25-hour Yoga Nidra Teacher Training
Online learning begins 1 May 2027
Learn to practise, understand and guide Yoga Nidra through a structured 25-hour online training. You will explore the foundations of the practice, the use of voice and language, the experience of conscious rest, and how to create sessions with care and clarity. The Somāntra Approach brings yogic understanding into conversation with contemporary knowledge of attention, stress and rest, while recognising the limits of what a yoga teacher can claim or provide.
About the Training
Yoga Nidra is commonly translated as “yogic sleep”, yet a Yoga Nidra practice is more nuanced than an instruction to fall asleep. It invites a person to rest while following a guided process of awareness. Experiences differ: someone may feel alert, drift towards sleep, become restless or notice very little. Learning to facilitate well means making room for those differences.
This 25-hour online Yoga Nidra training is for people who want to understand the practice as well as experience it. You will study its structure, practise its methods, reflect on your own responses, and learn to guide others with clear language and appropriate choices.
At The Yoga Nerds, this is taught through the Somāntra Approach: an enquiry into the person as more than a body performing a technique. We consider physical comfort, breath, attention and lived experience alongside relevant yogic frameworks. Contemporary ideas about stress and the nervous system help inform teaching decisions, without turning Yoga Nidra into a medical treatment or claiming that everyone will respond in the same way.
The Somāntra Approach To Yoga Nidra
Somāntra begins with understanding before instruction. Rather than asking you to repeat a fixed sequence of words, we ask what each part of a Yoga Nidra practice is doing, how it may be experienced, and when a different choice may be more appropriate.
You will explore the relationship between the resting body, breath, attention, imagery, intention and the guided voice. Yogic ideas, including the pañcakośa framework, offer one lens through which to enquire into layers of experience. Contemporary perspectives on stress, sleep and attention offer another. We study each within its own scope, without claiming that one proves the other.
This approach prepares you to develop practices with intention, adapt your language to the people in front of you, and facilitate rest without demanding that every participant feel relaxed or have a particular experience.
Beyond Scripts and Surface-Level Relaxation
Much of what is taught as Yoga Nidra today is reduced to scripts and recordings. While these can be helpful starting points, they do not necessarily develop the ability to guide others with clarity.
This training does not position Yoga Nidra as something to be memorised or performed.
Instead, it explores the structure, intention, and mechanics of the practice so that you can understand:
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how awareness moves,
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how the body responds to guided rest,
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and how different individuals experience stillness in different ways.
From this place, teaching becomes less about repeating words and more about facilitating an experience.
Why Yoga Nidra Matters in Modern Practice
Many people find it difficult to pause without reaching for another task or distraction. Yoga Nidra offers a structured opportunity to practise resting and noticing.
For a teacher, its value lies partly in learning how to create the conditions for that practice: a comfortable position, clear invitations, thoughtful pacing and permission for people to respond differently. The facilitator does not have to produce relaxation or interpret another person’s experience.
This training examines how guided awareness may sit alongside a broader yoga or meditation offering. It also addresses professional boundaries: when to adapt a practice, when to avoid a claim about its effects, and when a participant’s needs fall outside a yoga teacher’s scope.
What You Will Study
1. Foundations of Yoga Nidra •What Yoga Nidra is and what it is not •Historical context and development •Yoga Nidra in relation to meditation and pratyāhāra •Differences between Yoga Nidra, hypnosis, and relaxation
2. The Structure of a Yoga Nidra Practice You will learn the key components of a Yoga Nidra session, including: •preparation and settling •body awareness and rotation of consciousness •breath awareness •sensory withdrawal •visualisation and imagery •integration and return
3. The Science of Deep Rest •brainwave states (beta, alpha, theta, delta) •nervous system regulation •effects of guided rest on body and mind •the role of repetition and familiarity in relaxation
4. The Koshas, Awareness, and Inner Layers •introduction to the pañca kośa model •working with different layers of experience •awareness as a tool for integration
5. Sankalpa and Intention •understanding sankalpa beyond affirmation •when and how to introduce intention •ethical and practical considerations
6. Voice, Language, and Delivery •tone, pacing, and clarity •how to guide without over-speaking •when to use silence •avoiding performance-based teaching
7. Script Understanding (Not Dependence) •understanding different styles of Yoga Nidra scripts •how to adapt and modify •developing your own structured guidance •moving beyond rigid formats
8. Teaching Yoga Nidra •guiding individuals vs groups •structuring sessions for different contexts •working online vs in-person •common challenges and how to respond
9. Personal Practice and Integration You will not only learn to teach Yoga Nidra. You will be expected to: •practice regularly •observe your own responses •understand rest from experience
The Learning Format
(100% Online)
This 25-hour online Yoga Nidra training begins on 1 May 2027. You will study through structured modules, recorded teaching, guided practices, downloadable materials and reflective assignments.
