Your Life—A Peaceful Protest

What’s happening in the Ukraine right now is nothing short of horrific. Yet, as individuals, how much can we change these tragic events? Spiritually side-stepping will not save us— we can’t just sit on our meditation cushions praying for peace, hoping that someone else will do the work to make lasting global change.We must learn to be the change in the world and we must learn to do so by fundamentally changing our hearts and minds.

Creating lasting global change is up to us as individuals and relies fundamentally on our ability to stay connected to love. Lasting global change is a Trojan horse that must conquer us from the inside. First it must take our hearts, then it will take our entire lives. It won’t stop until it takes the world.

“But I’m only one person, how can I make a difference?”

The old hermetic saying, “As above, so below,” illustrates the truth that the whole is represented in each of its parts. Since the world is the composite of individuals, the best and only way to change the world is starting from one of its smallest parts: YOU. Your destiny is to be the cell of humanity that thrives with such vibrant wholeness that you become viral, contagious enough to heal everything around you and eventually heal the entire being of humanity. 

While we can’t meditate the world’s problems away, I would assert getting centered is of the first order. Regular deep presence illuminates your own innate goodness as well as your connection to and as Source, a connection which is synonymous with love. 

Regularly connecting to your own goodness and love through meditation, you’ll naturally recognize it in others. World peace begins with you smiling at your neighbor, practicing patience in traffic, and leaning in to meet a stranger. It continues as you practice compassion and love for people who don’t believe the same things you do. It gets really solid as you learn to even hang out with your own family and decide not to make them wrong, even when they push every button you possess. 

As you do these truly simple but honestly world-changing actions, you’ll do so rooted in the power of your highest being, pure presence and love. You will be part of spreading a hyper-contagious condition that will eradicate the global pandemic of tit-for-tat.

To love without condition is the most radical protest of all. 

Yet, the first step toward wholeness isn’t creating different actions but creating a different level of consciousness.

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

— Albert Einstein

So, to save our planet and ourselves, we must change our fundamental state of consciousness. 

We must learn to change our mind, then we can learn to change our hearts. Then, we can change the world. 

By far, I feel that the most effective and enjoyable method of changing our mind for lasting personal and global change is Yoga Nidra, the so-called “yoga of sleep.” It starts by a relaxing change to your state of consciousness and with regular practice eventually helps you uplevel your stage of consciousness. 

Yoga Nidra is like getting a regular update to your mental and spiritual operating systems.

Indeed among the most spiritual moments of my life, when I’ve been overcome with powerful and enduring love for all of humanity, have come as the result of sourcing the limitless and loving consciousness within myself during a Yoga Nidra practice. 

Yoga is the practice of arriving at Oneness or wholeness by connecting all seemingly disparate parts. Nidra is the hypnagogic mental state between waking and dreaming. Therefore, the practice of Yoga Nidra is like a guided meditation that helps you to arrive at the experience of Oneness through the method of altering your mental state through systematized relaxation and layered awareness. 

 Yoga Nidra is a gentle, relaxing, and very effective way of altering your mental state to escape your otherwise rigid and outdated definitions of the world to help experience your true nature, that of living love. 

The true gift of Yoga Nidra is that once you have reacquainted yourself with your most natural way of being, that of loving consciousness, your true work is then to marry this loving consciousness to the beautiful and textured work of art that is your life and our world. 

 And even though it’s called the yoga of sleep, Yoga Nidra is really about waking up. It’s inviting you to wake up from the illusion of being separate from each other and separate from Source. It’s inviting you to wake up from the illusion that you are limited and powerless. It’s inviting you to wake up to the unimaginable power that is already inside of you, to fertilize the seed of your birthright and majesty, and act as a crucial and vibrant cell in this organism of humanity. 

Instead of using practices like meditation, yoga, and Yoga Nidra only to source our inner peace and cope with the pains and stress of the outer world, we must also use them to regularly access our birthright of peace so that we may learn to live our life from this place. We must learn to live as a testament to peace. Then, your very life turns into a protest against the very systems that are fueled by fear, hate, and control. 

We cannot wait for someone else to save our world. This is our purpose, to save ourselves. As we do, we will realize that power for personal and global change has always been within.

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

— Alice Walker

Will you change your mind and change the world? Will you make your life a living and loving protest of division, hate, and otherness? 

I invite you to learn to change your mind and the world through the relaxing, illuminating, and life-affirming practice of Yoga Nidra.

Help yourself and others make this fundamental shift to impact the world for good by learning to facilitate the transformational power of Yoga Nidra by becoming an expert Yoga Nidra teacher. Please consider joining my next live, online and in-person Yoga Nidra training, March 9–13, 2022, in Salt Lake City or via Zoom. 

So make your life a peaceful protest. Learn how to source the best parts of yourself through the transformational practice of Yoga Nidra and serve the world by facilitating this same transformation for others. Will you join me?

Live Yoga Nidra Training Starts Tomorrow!

The best courses not only give you knowledge and teach you a new skill, they also change who you are. 

Please join me for my live Yoga Nidra Training. 2 weekends: July 31–Aug. 1; Aug. 6–8, 2021 live via Zoom. Space is limited!

Yoga Nidra Is My Greatest Teacher

I’m absolutely passionate about Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra has taught me more about myself, the Universe, and my purpose in the world than any other practice and I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned with you. This is why I can’t wait to tell you about my live Yoga Nidra teacher training starting this weekend.

You may be reading this because like me, you’ve experienced one of the many profound benefits that Yoga Nidra can provide: deep emotional healing, body/mind/spirit wellness, unparalleled relaxation and stress reduction, and profound insight on the forever-journey toward spiritual awakening. Plus, you may want to develop the skills to teach Yoga Nidra like an expert. Or, maybe you’ve heard other’s rave about this practice and you’re curious to learn just what it is that makes Yoga Nidra so special. Either way, I’m glad you’re here, you’ve come to the right place. 

