Stephanie Draus, ND, RYT-500, is a naturopathic physician and yoga teacher living and practicing in Mystic, Connecticut. She holds a 500-hour teaching certificate in Embodyoga, and is certified in MYT (yoga for veterans with PTSD), and Yoga for Osteoporosis. She is a certified Daring to Rest Facilitator, and a certified Grief Movement Guide.
She has been practicing yoga for almost 40 years, and regularly prescribes yoga asana (postures) as well as Yoga Nidra to her patients.
She teaches Yoga Nidra online and teaches a variety of yoga workshops throughout the year. Find her current schedule here.
She is also a Somatic EMDR practitioner and holds a certificate in Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy from The Embody Lab.
She believes deeply that yoga and rest can be a force for deep change, in the individual and in society.
Yoga nidra is a guided rest practice. With roots in yogic philosophy, modern yoga nidra practices offer an experience of relaxation and depth.
Nidra is a gentle way to encounter your deepest self, with no yoga experience–and no complicated postures–required.
Yoga nidra has been researched for its benefits for insomnia, PTSD, and anxiety. You can find academic resources here.
Daring to Rest is a form of deep rest, or yoga nidra, developed by Karen Brody, to help people reclaim rest and access their most authentic and powerful selves. This style of yoga nidra brings us through the three stages of rest, release, and rise, and brings the power of rest back to every moment of our waking lives.
Mystic Nidra is situated on the traditional lands of the Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, and Mohegan peoples. We acknowledge their ties to this land and are grateful to have these tribes living and thriving in this region to this day. You can learn more about these tribes at:
Stephanie Draus was born and raised in Chicagoland, in the unceded, ancestral homes of the Council of Three Fires: the Anishinaabeg, Odawak, and Bodewadmik, as well as more than a dozen other tribes. Chicago continues to be a center of Native life, with more than 150 of North America's Indigenous Nations represented among its citizens. Learn more here.