Over more than 25 years of teaching yoga and Yoga Nidra, I’ve learned that wellness can take a lot of forms: deep rest, practical support, music, movement, and the right people showing up at the right time.
Over the next few weeks, I’m part of three yoga and wellness events that bring those threads together: The Healing Summit, a legal workshop for wellness professionals, and a weekend of yoga with live cello in Salt Lake City.
They’re different on the surface, but each one points back to the same question: how do we build a life and practice that can actually sustain us?
Which reminds me of a story.
A cellist, a lawyer, and a wellness expert walk into a bar and sit side by side.
The cellist is looking wrung out, bags under his eyes, a well-worn cello case sitting in a chair opposite him. He turns to the woman next to him.
“What do you do?”
“Oh, I’m a wellness expert.”
“Really. I could use some of that. I haven’t felt well in a while.”
“Why’s that?”
He sighs. “I work constantly. Playing cello is not only what I do, it’s who I am. I don’t know who I’d be if I stopped.”
“I think you might like Yoga Nidra.”
“Yoga Ninja?! What’s that?”
“Yoga Nidra. It’s like a guided nap that reminds you that you’re a human being, not a human doing. You come out rested and feeling more like yourself.”
“That’s exactly what I need.”
He glances at his watch. “Oh! I gotta rush off to my next gig.”
He grabs her information and hustles out the door.
After a few minutes, the lawyer sitting next to the wellness expert turns and says, “You know, you really should charge that guy. This is your livelihood. You can’t just give away your services.”
“Well, thank you. I’ll consider that next time.”
They exchange information before going their separate ways.
A few weeks later, the wellness expert gets a letter in the mail. Inside is an invoice:
Legal advice, rendered at bar.
I’m lucky enough to know all three of these people in real life. And over the next few weeks, you can get to know them too.
The Healing Summit: Yoga Nidra and a Day of Healing
On Saturday, September 19, my friend Laura Como with My Natural Healer is hosting The Healing Summit, a free day of live virtual sessions with eight practitioners.
Laura built My Natural Healer as a home where people looking for healing can find practitioners they can trust. The Healing Summit is an open door into that world.
I’m privileged to be teaching at 10am Mountain Time:
The Yoga of Sleep: How Rest Becomes Medicine
I’ll share why Yoga Nidra reaches a tired nervous system when so little else does, then guide you through a full practice so you leave having felt it rather than just heard about it.
We’ll close with a few simple ways to protect your sleep long after the Zoom window closes.
If you can, come early.
Ronda Davis opens the day at 8am Mountain Time with Meeting the Kid Who Learned to Survive.
Ronda is the founder of Healing Feathers and one of my mentees, and there are few things I love more than watching someone I’ve worked alongside step up to teach.
Through trauma-informed education, practical tools, and honest conversations, Ronda teaches people how to stop surviving and start healing by returning to their authentic selves.
Every session you attend live enters you in a drawing for healing experiences and PATH Community memberships. If you can’t make it live, recordings will be available in the PATH Community.
Legal Protection for Yoga Teachers and Wellness Professionals
Next comes the lawyer.
Chad is a different kind of lawyer than the one at the bar.
He’s upfront about what things cost, he’s genuinely helpful, and most of all, he understands our industry: yoga teachers, healers, coaches, and conscious entrepreneurs who were trained to hold space, not to write contracts.
Chad Sonkin works with yogis, coaches, gym owners, retreat leaders, and other wellness entrepreneurs to help them build businesses with the right legal protections in place.
In From Certified to Protected, I asked Chad to help us make sense of the legal side of the work we do: teaching in person and online, working one-on-one and with groups, leading retreats and trainings, and building programs of our own.
I’ve hired Chad myself to get my own paperwork in order, so I can tell you firsthand that this is time well spent.
From Certified to Protected takes place Wednesday, September 23 from 11am–12pm Mountain Time on Zoom.
The session will be recorded, with the exception of the Q&A.
For yoga teachers and wellness professionals who have spent far more time learning how to serve people than figuring out contracts, legal agreements, and business protections, this conversation is a chance to better understand that side of the work.
Yoga With Live Cello in Salt Lake City
And finally, the cellist.
Billy Mickelson is back in Salt Lake City October 2–4.
If you’ve ever been in a room when Billy plays, you know how magical it is. His music turns a practice into an experience, and I’m so, so thrilled to have him back.
On Saturday, October 3 from 7:30–8:30am MT, Billy will join me for Stiffer Bodies Yoga at Mosaic Yoga, 1991 S. 1100 E. in Salt Lake City.
Billy will be playing live during the practice. The class is by donation.
Then on Sunday, October 4 from noon–2pm, we’ll gather again at Mosaic Yoga for Restore Yoga + Yoga Nidra with Billy playing live.
This event is also by donation, with a suggested donation of $35. Please pre-register and donate at the time of the event.
We’re also planning a Billy house concert that weekend. Save the date for now. Venue and details are coming soon.
Three Different Paths Into Practice
Rest. Legal protection. Music and movement.
These may not look like they belong together, but to me they do.
A sustainable practice isn’t only about what happens on the yoga mat. It’s also about learning when to rest, creating structures that support the work we care about, and making room for experiences that bring us fully into the moment.
That’s part of what I appreciate about these three yoga and wellness events. Each approaches wellbeing from a different direction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Healing Summit?
The Healing Summit is a free virtual event hosted by Laura Como with My Natural Healer. It features eight practitioners offering live sessions focused on healing and wellbeing.
When is Scott Moore teaching at The Healing Summit?
I’ll be teaching The Yoga of Sleep: How Rest Becomes Medicine on Saturday, September 19 at 10am Mountain Time. The session includes a conversation about Yoga Nidra and sleep followed by a full Yoga Nidra practice.
What is From Certified to Protected?
From Certified to Protected is a live Zoom conversation with Chad Sonkin about legal protection for yoga teachers, coaches, retreat leaders, and other wellness professionals. We’ll look at some of the legal considerations involved in teaching, running programs, working with clients, and growing a wellness business.
Will From Certified to Protected be recorded?
Yes. The main session will be recorded. The Q&A portion will not be included in the recording.
When is Billy Mickelson teaching with Scott Moore in Salt Lake City?
Billy will be joining me for yoga with live cello on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4 at Mosaic Yoga in Salt Lake City.
Where are the yoga and live cello events being held?
Both the Saturday Stiffer Bodies Yoga class and Sunday Restore Yoga + Yoga Nidra practice will take place at Mosaic Yoga, 1991 S. 1100 E., Salt Lake City, Utah.