If you’ve ever thought about teaching Yoga Nidra, now is the time—the world needs it more than ever. Also, the world needs more qualified Yoga Nidra teachers, and this course is designed to teach you to become a Yoga Nidra expert, delivering this healing practice in the power of your own voice— because there’s no one who can teach like you can. 

One of the things I’ve learned about Yoga Nidra is that even though practicing it is very easy and can lead to profound transformation, being an effective Yoga Nidra facilitator can be very difficult. This is why I’ve created Facilitating Transformation with the Yoga of Sleep, an enlightening, engaging, and enjoyable Yoga Nidra teacher training where you will learn the art and science of teaching Yoga Nidra using the power of your own voice. You’ll also learn how to apply your expertise to acquire and create excellent teaching opportunities through live or online group classes, workshops, courses, private sessions, and even how to lead yoga retreats and other paid events. I’ll even teach you how to create digital products to sell and share your teaching gifts with the world. In short, you’ll learn how to make a massive impact while making a great living doing what you love. 

What’s So Great About Yoga Nidra?

Often called the “yoga of sleep,” Yoga Nidra is a several thousand years-old form of guided meditation that is uniquely designed to powerfully connect the body, mind, and spirit to wake you up to the limitless power within. Though it’s an ancient practice, Yoga Nidra couldn’t be a more relevant and potent tool to meet the complexities and demands that we face in everyday modern life.

In my 13 years of teaching Yoga Nidra, I’ve seen thousands of people benefit from this essential practice in both simple and profound ways, including:

• Optimized performance, learning, and creativity

• Diminished stress and depression

• Better sleep

• Lower blood pressure

• Improved relationships

• Pain management

• Greater sense of purpose and meaning

• Greater perspective over life’s problems

• Improved self confidence

• Powerful spiritual insight

• Managing compulsions and addictions

My Journey of Teaching Yoga Nidra

When I completed my first Yoga Nidra teacher training in 2008 and started incorporating the practices I’d learned into my yoga classes, I quickly became frustrated as a teacher because I knew how powerful Yoga Nidra could be, but it soon became clear that I wasn’t nearly as prepared to teach it in my classes as I needed. First, I couldn’t make the impact I wanted to because the scripts I was given in my training were far too general—they didn’t meet my clients’ specific needs, and I was never taught how to deliver customized Yoga Nidra. What any experienced teacher can tell you is that just like in yoga asana, one size doesn’t fit all. Second, my training didn’t teach me how to leverage my own voice, so my teaching didn’t feel authentic and my students could tell. I knew I could make the largest impact if I could teach from my own voice, experience, specialization, and interest, but I hadn’t a clue how to do this at first. Third, as much as it pains me to say this, though I’d had transformational experiences with Yoga Nidra, many of my yoga students found Yoga Nidra to be, well… too boring. They may have enjoyed it the first time, but hearing the same tired script over and over again was putting people to sleep...in the wrong way. 

But, my early struggles facilitating Yoga Nidra turned out to be an enormous gift, because it taught me that this ancient practice was in no way designed to be a rote experience. My struggles in teaching drove me to dive deeper in my studies and to practice more Yoga Nidra. And doing so, I learned volumes about the essential principles of this fascinating practice. Soon, I began incorporating these principles into my Yoga Nidra classes, now with the ability to innovate, adapt, and deliver profound Yoga Nidra experiences that were customized to my clients. My teaching became fresh, authentic, engaging, and transformational. And faster than you can say “savasana on steroids,” my Yoga Nidra classes, workshops, and courses were packed. Even my clients who were previously bored by my Yoga Nidra classes came back to stay. 

Since then, I have facilitated thousands of hours of Yoga Nidra for my clients, and this beautiful practice continues to reveal deeper and deeper transformation, both for my clients as well as myself, more than I ever realized was possible in those early days of teaching. I even discovered how teaching Yoga Nidra itself is a pathway to greater learning and spiritual awakening. 

My approach to Yoga Nidra caught the eye of other yoga teachers and it wasn’t long before I developed a novel teacher training program, where I taught that once you have a deeper understanding of what the principles and techniques of Yoga Nidra are pointing to, you can deliver them in any context for any client, using the unparalleled power of your own voice.  

Offering my Yoga Nidra teacher training program helped me to discover another passion of mine, which is helping others reveal the expert teacher that is already inside of them and empowering them to share this essential practice with the world. 

What makes this course stand out over other Yoga Nidra trainings?

To be a transformational teacher your teaching must be based on your own very personal and powerful experiences, and not simply by repeating someone else’s information. In fact, this point is so important that I’ve created this course in two distinct parts. The first part, called Waking Up with the Yoga of Sleep, exists solely to facilitate your own deep transformation through practicing Yoga Nidra. The best courses not only give you knowledge and teach you a new skill, they also change who you are. This course facilitates your own personal transformation by using Yoga Nidra to help you experience:

•  A deep personal inquiry to know your True Self

• The Universe embraces you in the fascinating dance between form and consciousness

• Mapping the beautiful illusions: Understanding the Koshas

• How everything in your life is inviting you to wake up the person you’re destined to become

• The secret power of Presence 

• Uplevelled states of consciousness leading you to uplevelled stages of consciousness

You’ll wake up to your True Self through the power of Yoga Nidra as you experience and learn about the fascinating angles of this ancient practice, such as:

• Storytelling, poetry, and the mythic landscape

• Philosophy and history of the practice

• Mantra and mindfulness practices 

• Science and psychology foundations

Then, once you’ve done a deep dive into your own soul in the first section, now knowing even better what Yoga Nidra is pointing to, the next section is dedicated to teaching you how to become an expert Yoga Nidra facilitator. Not only that but how to boldly offer this practice to the world based on your own experiences and in your own voice. You’ll learn the essential tools, principles, rudiments, and techniques that will empower you to adapt any Yoga Nidra session to meet your client’s needs. You will also learn how to improvise your own Yoga Nidra classes and write your own Yoga Nidra scripts based on your personal interests and specializations.

