Katie Hancock Yoga Nidra Tutor/Mentor

As a child, Katie was constantly on the move. Gymnastics helped to channel some of this energy, but in her primary years she hit a wall, and was given meditation tapes to listen to. These early experiences of what we might call “Yoga Nidra” gave her a profound tool to work through the toughest of times, and now in her late 40s and hitting peri-menopause these tools are really coming into their own in a new way.   

Her peri-menopausal symptoms have included huge self-doubt, questioning her ability to teach, her parenting skills and her memory. When she feels the black dog of depression encroaching, she practices Yoga Nidra, sometimes 3 times a day. It brings deep relaxation for her tired body, and allows her to stop and just be. The charge comes out of her anxieties, the importance of "the list"; she now watches the changes within her body with a lot more patience and clarity, and enjoys the ride a bit more. The hot flushes become a moment to sit back and pause, to stop and gently wait for the wave to pass. Yoga Nidra isn’t a magic pill, but it shows her she doesn’t need one.   

Katie attended yoga classes for 10 years before qualifying as a teacher with the Devon School of Yoga in 2012. Since then, she has studied Ashtanga, Bikram and Tibetan Yoga, Bhajans, Active Somatics, Reiki 1&2, Yoga Nidra with Jane Mackarness, and most recently Mental health first aid. She has been meditating since 2006 and studied Buddhism for many years. Katie teaches several weekly classes, offers occasional workshops, and runs katiesyogacollective

“The experiences of Yoga Nidra change each time, it seems the voice I am hearing will find it’s way to where it is needed most in my being, and bring a softness, a healing. But also help guide me to a vast spaciousness and clarity, which I realize is always available. It brings me back to an easy balance, and a sense of 'One step at a time' in my everyday doings.” Katie.