You can work through the course at your own pace during the access period. Course access remains available until 12 September 2027, when all required assignments must also be submitted. Access is not lifetime access.
From 1 May to 12 September is just over 4 months, so I would use “just over four months of access” if you want to state the duration elsewhere on the page.
Who This Training Is For
This training is suitable for:
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yoga teachers and trainees
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meditation practitioners
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therapists and facilitators
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those working with stress, trauma, or mental health
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individuals wanting to deepen their own practice
No prior teaching experience is required.
However, sincerity and willingness to engage are essential.
Certification
Upon successful completion, you will receive a:
25-hour Yoga Nidra Facilitator Certification
This qualifies you to:
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guide Yoga Nidra sessions
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integrate Yoga Nidra into classes and offerings
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develop your own structured practices
What You Will Need
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a quiet space for practice
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a yoga mat or comfortable resting surface
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basic support (blanket, cushion, or bolster)
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headphones (recommended)
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the training, you should be able to:
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explain the purpose and basic structure of a Yoga Nidra practice
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describe how the Somāntra Approach informs your teaching choices
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prepare a comfortable and adaptable setting for practice
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use voice, language, pacing and silence with greater care
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distinguish relevant contemporary ideas about stress and rest from unproven claims
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plan and guide a Yoga Nidra session
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reflect on participant choice, individual responses and the boundaries of your role
Course Fee
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Early Bird: £335 (limited spaces) until 31st February 2027
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Full Investment: £410
*2.5% service fee applicable to the total at checkout.
Spaces are intentionally limited to ensure depth and individual attention.
Alternate Payment Methods:- PayPal - madhurabhagwat6@gmail.com Bank Transfer Madhura Bhagwat Sort Code - 832543 Account No. - 15856419 Bank - RBS * If using PayPal or Bank Transfer, kindly make sure to email connect@theyoganerds immediately after making the transfer. Your spot will only be confirmed once we send you an email of successfully receiving your payment.
Continue into 100-hour
Nervous System Sovereignty
This 25-hour Yoga Nidra training is also a component of the 100-Hour Nervous System Sovereignty pathway, alongside 50 hours of Restorative Yoga and 25 hours of Meditation.
You can explore Yoga Nidra as a standalone training or view the full pathway to understand how the three areas of study connect.
Frequently asked questions
About Madhura
Director of The Yoga Nerds & Move with Madhura
E-RYT 500, YACEP | Yoga Therapist | Ayurveda Consultant
Madhura Bhagwat is a yoga educator, teacher trainer, and founder of The Yoga Nerds, known for her nuanced and uncompromising approach to teaching yoga beyond the physical. With nearly two decades of experience and roots in a traditional yogic lineage, her work bridges classical philosophy with modern understanding of movement, anatomy, and the nervous system, alongside an academic background in politics, law, and business studies.
Her teaching is not about performance or aesthetics, but about awareness, integrity, and depth. Drawing from yoga philosophy, embodied wisdom arts, and subtle teachings rooted in traditions such as the Dasha Mahāvidyā, alongside fascia-informed movement, breathwork, and restorative practices, she guides students and teachers towards a more intelligent, embodied, and sustainable way of practising and teaching.
Madhura teaches internationally and is committed to preserving the essence of yoga while making it relevant to the realities of modern life, allowing space for both linear learning and non-linear, lived experience to unfold.