What you’ll get in this course unlike any other is:

• How to facilitate any Yoga Nidra class by following the The Yoga Nidra Roadmap and Yoga Nidra Dyad Roadmap

• How to create the container and hold the role of a true teacher

• The art of facilitating deep observation

• 15 essential tools necessary to master the art of facilitating Yoga Nidra

• How to be an extraordinary teacher to your students with supportive integration

Lastly, included in the second section is the crucial but seldom-taught information about how to actually be a successful yoga or Yoga Nidra teacher because knowing what to teach and being a successful teacher are very different things. As someone who has graduated hundreds of yoga and Yoga Nidra teachers, and who has been in the industry for 20 years, I see the stark—and frankly unfair— gap between new teachers and experienced teachers in their ability to generate well-paying teaching opportunities in communities, the workplace, and online. Most yoga and Yoga Nidra teacher training courses contain little or no information about how to be a successful teacher, often because the lead trainer is a “yoga rockstar” and does not teach in the community—they simply can’t relate to most of us who are out there every day teaching in our communities. Sadly, the result is that too many new teachers never get the chance to start teaching because they were never taught how to acquire good gigs. My many years in this industry has taught me how to make an excellent living teaching yoga and Yoga Nidra (I earn 6 figures a year) and I’m here to tell you that there are many more good paying Yoga Nidra opportunities than there are good teachers to teach them. I’ve designed this training to teach you the industry secrets to help you begin to earn money right away doing what you love. Allow me to debunk the myth that you have to be a “yoga rockstar'' to be a successful teacher. You don’t. 

In this course, you’ll learn exactly how to acquire and create great paying teaching opportunities, including:

• Public and online classes, workshops, and courses

• Private students and groups, including Yoga Nidra dyads

• Yoga and meditation retreats

• Teaching corporations and institutions

• Paid speaking events 

• Creating digital products creation to earn passive income

This training is an investment in your own body/mind/spirit wellness, one that will teach you to become an expert Yoga Nidra teacher, and one that will teach you how to make this training pay for itself and then continue to pay you for many years to come. 

This Is My Best Training

I’ve taught dozens of Yoga Nidra teacher training courses, both in person and online. The paradox in teaching a subject is that by teaching it you actually learn that subject deeper. Each time I’ve taught a Yoga Nidra teacher training, I receive progressively deeper insight into transformational teaching with Yoga Nidra. I’ve spent three years combining, distilling, and refining the essential tools and principles, roadmaps and methods to offer what I believe is the best Yoga Nidra teacher training course on the market, one that will teach you to become an expert Yoga Nidra facilitator much quicker than it took me. While I feel that this is my best Yoga Nidra training yet, the real proof is in the teachers that have graduated it. 

Here’s what others are saying …

“Scott’s training was an absolute joy. Not only does Scott possess a wealth of knowledge about the practice, he brings the teachings to life through his energetic presence, compelling storytelling, and heart-centered teaching. This offering is truly unique, and I’d highly recommend Scott’s guidance to anyone interested in going deeper with the incredible practice of Yoga Nidra.”

— Eden Orion, Yoga Nidra Graduate and Meditation Teacher

“I signed up for Scott Moore’s online Yoga Nidra teacher training course after discovering his scripts online and absolutely loving them. The course was very relaxing and easy to follow … I now feel much more confident in facilitating Yoga Nidra after completing this course. The price was very reasonable and Scott is SO generous, he gives us scripts to work with, meditations that I listen to daily, and online recordings for life. I now have a fantastic Yoga Nidra library to tap into whenever needed. The course itself really helped me to become connected to my inner Self and to become more fully aware of the power inside of us. Thank you Scott Moore for everything!”

—Amy Pople Yoga Nidra Graduate

“I have never met Scott [in person], yet I have found him to be one of the best instructors I have ever had. He is  knowledgeable, interesting, and kind. He also responded to all my questions in a supportive way, and just made himself available. His teaching website was easy to navigate, and he required that some beneficial work be completed by the student. Just a great program!  No wonder he was listed on the web in the top 5 Yoga Nidra Teacher Trainings.” 

—Andrea Mathwich

What’s Included In This Course

You’ll get: 

• Two illuminating weekends of Yoga Nidra wisdom, relaxation, and knowledge and practice of how to teach this transformational practice, via Zoom.

• Recordings of each session in case you have to miss a part or simply want to reference it later.  

• Full and life-time access to my online Teachable course which has all the same curriculum and more for continued and deeper study.  

• A 160-page manual for study and support

• 100 pages of Yoga Nidra scripts. These scripts will also serve as a template for you as you create your own scripts and classes.

• A 30-minute private consultation with me. 

• Dynamic, easy-to-follow lessons, practices, and assignments 

• Specialized pranayama, mindfulness, and mantra practices to help prep your for each lesson

• Specialized Yoga Nidra practices that optimize your learning (this is incredible!)

• Resources to help you plan and organize yoga and meditation retreats

• Fascinating myths and stories to illuminate the teachings

• The science and psychology of Yoga Nidra to explain why it works

• A suite of resources with dozens of supplementary Yoga Nidra recordings, PDFs, links, books, poetry, myths, articles, and more.

Check out the course modules to see everything that you will learn …  

Section1: Waking Up With The Yoga of Sleep

The first weekend will be an organized curriculum of 10 modules complete with specially-designed  and relaxing Yoga Nidra practices, fascinating lectures full of interesting stories, science, psychology and philosophy, as well as breathing and other mindfulness exercises. 

This section is about taking care of YOU and will help you wake up from the illusion of being a limited being and as you experience your life as beautiful and miraculous. This section will help you feel as if all the colors in your life have been turned up to 11.

Module 1: Begin The Journey

Start along your path as I show you the map and trails you’ll follow on the course of your Yoga Nidra adventure.

Module 2: What Is Yoga Nidra? Waking Up with the Yoga of Sleep

What is this ancient practice and how does it help you wake up?

Module 3: Yoga Nidra: An Inquiry to “Know Thyself”

Socrates will be your guide on this inner odyssey to hear the Oracle’s special message just for you.

