iRest Yoga Nidra:
A 6-Week Series for Grounding, Regulation & Resilience
Stress, anxiety, emotional overwhelm, and burnout can make it difficult to stay connected to yourself when you need that connection most. This six-week series offers a structured way to practice something different. Using iRest Yoga Nidra, mindfulness, body awareness, and practical reflection, we’ll explore ways of meeting thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations with greater steadiness and flexibility.
The goal isn’t to make your mind blank or force yourself to relax. It’s to build a more reliable internal home base, so that when difficult experiences arise, you have more room to respond rather than simply being swept along by them.
October 9–November 20, 2026
Fridays at 4:00 - 5:15 PM
No session October 23
5760 N. High St.
$150 for the full six-week series
What is iRest?
iRest is a guided meditation practice based in the tradition of Yoga Nidra and adapted for contemporary life.
The practice may include body sensing, breath awareness, emotions, thoughts, imagery, intention, and experiences of ease or well-being. You can participate sitting, lying down, or in whatever position feels most supportive. The approach is choice-based and trauma-sensitive. You are always welcome to modify a practice, keep your eyes open, move, rest, or simply listen.
You do not need any previous experience with yoga or meditation, and you do not need to be “good at meditating” to participate.
Try iRest for Yourself
The best way to understand iRest is to experience it. These two guided practices offer different ways into the practice. Choose the length and focus that feels right for you.
What We’ll Explore
Week 1: Grounding & Inner Resource
Developing a sense of steadiness and exploring what helps you feel supported from within.
Week 3: Coming Back to the Body
Practicing body awareness and learning to meet physical sensations with curiosity rather than immediately needing to change them.
Week 5: Working with Opposites
Using the iRest practice of opposites to create more space around difficult thoughts, emotions, and sensations.
Week 2: Intention & What Matters Most
Connecting with the deeper values, desires, and directions that matter to you.
Week 4: Welcoming Emotions
Exploring emotions as experiences that can be noticed, felt, and responded to with greater flexibility.
Week 6: Integration, Joy & Well-Being
Bringing the practices together and exploring our capacity to recognize ease, connection, and well-being alongside difficulty.
Who This Series Is For
This series may be a good fit if you:
Feel stressed, anxious, burned out, or emotionally overwhelmed
Spend a lot of time “in your head” and want a more embodied way of relating to yourself
Want practical tools for grounding and emotional regulation
Have found meditation difficult, frustrating, or hard to stick with
Are already in therapy and want a regular practice to support the work you’re doing
Simply want to deepen your relationship with yourself
No previous experience with yoga or meditation is required.
You will never be required to share personal experiences with the group, and you are always welcome to modify or decline any practice.
Alongside Therapy
This series can complement individual therapy by giving you repeated opportunities to practice grounding, body awareness, emotional regulation, and noticing your experience without immediately becoming overwhelmed by it.
For people doing EMDR, these practices may support skills often developed during the preparation phase, including resourcing, present-moment awareness, and increasing your capacity to stay connected to yourself while difficult material is present.
This series is not EMDR treatment or group psychotherapy, and it does not replace individualized mental health care.
For Therapists & Referring Clinicians
This series is designed as an educational and experiential mindfulness offering, not group psychotherapy or EMDR treatment.
For clients who are already in therapy, repeated practice with grounding, body awareness, internal resourcing, emotional flexibility, and present-moment awareness may complement stabilization and preparation work.
Therapists are welcome to refer clients who may benefit from a structured, trauma-sensitive mindfulness practice alongside their individual treatment.
About Evan
Evan Wilkerson, MSW, LISW, is a psychotherapist and Certified iRest Yoga Nidra Teacher who has been practicing and teaching iRest for approximately ten years. His work brings together psychotherapy, mindfulness, body awareness, and contemplative practice.
He has taught iRest in clinical, community, educational, yoga, and professional training settings, including teaching and assisting at iRest trainings for therapists and other practitioners.
Evan’s approach is rooted in the understanding that wholeness is not something we have to find or create. It is already here, and practice can help us remember it.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. The series is designed for beginners as well as people with an existing meditation practice.
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No. You are welcome to practice sitting, lying down, standing, or in whatever position feels most supportive.
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No. You are never required to disclose anything personal, and you are always welcome to participate quietly. At the same time, many people find that hearing others’ reflections and choosing to share when it feels right can deepen the experience, create connection, and help the practices come alive in new ways. Group participation is encouraged, but never forced.
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No. This is an educational and experiential mindfulness series, not individual or group psychotherapy, EMDR treatment, or crisis care.
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You can still attend the remaining sessions. Each week builds on the series while also offering practices that can stand on their own. After each session, I’ll send a brief recap along with a recording of the practice so you can revisit it between meetings or catch up if you miss a week.
Ready to Join?
Six Fridays of guided iRest Yoga Nidra, reflection, and practice designed to support grounding, regulation, and a deeper connection with yourself.
October 9–November 20, 2026
Fridays at 4:00 - 5:15 PM
No session October 23
5760 N. High St.
$150 for the full six-week series