Yoga Nidra · Online
Online format of the industry-leading Yoga Nidra teacher training by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli PhD and Nirlipta Tuli MA. 12 weekly sessions of 3 hours each. IAYT-accredited professional development.
The Total Yoga Nidra Teacher and Facilitator Training, online format, is run by Yoga Nidra Network under Uma Dinsmore-Tuli PhD and Nirlipta Tuli MA. The training is widely considered the principal multi-lineage Yoga Nidra teacher training in the field and is IAYT-accredited as professional development (the International Association of Yoga Therapists' APD designation). Where Amrit Yoga Institute teaches a single specific I AM method, Yoga Nidra Network teaches Total Yoga Nidra, an approach drawing on multiple Yoga Nidra lineages and emphasizing the practitioner's capacity to facilitate the practice flexibly rather than reproduce a fixed protocol. Uma Dinsmore-Tuli is one of the most published authors in the Yoga Nidra field, with multiple books on the practice and a longstanding teacher training history that predates the current explosion of Yoga Nidra certifications. The Total Yoga Nidra approach grew out of her PhD research on the practice's multiple sources: the Bihar School of Yoga (Swami Satyananda), the Himalayan Institute (Swami Rama), the iRest protocol (Richard Miller), the Amrit method (Yogi Amrit Desai and Kamini Desai), and earlier tantric and Vedantic sources. The training teaches the underlying practice principles rather than a single prescriptive script. The online format runs over twelve weeks, with three-hour live sessions weekly. Format is fully online via Zoom, accommodating practitioners globally. Cohort size is moderate, designed to support direct interaction with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli and Nirlipta Tuli alongside the teaching faculty. Course materials include Yoga Nidra recordings, written content, reading from Uma Dinsmore-Tuli's books, and personal practice assignments between sessions. What graduates emerge with is the capacity to facilitate Yoga Nidra flexibly, drawing from multiple lineages and adapting the practice to the populations they're working with: yoga teaching, therapy practice, sleep support, trauma-informed work, women's health, and community offerings. The IAYT APD recognition supports yoga therapists adding Yoga Nidra to their practice. The credential is held by Yoga Nidra Network and is recognized within the broader Yoga Nidra and yoga therapy field.
Foundational Yoga Nidra theory: the practice's tantric and Vedantic sources, the Bihar School protocol, the Himalayan Institute approach, the iRest method, the Amrit framework, and the underlying principles common across lineages (the systematic body rotation, sankalpa or intention, paired opposites, breath awareness, visualization, and meditative absorption). Total Yoga Nidra approaches these as facets of a wider field rather than competing protocols. Facilitation pedagogy: voice cadence and modulation, working with groups versus one-to-one, adapting session length, recognizing the difference between sleep and the witnessing presence, and integrating Yoga Nidra into yoga classes, therapy practice, women's-health work, sleep support, and trauma-informed contexts. Practicum delivery is part of the program. Reading draws heavily on Uma Dinsmore-Tuli's published work.
Delivery is fully online via Zoom across twelve weeks, with three-hour live sessions weekly. Cohort size is moderate, supporting direct interaction with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli and Nirlipta Tuli. Between sessions, students engage personal practice, written and recorded materials, and assigned reading. Practicum facilitation occurs within the cohort, with feedback from teachers and peers. There is no residential component in this format; the in-person retreat option is offered separately at Perugia, Italy as a distinct format.
Graduates receive Total Yoga Nidra Teacher and Facilitator Training certification from Yoga Nidra Network, IAYT-accredited as APD (Approved Professional Development). The credential qualifies graduates to facilitate Yoga Nidra in yoga teaching, therapy practice, women's health, sleep support, trauma-informed work, and community contexts. Continued professional development through Yoga Nidra Network supports ongoing facilitation skill development.
Open to practitioners with at least some prior Yoga Nidra experience as participants. No specific yoga teacher credential is required, though many candidates come from yoga teaching backgrounds. Cohort size is moderate; specific prerequisites and application processes are listed on Yoga Nidra Network's site for each cohort.
Compared with Amrit Yoga Institute's I AM Yoga Nidra Certification (single-lineage, on-demand), Total Yoga Nidra is multi-lineage and live-cohort. Compared with iRest Yoga Nidra training (the Richard Miller protocol with strong clinical and military trauma applications), Total Yoga Nidra covers iRest as one source among several rather than focusing exclusively on it. Compared with weekend Yoga Nidra certificates, this is twelve weeks of live training and IAYT-accredited. Uma Dinsmore-Tuli's published work and longstanding training lineage place Total Yoga Nidra at the field's senior end.
| Location | Online |
| Tradition | Yoga Nidra |
| Format | Online |
| Training hours | 36 |
| Duration | 12 weeks |
| Accreditation | IAYT APD |