Module 4: The Greatest Love Story of All Time: Shiva, Shakti, and YOU

You are the lovechild of consciousness and form. See how the world exists as a love note to you.

Module 5: The Koshas: Mapping the Beautiful Illusions

See the world dancing before your eyes, evoking your consciousness to wake up.

Module 6: Non-Dualism and Your Both / And Nature

Ancient myth illuminates the higher dimension of your True Being.

Module 7: The Secret to the Universe is HERE: Presence

The secret to the Universe is literally at your fingertips as you learn to practice presence.

Module 8: Stages and States of Consciousness

Upleveling your state of consciousness uplevels your stage of consciousness.

Module 9: Why Yoga Nidra Works: Science and Psychology

Take a look under the hood and learn how spirit and philosophy is supported by science and psychology.

Module 10: The Big Message & FAQ

The simple and profound truth, how Yoga Nidra applies to every-day life, and listen to me answer some common questions.

Section 2: Facilitating Transformation with the Yoga of Sleep

The second weekend will take what we’ve learned in the first weekend to apply it to learn how to facilitate this incredible practice for others. In this section you will learn how to teach Yoga Nidra like an expert in the power of your own voice using the specific tools and techniques unique to my method, how to be a successful Yoga Nidra teacher, and how to make a positive impact on the world while also making a living. 

This course has three parts, each with several modules. Each part has practices and assignments including Yoga Nidra practices, teaching assignments, and class-building assignments. 

Part 1

Module 1: Introduction and Overview

Familiarize yourself with the tools to find your voice in this practice.

Module 2: The Yoga Nidra Roadmap

Learn to read the map of an effective Yoga Nidra experience to facilitate transformation for yourself and your students.

Module 3: Creating the Container & The Role of the Teacher

Learn the subtle and essential art of set and setting for a transformational Yoga Nidra experience and understand your primary roles as a teacher.

Module 4: Facilitating Observation & the Three Heavies

Facilitate Transformation by effectively pointing to presence with 3 key objectives.

Module 5: Essential Tools Part 1

Master the tools that will help you facilitate transformation in a Yoga Nidra practice.

Module 6: Essential Tools Part 2

Master the tools that will help you facilitate transformation in a Yoga Nidra practice.

Module 7: Essential Tools Part 3

Master the tools that will help you facilitate transformation in a Yoga Nidra practice.

Module 8: 2 “Yoga Ninja” Tactics

Uncover the 2 GAME-CHANGER tactics that completely revolutionize the practice of teaching Yoga Nidra and will help you to teach like an expert almost immediately.

Module 9: Connecting The Dots—Building an Effective Yoga Nidra Class

Together we’ll work through the step-by-step process of building specialized Yoga Nidra classes for yourself and your clients.

Module 10: Yoga Nidra Dyads and Self Practice

Turn facilitating Yoga Nidra on its head and the transformational power of allowing the practitioner to direct the Yoga Nidra experience as you learn the Yoga Nidra Roadmap and the art of Facilitated Awareness.

Module 11: Accessibility and Healing with Yoga Nidra

Reveal how to make this beautiful practice available for all by eliminating discriminating language, marketing, and practices from your teaching. Discover the role of Yoga Nidra toward healing.

Module 12: Integration

Provide the essential integration tools for your student to learn to apply Yoga Nidra in their every-day life and discover the miracle of their own life.

Module 13 FAQ

Clarify any questions you may have about teaching Yoga Nidra.

Part 2: Sharing Yoga Nidra with the World

This section is dedicated to learning how to become a successful teacher. I’ll share with you the industry secrets to acquire and create well-paying online and in-person yoga opportunities, how to build interest for your classes as well as format classes, workshops, courses, and even retreats. You’ll learn how to support your students and maintain a positive teacher/student relationship. I teach you how to make an impact while also making a living. 

Module 1: Introduction

The world needs you to share this practice in only the way that YOU can.

Module 2: Developing Interest

Make your skills available to those who need it.

Module 3: Formatting Classes, Workshops, and Courses

Presentation is everything. Create an offering that will give your students what they need and keep them coming back for more.

Module 4: Virtual Offerings & Supportive Tech.

Broadcast Yoga Nidra to the world with simple and effective tools. Use the “minimum viable product” and learn to scale your offerings.

Module 5: Private Sessions

Tailor a Yoga Nidra experience to the specific needs of an individual. Intake, format, and support for private individuals and groups.

Module 6: Retreats

Learn the insider’s tips to leading retreats and provide life-time memories and transformation for your students while giving yourself a “paid vacation.”

Module 7: Supporting Your Students

Establish the learning trajectory for your students to support them along their journey.

Module 8: FAQ

Questions and insights about the course

Part 3: Finishing Up and What’s Next

Module 1: Resources and Recap Progress

This broad recap will cement the knowledge and experience into your soul to ensure your confidence in teaching right away.

Module 2: Resources Reminder

Re-familiarize yourself with the vast array of supportive resources that come with the course.

Module 3 Finish Line

The big fat message. What it all means. What’s possible.

Module 4: Graduation Requirements

Prepare for your graduation: assignments, requirements, and certification.

Part 4: Building Your Mechanism of Influence

Module 1: Make and Impact and Make a Living

5 simple, actionable tools to help you make an Impact and also make a living doing what you love to do.

Resources Included in This Yoga Nidra TeacherTraining

Audio Recordings: 

• Dozens of Yoga Nidra recordings 

• Mantras

• Pranayama practices

• Mindfulness practices

Gentle Yoga Practices (Videos)

• Restore Yoga Full Practice

• Short Prep-For Nidra Gentle Practice

PDFs

• 160-page manual

• 100 pages of Yoga Nidra scripts

• Yoga Nidra Class Building Worksheet 

• The Yoga Nidra and Yoga Nidra Dyad Roadmaps

• Prop Setup 

• Yoga Retreat Locations 

• List of Koshas

• Yoga Nidra Prop Set UP

• Yoga Nidra Door Hanger

• Pranayama Practices

• Mindfulness Practices

• Chakras

• List of poems used in the training

• Essential links to books, websites, articles, podcasts, and interviews

I’m very proud of this Yoga Nidra teacher training, it’s my best work yet. 

