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The Heart of Yoga Nidra: Teaching Yoga Nidra Through Language, Sequencing, and Guided Meditation for Deep Relaxation and Sacred Rest

The Heart of Yoga Nidra book cover by Sagel Urlacher.
The Heart of Yoga Nidra: Teaching Yoga Nidra Through Sequencing, Language, and Guided Meditation for Deep Relaxation and Sacred Rest
SILVER MEDAL WINNER LIVING NOW BOOK AWARDS 2026

"A comprehensive—even definitive—guide, both wonderfully practical and deeply profound. It’s joining Urlacher’s Yin Yoga & Meditation as a textbook in my yoga teacher training!"
—Sage Rountree, PhD, Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses

Deepen your practice and guide meaningful, transformative Yoga Nidra.

Even with a beautiful script in your hands, it can still feel like you’re just reading the words rather than fully guiding an experience. Rooted in timeless yogic wisdom and grounded in the heart, this  guide offers everything you need to deepen your own practice and skillfully guide transformative Yoga Nidra sessions.
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More than a manual, The Heart of Yoga Nidra offers an integrated understanding of the structure, purpose, and many possibilities of this luminous practice of deep rest and renewal. Bridging traditional yoga philosophy with modern neuroscience, it reveals both the why and the how behind the practice—offering a clear framework, sequencing, and practical tools for leading sessions that are deeply meaningful and attuned to your students’ needs.

You'll find step-by-step guidance for leading each stage and personalizing Yoga Nidra scripts to reflect your authentic voice. Experiential practices help you embody the teachings, while trauma-informed, inclusive principles equip you to adapt the practice and meet your students where they are. As your own practice deepens, you'll bring your Yoga Nidra sessions to life through intentional choices and responsive guidance.
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An invaluable companion for yoga teachers, practitioners, wellness professsionals, and anyone drawn to sharing Yoga Nidra—inside you’ll find:
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  • A comprehensive framework for understanding how Yoga Nidra works—and how to adapt, create, and guide transformative practices.
  • Step-by-step guidance for every stage of Yoga Nidra, including its role, sequencing, and sample language.
  • The science of deep rest and how Yoga Nidra supports nervous system regulation, builds somatic resilience, and fosters healing.
  • Trauma-informed and inclusive practices for holding supportive space across the full spectrum of experience—from restlessness and emotional release to integration.
  • An exploration of the koshas as a map for wholeness, self-discovery, and the joy of being.
  • Guidance for adapting existing scripts or writing your own stage by stage, including ways to weave themes, sankalpa, and imagery, balance intuition with form, and draw on a library of symbols to inspire your sessions.
  • Tools for tailoring the practice to different durations, intentions, and settings—from classes and private sessions to retreats.
  • Intentional language and responsive cues to help you lead with clarity, presence, and heart.
  • Reflective prompts and experiential pauses to embody the teachings, explore your inner landscape, and bridge philosophy with practice.
  • A dedicated path to deepen your personal practice and guide from authentic lived experience.
  • Yoga Nidra scripts of varying lengths, body scans, breathwork, chakra elements, and integrated class planners for personal practice and teaching.
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Lead transformative Yoga Nidra sessions with confidence, authenticity, and embodied skill for teachers, practitioners, and wellness providers.

Accessible to practitioners and teachers at all levels, The Heart of Yoga Nidra is a trusted yoga teacher training resource and a lifelong companion as you practice, prepare, and teach.

“The Heart of Yoga Nidra is an essential guide for all yoga teachers. Even if you do not teach yoga nidra, the teachings are universal and can be applied to many aspects of yoga and daily life."
—Gabrielle Harris, author of Lessons in Meditation

You may also enjoy The Book of Yoga Nidra Meditation Scripts and Yin Yoga & Meditation, complementary guides
by bestselling author Sagel Urlacher.

Available Now on Amazon in Paperback and eBook

“In The Heart of Yoga Nidra, Sagel Urlacher has written a comprehensive - even definitive - guide on how teachers can guide themselves and their students to deeper connection and balance through intentional rest. Here, readers will find everything they need to develop yoga nidra sessions that stay true to the spirit of the practice while also expressing the unique voice of each teacher who guides it and adapting to the unique needs of the students who follow it. This book is both wonderfully practical and deeply profound. It's joining Urlacher's Yin Yoga and Meditation as a textbook in my advanced studies yoga teacher training!”
Sage Rountree, PhD, E-RYT 500
Author of Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses and The Art of Yoga Sequencing‍
“This is the book every Yoga Nidra teacher has been waiting for! With clear teachings, embodied practices, and guiding questions to help uncover your own unique voice, Sagel’s gentle presence will support and empower teachers in creating their own Yoga Nidra practices. This is the resource Yoga Nidra teachers will be coming back to time after time.”
Linda Snay, E-RYT
Yoga Teacher and Teaching Artist
“The Heart of Yoga Nidra is a luminous companion for teachers drawn to the art of sacred rest. This beautifully organized, teacher-centered guide makes the art of Yoga Nidra both accessible and immediately teachable. With clarity, care, and deep respect for lineage, Sagel weaves philosophy, language, and practice into a resource teachers can confidently use immediately.”
Alexandra DeSiato
Co-author of Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses, Vol 1 & 2, and the forthcoming Yoga Off the Mat
“The Heart of Yoga Nidra is a wonderful resource for teachers and dedicated practitioners of Yoga Nidra. In this comprehensive guide Sagel Urlacher skillfully describes the many facets of this deep practice, ranging from an exploration of energetics to scientifically looking at brain-wave states, understanding how healing of long-held emotional and psychological wounds can occur to how to eloquently craft Yoga Nidra scripts."
Aiyana Athenian
Founder/Director of ShivaShakti School of Yoga
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