Exploring Yoga Nidra

Join Jivana as he talks with Theo Wildcroft and Beverley Nolan about their new book Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras. Theo and Beverley unpack the complex history of yoga nidra, its relationship to sleep science, and why demystifying the practice is one of the most important things we can do to make it safer. Together they explore the ethical responsibilities of anyone who leads this practice and why yoga nidra is ultimately a neurological process that any skilled yoga teacher can learn to lead with confidence and care.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana and co-host Deanna Michalopoulos reflect on why yoga nidra is so powerful and why that power has historically attracted some of yoga's most problematic teachers. They discuss the importance of giving students information before guiding them into vulnerable states, connecting the conversation to broader themes of accessibility and agency. We also hear a voicemail from Jeanie Jyanti of The Alchemy School of Yoga in Cork, Ireland, who asks Jivana to offer a dedicated yoga philosophy training. Jivana shares about his on-demand course with Anjali Rao and reflects on how yoga philosophy is most powerfully taught through presence and practice.

Topics include:

• The five-part structure of yoga nidra and how it differs from guided meditation
• The influence of relaxationism and Western psychotherapy on modern practice of yoga nidra
• Staying and awake and falling asleep during yoga nidra
• How to reduce the power imbalances that make yoga nidra vulnerable to misuse
• Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras's practical tools for teachers, including audio samples
• Writing books through collaboration

 

Check out:

Get your copy of  Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras today!

Pre-order Beverley's forthcoming book Bodyscapes, also available as audiobook

Tracee Stanley

The Essence of Yoga: Making Yoga Philosophy Accessible with Jivana Heyman & Anjali Rao - available On-Demand

 

   **Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

 

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

 

Connect with Beverley:

Beverley Nolan is a yoga teacher-practitioner and a somatic movement educator with forty years’ experience. She is the founder of Barefoot Body Training (UK) offering professional trainings and further education programmes. Her offerings span the inquiry, integration and application of her work in experiential anatomy