There is nobody like you and your skills, talents, and personality have the power to impact certain students in only the way that you can. The world is waking up and in the process, we all desperately need effective Yoga Nidra teachers to transform us into what we may become. 

People are waiting for you to step up to your higher Self, to become an expert Yoga Nidra teacher, and to facilitate transformation in only the way you can. This is the course to help you find your voice and share this transformational practice with the world. 

Space is limited so that I can offer the best and most supportive environment for each student. Plus, this is the last live course that I’ll offer this year. 

Will you join me?

About Your Instructor

Scott Moore is a senior teacher of yoga and mindfulness in the US. He’s taught classes, trainings and workshops in New York, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and L.A. as well as in Europe and Asia. Scott is the author of Practical Yoga Nidra: The 10-Step Method to Reduce Stress, Improve Sleep, and Restore Your Spirit. When he's not teaching or conducting retreats, he loves to write for print and online publications such as Yogi Times, Conscious Life News, Elephant Journal, Mantra Magazine, Medium, and his own blog at scottmooreyoga.com. Scott also loves to run, play the saxophone, and travel with his wife and son. Check out his yoga retreats and trainings in places like Tuscany, France, and Hong Kong , his online Yoga Nidra Course and his Yoga Teacher Mentor Program. Scott is currently living in Barcelona, Spain with his family.

Heart In The Dark

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Live Yoga Nidra Training

Before we get into the story and speaking of getting to the heart of things, in about a week, I’ll be hosting my live, online Yoga Nidra immersion and teacher training by Zoom.

I’m really, really looking forward to it. I’ve got a few spots left, and would love to have you join. I’ve split it up into two weekends. The first is an immersion, designed for those interested in the transformative power of Yoga Nidra, a deep dive into this fascinating realm which quite simply is a practice that helps you wake up to realize your greatest potential and become the person you were destined to be.

Ultimately, this is an inquiry into your very nature of being to discover how beautiful and wondrous your life can be, and how much this yoga of sleep can benefit your stress, sleep, and perspective on the world and its problems. The next weekend is designed for those who might be interested in teaching Yoga Nidra and/or just really geek out on this fascinating subject. I want to show you how to facilitate lasting transformative for yourself and others through relaxing Yoga Nidra practices. I’m really proud of the robust curriculum I’ve developed and would love to have you join me.

Onto the story …

Running Into Darkness

Several years ago, some friends and I were spending an afternoon along the shores of the paradoxical desert of Great Salt Lake, the large and salinated lake that gives Salt Lake City its namesake.

If you’ve never been there, it’s a fascinating place, definitely worth the trip. Great Salt Lake exists now as the dregs of a 30,000-year-old ancient lake called Lake Bonneville which once spanned what is now half of northern Utah and eastern Nevada, a once-great lake held in a massive geological bowl known as the Great Basin. Everything’s “Great” in Utah! Even as a puddle of its former self, Great Salt Lake currently stands as the largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere.

The salinity of the water is a whopping 27%, compared to 3.5% of typical ocean water, depending on the ocean. Day-travelers of the 1920s would flock by the train-load to the briny resorts of Great Salt Lake to float in, and almost walk on (faith depending), the uncommonly salinated waters. After a long day of floating, they’d rinse off to dance the night away doing the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug in the desert days of prohibition and under the censoring eyes of Mormon church authorities.

The previous 30,000 years notwithstanding, in only the last century, the lake has receded considerably short-sighted legislation which amounts to nothing short of greed, stealing from the water inlets today so that there’s not lake tomorrow. Today, the landscape of Great Salt Lake would be utterly unrecognizable to our liquorless, Lindy Hopping great grandparents but more on that another time …

The receding lake has revealed its phenomenally flat and briny lake bottom which today attracts a new generation of tourists, not to its buoyant waters but to the lack thereof. Now, flocks of tourists come to what’s called the “Bonneville Salt Flats” to get high off a different natural resource: speed. The “Salt Flats,” (what happened to the ubiquitous “Great”?) is a several-mile-long, flat but grippy, salt-crusted terrain which acts as the perfect runway for thrill-seeking speed merchants striving to set new land speed records, the fastest being over 760 mph.

Even without the presence of an occasional rocket-propelled car, the shores of the Great Salt Lake offers a surreal landscape, even for the more pedestrian visitors: a flat, vast playa of endless white sand, crusted with salt which scintillates in the afternoon sun. To walk on this alien terrain is a sensational feast for bare feet.

On this day that my friends and I visited the wide, flat shores of Great Salt Lake, we were walking barefoot along barren brine and decided to conduct our own kind of race. We felt drunk with space and our feet yearned to explore every inch of this sand, flat and unspoiled in every direction. Each person agreed to close their eyes and run, completely blind and at full speed, in any direction for exactly 100 paces before opening their eyes. Eager for simple adventure, we closed our eyes and held our breath as someone shouted, "GO!"

Eyes closed, my legs began to sprint, bolting into the darkness of the afternoon sun. I noticed that with my primary sense muted, my other senses bloomed. A pungent potpourri filled my nostrils, one of sulfurous mud, dry salt, and miles of decaying brine shrimp. The salty air lit on my tongue, drying my mouth, and burning my lungs as they groped for breath between staccatos of unfettered laughter. My arms and legs scissored in orchestrated opposition as every muscle contracted to blast my body forward through raw space. With each step, the salty crust of the sand briefly pricked my naked soles before crumbling into a carpet of soft velvet. For several paces, my ears traced a steady decrescendo of my fellow racers’ feet, breath, and laughter dwindling into the quiet distance. Soon, I was running alone in the darkness.

