I received an excellent question on where to begin on guiding Yoga Nidra.
I want to learn how to guide Yoga Nidra. Do you recommend a teacher?
To answer this question, Kamini Desai and Julie Lusk seem to be good teachers. Their books include scripts. Anyone can begin guiding Yoga Nidra as soon as they are ready:
I believe both Ms. Desai and Ms. Lusk offer Yoga Nidra Teacher Training; although, these trainings would not be required to begin guiding Yoga Nidra.
However, if you want to pay to attend trainings or yoga festivals, below are some good resources, but doing so is not required to begin guiding Yoga Nidra.
iRest Method
If you are looking to lead Yoga Nidra for individuals working through emotional trauma from PTSD, the iRest method by Richard Miller is wonderful. I met Molly Birkholm in Sedona last year. She is a sweet and wonderful person, and she has her own iRest training program. According to her website, her next training is in Chicago, September 3-9, 2019.
I AM Method
Another great technique is the I AM method by Kamini Desai with the Amrit Institute in Florida. This is a link to these upcoming trainings. Ms. Desai has a really great book Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep. It comes with a Yoga Nidra script.
Yoga Nidra Teacher Training in Yogaville by Julie Lusk
I am currently reading a book by Julie Lusk called Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief. So far it is WONDERFUL! Ms. Lusk also includes a Yoga Nidra script and lots of great information. Ms. Lusk offers Yoga Nidra trainings in Virginia. This is the link to the details on her training: https://wholesomeresources.com/schedule-2/yoga-nidra-teacher-training/.
Sedona Yoga Festival
Finally, the Sedona Yoga Festival (SYF) is coming up in March. If it is something that interests you, you could attend all Yoga Nidra workshops they offer; although, none of the workshops offer any type of certification (that I know of). The festival could give you a really good taste of what is out there, and you might get to meet the leaders in their fields. I attended the excellent PTSD training as well as the festival in 2018. That is how I got to meet Ms. Desai and Ms. Birkholm. I think the festival is every year around February or March.
My Journey
So far on my journey, I have learned that not all Yoga Nidra is the same. There are different techniques. All techniques are good and serve their purpose. Personally, I learned about Yoga Nidra while going through yoga teacher training. The method I use is the 8-stage technique taught by Satyananda Saraswati, with the exception that I begin the rotation of consciousness on the right hand thumb instead of beginning at the third eye. For some reason, this rotation method has been more effective for me, so that is why I use it when I guide Yoga Nidra. His book is on Amazon at this link: Yoga Nidra.
My first Yoga Nidra experience was with this recording by Rod Stryker, who is with the Himalayan Institute. It was great! It was like time travel yoga! The Himalayan Institute’s method is called Para Yoga. I do not think the Himalayan Institute has Yoga Nidra trainings, but I could be wrong. They might offer something once in a while.
I hope this information helps you. If there is anything more I can do to help, please let me know.
Thank you for reading!
Namaste,
Diana
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