and has a fascinating
Dr. Brad Miller:story to tell and can be helpful to you, particularly if you find yourself in somewhat similar
Dr. Brad Miller:circumstances. She's got a story to tell. So we thank Cara, Nicole Bataar for being our guest today
Dr. Brad Miller:on the beyond adversity podcast.