Once alone, I was surprised to feel a primal and powerful fear kick in, the one that said in not so many words, “You’ll get hurt if you stray from the tribe into the unknown.” A sliver of worry lodged itself into my brain. “Didn’t you see some ominous-looking spikes sticking out of the sand somewhere in the direction that you’re running?” Horrific and gruesome images of running teeth-first into a post or impaling my bare feet on a sharp stick did wonders to dampen my sensory smorgasbord and all my attention now clutched the worry of what might happen to me as I ran blindly.

Steeling my nerves, I did my best to push these images from my mind, locking my eyes shut and quickening my pace. Suddenly, a spontaneous laugh burst from my chest, some automatic expression of wonder and worry.

. . . 53, 54, 55 . . .

My paces were whizzing by but with each step I couldn’t shake the fear of stepping blindly onto something dangerous. Worry had now evolved into genuine fear. “This is stupid,” I told myself, “I shouldn’t be doing this.”

. . . 71, 72, 73 . . .

New and more graphic images of dangers began infecting my mind, reaching for some emergency brake in my nervous system.

. . . 83, 84, 85 . . .

By now, panic had spiked. I felt the same as if I were running blind and headlong at full speed toward a cliff.

Only fifteen paces to go. Raw animal instinct clawed at my eyes to open, yet an iron resolve welded them shut. In one last burst of flying into the unknown, I let out all the stops. I pushed the throttle of my legs as fast they would go and sprinted madly forward into the darkness. Laughing was now replaced with a raw, full-throated scream, equal parts exhilaration and naked terror.

… 98, 99, 100!

On exactly my 100th step, my legs froze in space, refusing to take another step as my body wobbled to maintain equilibrium on the now unfamiliar feeling of solid ground. As I stood there panting, I slowly opened up my eyes and looked down to examine my feet to see them completely unmarred except for a generous coating of salt and mud. I stood there for a moment, feeling immense gratitude for these selfless feet, willingly thrusting me through unknown space as I ran through the darkness toward fear. After a moment, my gaze lifted to search for those ominous spikes that haunted my run. Nothing. Only flat, salty sand for miles. Of course. The misperception of my mind only invented the images.

What a rush! Who needs a rocket-propelled car?

This story reminds me of an important yogic concept called the Kleshas as explained in the Yoga Sutras, an ancient book of great wisdom. The Kleshas explore the relationship between perceptions and actions. Our misperceptions are called Avidya, a Sanskrit term literally meaning misperception. Unsurprisingly, one of the most common ways of misperceiving is Dvesa, misperception due to fear. Our misperceptions often cause us to react from fear, and in my case to completely invent beliefs, invariably causing suffering for ourselves and others. If we can avoid misperceptions and learn to see with true sight, we can respond to the vicissitudes of life with compassionate responsiveness instead of fearful reactivity.

On my blind run, I knew that there were no obstacles in my path yet my brain invented them based on past experiences causing me to run with fear. And while it was all fun and games that day on the shores of The Great Salt Lake, we tend to run through life with considerably less abandon, our misperception causing fears to push on the brakes of our higher selves and limit our strides toward what our destiny calls us to do and be.

But how does one learn to see correctly? Ironically, perhaps we can only see correctly when we attune our perception with something infinitely more refined than our eyes, a fine-tuned instrument designed to perceive truth. In The Little Prince, a modern book of great wisdom, this one masquerading as a children’s novella, one of the characters, the wise fox, shares his secret with the Little Prince when he says, “One only sees rightly with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes.” Until we wake up from the misperception of fear and learn to truly see with the heart, we are destined to suffer as well as cause suffering toward others.

When we do learn to see with the heart, it will likely reinvent our entire concept of the world, or at least our relationship to it. At that moment you’ll be born into the The Great Truth (another “Great”), that everything in the Universe is boiled down to one single element: love. It’s what poetry and pop songs have been telling us forever. Funny how perhaps THE most important eternal truth can sound like a platitude plastered on a meaningless Hallmark card. Nonetheless, it’s Truth with a capital T, but one that must be experienced and practiced over a lifetime and not merely repeated mindlessly as you mouth the words to your favorite Beatles song, elbow cocked out the window, cruising down the 405.

The English title of one of my all-time favorite movies is a beautiful, life-affirming film called Wings of Desire, a German film by Wim Wenders. If you haven't seen it, find it and watch it immediately, but bring a glass of milk to wash it down cuz it's richer than an entire Black Forest Cake.

In the film, an angel named Damiel, played by Bruno Ganz, lives a black-and-white existence, one of only knowing and observing but categorically void of the spectrum of the human experience, notably of doing, feeling, and loving. As an angel, Damiel feels a bitter longing, for though he can read people’s minds (he likes to hang out with his angel friends in the library to hear the thoughts of readers), his attempt to do anything other than observe others, to help or comfort, falls pitifully short, a tragic truth illustrated in a heart-breaking scene where Damiel is sitting next to a suicidal man on the high ledge of a building, hearing his desperate thoughts, but can do nothing to stop the man from jumping to his death.

Besides helping people, Damiel also yearns for the human experience of love. Damiel falls for a woman, a trapeze artist, ironically wearing false angel wings as part of her act, and resolves to cash in his actual angle wings in order to live one life—fully-human, sentient, and loving—rather than suffer an eternity of the drab, albeit safe, existence of an angel.

The price to enter a human life is his angelic armor, his protection from the inevitable pain and heartache endemic to the human experience. The cinematic effect is perfect because as he becomes human, he leaves the black and white angel world and is born into an entire cosmos of colors, the full rainbow of a human existence.

Damiel is welcomed into his new human life by one of this world’s most well-known faces—pain. Gaining consciousness after his fall from angelic grace, he inspects a small gash on his head and pulling his finger from his wound, meets both blood and color for the first time. With a child-like inquisitiveness, he stops a passerby on the street and asks, “Is this red?” to which the man simply makes a wider birth so as to avoid this obviously crazy and bleeding person on the street. Indeed, someone who sees with such purity, unjaded by previous experience, would seem crazy to the vast majority of us who are locked in our tired and unconscious ways of seeing the world.

