Welcome Certified iRest Teachers!

 

Class in session

A warm welcome to our newly Certified iRest Teachers

We value and continue to build our community (sangha) of newly certified teachers. Certification provides an opportunity for teachers to deepen and enrich their teachings as they continue to share iRest in the world. We are proud of their accomplishment. We'd like to recognize them by highlighting their personal stories below:

Rachel Atkinson - Lubbock​, Texas - Teacher Profile
 
I am a practicing nutrition and yoga therapist who, on a personal note, is madly in love with bountiful farmers markets, being in Nature all over the globe, and my beautiful nephews. I currently teach iRest to a variety of populations, in both individual sessions in my private practice and group series in local yoga studios. I fell in love with my very first iRest practice at one of Richard's workshops at SYTAR in Austin, and immediately knew I wanted to go as far as I could in learning, practicing, and teaching this work. It has shifted my life forever to know that the felt experiences of peace, connection, and bliss that I have known as a child, or in Nature, or in moments of great joy, can be intentionally cultivated and re-membered; not as random acts of grace, but as a more continuous experience of That Which Is Always Here. Bringing this background to the foreground is currently my greatest delight as a teacher, and my greatest comfort as a student. I have so much gratitude.
 
Katherine Dickson - MaryNeal, Texas - Teacher Profile
 

My professional certifications are Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapist, and Advanced Addictions Counselor. I am also trained as a certified Qiqong and TaiChi Easy teacher, and certified as a yoga kids and adult yoga teacher. I am living and loving on a ranch in West Texas and have great joy with 4 daughters, 4 son-in-laws, 13 grandchildren, and a bunch of wild turkeys.

My classes are small group and one-on-one classes. I teach modified iRest in a non-profit organization called Kids On the Land. Over a year’s span, I've been involved with over 1,000 grade school age students.

Lucy Lomax - Elkridge, Maryland - Teacher Profile

I began teaching yoga by focusing on precise alignment instructions, to keep students safe and create space in their body. Although I still teach healthy alignment in asana, for the last several years, I have focused more on welcoming the student where they are, and on helping them create spaciousness in their whole being as they explore a broader foundation that supports awareness and expansion.

I teach group classes, workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats, as well as private lessons. Although I teach all levels, my focus is on the therapeutic application of asana and meditation, especially for PTSD. So I teach to the military population and people with illnesses, injuries, or special conditions.

I found iRest many years ago and have practiced it daily since. From early traumatic experiences, the effects of which led me to live in extremes of emotion, I’ve learned to identify nuances of feeling, and now live a more balanced life. During the many hours of working through the intense, yet delightful Certification process, I studied, read, journaled, and practiced at a much deeper level, yielding an even deeper connection to the peacefulness within. 

Lisa Michelle McGalliard - Kalaheo, Hawaii - Teacher Profile

I have been working with the military community for almost 15 years. I am passionate about working with servicemen and women, because I witnessed firsthand the sacrifices they make. I spent two years in Afghanistan working with the military, and I’ve seen friends struggle with the aftermath of combat, PTSD, and suicide. 

I became a yoga and meditation teacher because I struggled with trauma related symptoms – and yoga and iRest were critical to my healing process. I love being able to share these tools for self-healing and post traumatic growth with others who struggle with the aftermath of trauma. 

I teach iRest in group classes in my studio in Kalaheo, Hawaii and one-on-one, either in person or online/telephone. While many of my clients are military veterans or trauma survivors, I work with anyone who is dealing with stress or symptoms that are interfering with their lives.

Johanna Maheshvari Mosca - Sedona, Arizona - Teacher Profile

I am so proud and grateful for the whole iRest Certification process. It was the most meaningful experience I have had in my lifetime. I feel that my consciousness has expanded to a greater degree of observing myself, staying fully present to life, and more calmly responding when challenges come. I have the privilege of leading iRest Dyads and group sessions, both indoors and out, on Sedona’s majestic red rocks, with clients who attend my Sedona YogaLife.Net Retreats and Tours. They are often stressed professionals looking for relief from the pressures of life while on vacation in Sedona. I am creating a new Sedona-Grand Canyon Yoga Nidra Retreat and invite other certified iRest colleagues to bring groups to Sedona and co-lead Yoga Nidra sessions. Now that I am certified (Yeah!), I also plan to reach out to the Sedona Community and offer Yoga Nidra in small medical offices. It’s such a blessing to have the restoring benefits of iRest to offer others and use on myself. I am truly grateful for the sense of fulfillment I experience through practicing and leading iRest. Thanks to Richard Miller, I have found my true calling.

Sheila Singh - Austin, Texas - Teacher Profile

In great part due to the iRest training program, I have remembered the place in me that is whole and at ease, even when life appears to be messy or broken. This has been personally liberating, influencing the way I show up daily as a parent, a partner and a human being. 

As a teacher, I aspire to create safe spaces for individuals to connect and uncover the wisdom and wholeness within. It gives me great joy to offer both group and private classes to adults and children. When I am not teaching, I am devoted to experiencing the magic and mystery of life. Often the explorations take root in the everyday adventures of life in Austin, TX. When possible, they take me across the States and even abroad, from surfing the ocean waves with my family to hiking through a quiet meadow by myself. I wish peace, love, and the adventure of Being to all.
 
Kathy Stevenson - Okanogan, WA - Teacher Profile
 
I was introduced to iRest during my training to become a yoga therapist. Our teacher said, if we were to take one more training after hers it should be iRest. And so the iRest seed was planted.
 
I use iRest in both group therapeutic yoga classes and with private clients (dyads). I start each group class with body & breath sensing. iRest nourishes relaxation and the relaxed bodies move with greater ease. My classes are comprised mostly of older folks with a variety of conditions (cancer recovery, chronic pain, injury, and those just wanting to move better and improve the quality of their lives). I also co-teach a weekly iRest class with fellow iRest teacher, Catherine MacLennan, with whom I have presented several 8 week series for the general public.
 
My iRest certification process was a time spent diving deeper into the practice and was rewarding on many levels. I was about 6 months into it when my adult son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Because he lives alone, I dropped everything to be with him in Oregon. He had lost his eyesight, much of his short term memory and was unable to eat. I often felt overwhelmed and lost as I navigated the vast landscape of hospitals and doctors. I would sometimes stop in the midst of the swirling and hear the voice of my teacher, Anne Douglas, saying clearly "And feel that!"
 
My calm center, my safe haven, was always there - through the 9 hr. surgery and the fear of not knowing, 10 days in the ICU, and recovery at home. (He was back to work part time a month post surgery and full time in two months.) iRest helped me to be truly present for my son. 
 

John Vosler - Marina Del Rey, California - Teacher Profile

My heartfelt desire is to be a transformational divine presence and to use Yoga Nidra as a profound tool to raise the quality of consciousness in this world. Once I learned that Yoga Nidra so quickly, effectively, and profoundly changed my life for the better, I wanted to share that gift with others.

I am a senior lead teacher at the Amrit Yoga Institute, teaching their I AM Yoga Nidra programs internationally. And I also teach multi lineage Yoga Nidra workshops using iRest and Amrit Method Yoga Nidra with the intention of giving others the opportunity to experience the many paths to divine presence, to see the commonalities of these lineages, to reach out to more people from diverse backgrounds, and to give everyone an opportunity to reconnect to their divine presence. It is a privilege to be part of the iRest community and I look forward to sharing it in the world. Peace.