Next, Damiel has been watching mortals enjoy coffee for hundreds of years and can’t wait to drink some himself. He finds a street vendor who gives him a cup. It’s much too hot but he doesn’t know it yet and in his lust to taste this dark, aromatic elixir, he burns his tongue quite badly.

Yet, despite being greeted into his new life with the harsh hand of pain, the gash on his head and burning his tongue, instead of being disillusioned with human life, Damiel marvels at its richness and celebrates these sensations as the immutable truth of truly living.

At one point in the movie, the newly-mortal Damiel happens upon another angel-turned-mortal who, interestingly, is Peter Falk playing Peter Falk. Falk is on set in Berlin filming an episode of Columbo. Who better than a classic, salty sleuth to play out the mystery of what it means to be human? Peter Falk can recognize those who used to be angels who are now walking the earth and reminisces what it was like to be an angel but muses over the joys of life. After a brief conversation with Damiel, Peter Falk hears the call to return to the film set and as he is walking away, Damiel desperately calls after the angel-turned-TV-celeb to tell him everything there is to know about being human. Peter Falk doesn’t break stride and turning his head slightly, calls out over his shoulder, "You have to figure it out for yourself, kid. That's the fun of it!"

Sometimes, you have to shut your eyes and run full-out into the darkness of life to understand what it means to be alive.

As I’m writing this, the ominous cloud of COVID-19 has been darkening life for more than a year. It’s caused us all a lot of pain and covered the entire world with a heavy blanket of legit fear. It’s made the future ambiguous, it’s ruined plans, and worse, it has put a wedge between this world’s most valuable resource: each other. For me, it feels like we’ve been running in the darkness for a long time and I know I’m not alone when I say … I’m tired.

Global pandemic aside, doesn’t it feel so often that life is really one long journey into the darkness? Who knows what lurks over the next horizon or hell, even into next week? Yet, can we learn to see this ambiguity as something to celebrate if only to serve us to remember that we are alive? Even in our fears and failings and dying there can simultaneously exist wonder and beauty. Poet David Ignatow points to this paradox when he says, in his an excerpt from his poem, THREE IN TRANSITION (FOR WCW),

I wish I understood the beauty

in leaves falling. To whom

are we beautiful

as we go?

His poem points to the fact that even in our failing, in our most difficult times, there is a part of the Universe that finds us astonishing in that going. Having lost my mother to cancer days after Thanksgiving in 2020, during an already crushing year blighted with COVID-19, I saw first-hand how something so tragic as my mother passing bestowed a beauty to life. My mom’s death illuminated something Universal within the entire family, even and especially in my mom. Somehow she lives and spends her nights visiting me in my dreams. My mom’s death points to life. To whom are we beautiful as we go? Or to what?

Yoga and meditation are simple practices that point us inward to discover and remember that portion of the Universal that exists inside of us. Being familiar with the Universal part within us is in part what it means to see with your heart. Having heart-vision grants us the capacity to see a magnificence to the most difficult of circumstances, the beauty of a textured and well-lived life.

The late, great Leonard Cohen said, “Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.”

Also, with this sure knowledge of the heart, we are less persuaded by Dvesa's power of misperception due fear. Another tired but nonetheless true statement is that love conquers fear. Perhaps this, too, is only something we can learn by closing our eyes as we lean into the darkness and learn to trust our most reliable sense. And from this courageous place, we will face what fears remain with presence and boldness. The Latin word for heart is Cor. To be courageous doesn’t mean an absence of fear, but to be full of heart.

As we run through the dark path of life’s journey, we will undoubtedly encounter fears.

May we learn to be courageous, seeing the world and the people in it rightly, as Universal elements of love. May our practices of yoga, meditation, and love wake us up to the Universal within all of us. And while we may not know exactly when this darkness will end, may we run through this uncertainty screaming, laughing, and loving, knowing that at very the least we are alive.

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.

To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,

and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,

and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

~Wendell Berry.

Instant Calm With This Free Beach Paradise Visualization

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Meditate Before Watching The News

Something that's helped me and might help you …

There's been a lotta news lately—A LOTTA NEWS.

So. Much. News.

I find it very helpful to meditate BEFORE reading, listening to, or watching the news. This has two purposes I can think of. First, it's likely that if you digested a bunch of news before your meditation, you'll be processing that for the duration of your sit. Secondly, if you meditate before the news, you'll be able to ground yourself mentally and emotionally so that you won't be so thrown into a tizzy by it.

While there are some very, very important issues that we need to be aware of around the world, remember that is designed to grab your attention. It's engineered to be scintillating and shocking. Yes, there are events happening around the world that need very little "dressing up" to be shocking, yet remember that you're in control of your news intake. Approach the news mindfully and then put it down and choose the ways to respond to that information with your best self, full of wisdom and compassion.

Be mindful of how much time you digesting the news. Realize that point when the news starts to digest YOU instead of the other way around. We've all turned into a news addict at one time or other. Be mindful about your intake and concentrate on those things you can do to make the world a better place.

Then, concentrate on something positive. Make a list of 3 things you're grateful for. Call someone to tell them how much you appreciate them. Don't stew in the negative headlines or the resulting emotions from them all day. I'm not suggesting that we ignore the important things going on in the world. Quite the opposite. Find those mechanisms (like meditation) that allow you ground into your best self so you can effectively respond to that information rather than simply stew in it.

Here's a radical invitation: Try meditating as long or longer than you watch, read, or listen to the news. You could likely grab all the important headlines without being thrown headlong into the drama machine which surrounds the headlines.

Try it out and let me know how it goes.

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Wind Blowing Through The Pines Part 3

The last few days, I’ve been sharing installments of my story of going to Songgwangsa, one of the principal monasteries in Korea, living with the monks for a few days, and sitting with a monk as he laid some deep wisdom on me. It’s been almost 20 years since I sat on that meditation sanctuary with the monk and my mind and spirit have been processing that experience ever since, especially that whole bit of, “What is the price of the wind blowing through the pines.”

Today, I want to tell you about the cosmic backhand I received after nearly 20 years of mulling over and meditating upon this question. I have to start with a little bit of meta, so bare with me …

To start, I have to give you a little info about my experience with Yoga Nidra. About a year or so after my experience at the monastery, I discovered Yoga Nidra and started teaching it soon thereafter. Part of my role as a teacher of Yoga Nidra is to attempt to define what it is, how it works and why it’s so transformational. Despite the fact that I’ve studied Yoga Nidra in-depth, have led literally 10s of thousands of hours of Yoga Nidra practices, have trained hundreds of other teachers to teach it and, hell, even written a book about it, I’m still chewing on exactly what it is and how to describe it. Perhaps that’s the hallmark of being a life-long student of the subject.

I’m just getting this now, literally as I’m writing this, (I know, I know, slow learner, just ask Tog-hyon, the monk at the monastery), but I’m realizing that one of the reasons that Yoga Nidra is so hard to define is because it’s a practice that attempts to give you a relationship with the ineffable, with Source itself. That Source is Awareness. Yoga Nidra reveals something that is at once everywhere, fundamental, real, and true yet completely indiscernible to the senses and any other of the typical ways of knowing something. Yet, once you become aware of it, you’ll never see your life, and the world in the same way again. So, no wonder an easy definition is hard to nail down.

Here’s a stab at a brief description of Yoga Nidra …

Yoga is the experience of Oneness in body, mind, and spirit. Nidra is a Sanskrit word meaning sleep, and Yoga Nidra is often called “the yoga of sleep” because it is a form of guided meditation that uses relaxation and a system of organized and layered awareness to take you through a journey into a liminal state between waking and dreaming consciousness. It is here, in this liminal state, that you discover that your mind, body, and spirit together contain a pathway that leads to the gates of perfect presence, wholeness, and Oneness. The presence, wholeness, and oneness you experience in this state is Source. It’s pure Awareness. It’s the experience of yoga.

We naturally tend to identify with and define ourselves by limited and changeable qualifiers—our bodies, emotions, mind, desires, opinions, etc. But according to ancient wisdom, these are all illusions. They can’t possibly define us because they are all changeable and finite. Yoga Nidra helps to illuminate the part of you that never changes, the part of you that is everywhere. That hidden part is Awareness, pure and simple. Yoga Nidra helps to shift your entire world view to realize that all the things you can be aware OF simply reveal the fact that you are aware. The illusions reveal the truth. So, in Yoga Nidra we develop focus by paying attention to all the illusory layers like body, emotions, thoughts, etc. to reveal that what you are is the thing that is aware of all those layers.

Ok, with that out of the way here’s the important part …

Two years ago, I’m sitting at my desk in my 5th story apartment in France, working on developing my curriculum for teaching Yoga Nidra. This is the fantastic apartment we rented which was perched above the most delightful boulangerie. Each morning around 5 am we would stir in our beds a little as the irresistible scent of freshly baked croissants wafted through our windows. Anyway, it was well into the post-croissant hours of the day and I’m hammering away on my keyboard, trying to describe the process of illuminating the invisible with the visible and I came up with a metaphor of a tree blowing in the wind. By seeing the movement of the tree, you come to know the wind. Though it’s invisible, it’s only by what is visible dancing with the underlying wind that you come to know the wind. Pretty soon you don’t even see the tree anymore, you only see the wind, though it’s invisible.

And then Tog-hyon’s words burst into my brain and almost knocked me out of my chair. In my stream of consciousness, on the page I wrote, “WHAT IS THE PRICE OF THE WIND BLOWING THROUGH THE F@#*-ING PINES!!!!!” After almost 20 years, I finally got it! Not only did I understand the koan, but I realized how I had developed a relationship with Source, what is otherwise unknowable. I understood that largely through my Yoga Nidra practice, I had developed a relationship with the invisible EVERYTHING.

I reeled in astonishment with this insight. As I leaned back in my chair, taking it all in I spoke out loud, “What is the price of the wind blowing through the pines?” and without hesitation I heard myself answer the question, “EVERYTHING. The price is EVERYTHING.”

Everything because to know the underlying Source of all things means to forever give up the simple notion of any object. Nevermore will I experience this desk, these words, the intoxicating smell of fresh croissants in the morning because forevermore I will only see Source in the form of this desk, these words, and the intoxicating smell of fresh croissants. Everything I can be aware of reveals Awareness itself.

Holy shit.

Then everything else Tog-hyon said to me that day started flooding my mind with significance.

"The peace we have can only come from within. Otherwise, it will always leave us. We are doomed for sadness if we base our happiness on things that are constantly changing."

“You must doubt. You must continually ask the question, and one day you will learn.”

“A message from me isn't necessary. Instead, you must find the message within your own self and share it.”

"I love Dunkin Donuts!"

And then I wondered if Tog-hyon might also like croissants.

---

Thank you for hearing or reading this story. I’d love to hear about YOU’RE moments of clarity and illumination. Drop be a line. Share a story of your own.

If you’re interested in exploring “the wind in the trees” for yourself, you can either join me tonight for my twice-a-week Yoga Nidra class (Wednesdays 6–7:15 pm MST, Sundays 9–10:15 am MST), or please consider joining me for my live, online Yoga Nidra Immersion and Teacher Training. This will be a unique opportunity to dive deep into your True Being and to learn to share Yoga Nidra with the world.

Live, Online, and Recorded

Immersion Only, February 20–21, 2021 9 am to 5 pm MST

Immersion and Teacher Training February 20–21, 2021 9 am to 5 pm MST; February 26–28 9 am to 5 pm MST

Wake up to the person you were destined to become! This course is a beautiful, fascinating, and relaxing journey deep into Self.

Learn to teach this transformational practice using the power of your OWN voice and not as a rote version of your teacher. I’ll teach you not only how to teach Yoga Nidra but how to be a successful Yoga Nidra teacher. This training will pay for itself as you learn how to create opportunities for yourself to teach the transformational practice of Yoga Nidra all over the world.

If you have ever wanted to learn more about Yoga Nidra, now’s the time!

I believe this to be the best live and online Yoga Nidra immersion and training available.