The penny drops's podcast

This yoga Nidra was recorded live at the Life Centre in London in January 2025 and was part of my signature workshop: Improving Sleep Workshop: Simple Moves, breathwork & Strategies.

Sleep issues have become widespread in our fast-paced lives, affecting our ability to fall asleep naturally and happily. Quality sleep is crucial for overall well-being.

While a quick fix for instant sleep isn't a reality, there's hope. You hold the key!

During this workshop, I shared simple, proven techniques and tips to enhance sleep and combat insomnia. These straightforward strategies can be incorporated into our daily routine to help reset and improve our sleep and overall well-being.

Along with somatic moves, yoga techniques, breathing, and mindfulness exercises to help you unwind and prepare for restful sleep, Yoga Nidra is super important and useful for anyone who cannot or doesn't want to move, or who wants an effective practice to fall asleep fast.

This episode was the recording of the Yoga Nidra offered at the end of the workshop.

Use it in bed before bedtime, or to prepare you for a calm evening; use this recording in the late afternoon.

Enjoy

PS: Check this link about my future online and in-studio events.

Upcoming events ›

A few months ago, a mutual friend sent an email to both Megan Bader and me. She was adamant that we would get on like a house on fire and talk for a long time about somatic education and the current state of the wellness industry.

She was right; I loved my discussion with Megan about how I became the teacher that I am now, after years of different practices moulding me and allowing me to be free of dogmas, mystic gimmicks, and unnecessary and irrelevant stuff that we encounter in the world of yoga and spirituality.

People who work and train with me know my motto: Less is more!

Episode Summary written by Megan Bader:

This episode features Laurent, a yoga and somatic teacher whose approach blends Scaravelli Yoga with Feldenkrais-based somatic work. Laurent has practised yoga for over three decades, beginning in the disciplined world of Ashtanga in the 90s, before discovering a more receptive, listening-based approach through Scaravelli and years of one-to-one study with teachers, including osteopath John Stirk and a direct lineage holder of Vanda Scaravelli's teaching.

Recorded during Mental Health Awareness Week, the conversation explores what "action" really means for wellbeing, why self-care often needs to come before we can show up for others, and how Laurent builds a personal toolkit of practices, from craniosacral and fascial therapy to self-massage, foot care, cooking, and gardening, tailored to what a given week calls for.

Laurent and Megan also talk candidly about the shifts underway in the yoga and wellness world, the tension between traditional and evolving practices, and a shared sense that a "post-pandemic energy" seems to be resurfacing in people right now. A grounded, thoughtful conversation about returning to the body as a place of safety and why there's no single right way to practise.

My interviewer: Megan Bader's bio:

Megan Bader is a queer contemporary dance artist based in Mauritius, whose international practice spans performance, choreography, teaching, and creative collaboration.

Her movement work combines floorwork, partnering, improvisation, release-based techniques, and somatic principles, creating physically demanding yet deeply embodied experiences that encourage vulnerability, connection, and authentic storytelling. Alongside her international performances, she teaches through the IN. U framework, promotes sustainable movement practices, and continues to develop her work through inclusive dance training and yoga.

Her podcast on all platforms: Conversation for the Moving Self

In this new episode, I'm sharing a discussion with Lilly Balch from the Space Studio in Clapham, London and the Morning Ritual Podcast.

In this conversation with Lilly, we mainly discuss how to rest, relax, and restore – including issues related to insomnia and sleep.

These states may sound similar, but they are not.

Together, we explore how they differ and how each one contributes to reaching a state of calm and peace, which is essential for feeling well and happy.

I hope you enjoy our conversation, and thank you very much for listening to my podcast.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy listening to this episode. And if you're interested, you can also listen to Lilly Balch's podcast directly using this link: https://www.lillybalch.com/podcast or subscribe to 'The Morning Ritual' on your favourite podcast platforms.

You can also watch the YouTube version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/@MorningRitual/featured

The final exploration on this breathing journey through the body is the head.

When we breathe, the beginning and conclusion of the flowing breath are held within the head as air passes through the nostrils, connecting us to the surrounding space.

Yoga philosophy believes that inhaled air carries 'universal energy', akin to a life force or prana. Conversely, when we exhale, we release 'biological energy'—the energy generated by our body.

With this episode's meditation, enjoy exchanging those energies, which fosters our connection with the universe and those around us.

Please note: If you want to receive Laurent's e-book, 'Touching the Body with The Breath', please join our mailing list, and we will email it to you at the end of this series.

In this fifth episode, 'Touching the Body with the Breath', we connect with one of our body's busiest and most sensitive parts– the throat.

The meditation in this episode is a soothing practice using a quiet inner sound. This breathing technique, combined with a peaceful focus on this fragile area of our being, allows us to receive what we crave most: tranquillity and calm.

Please note: If you want to receive Laurent's e-book, 'Touching the Body with The Breath', please join our mailing list, and we will email it to you at the end of this series. Please note: If you want to receive Laurent's e-book, 'Touching the Body with The Breath', please join our mailing list, and we will email it to you at the end of this series.

In this fourth episode, 'Touching the Body with the Breath,' we discover something that is always within us, but that is sometimes suppressed and forgotten: the Silent Breath.

It manifests itself in the most secret and sacred area of our body, near the heart and inside our chest, and can be found only if we listen carefully. Your reward in finding it is peace!

Please note: If you want to receive Laurent's e-book, 'Touching the Body with The Breath', please join our mailing list, and we will email it to you at the end of this series.

In this third, 'Touching the Body with the Breath,' we learn to meet the most grounded area in our being, the Navel.

It is our powerhouse; when we feel turmoil and overwhelmed, we can find refuge in this trusted home.

Please note: If you want to receive Laurent's e-book, 'Touching the Body with The Breath', please join our mailing list, and we will email it to you at the end of this series.

In the second part of the series, 'Touching the Body with the Breath,' we delve into the most concealed, timid, and reserved section of our spine: the tail, also known as the coccyx.

We explore its spiritual significance in yoga practices like pranayama and meditation, and how it can symbolise security, groundedness, and stability.

Enjoy observing your tail dance!

Please note: If you want to receive Laurent's e-book, 'Touching the Body with The Breath', please join our mailing list, and we will email it to you at the end of this series.

In part one of the series, 'Touching the Body with the Breath', we mindfully explore our body's central structure, the spine, using the classic spinal breathing technique.

It has a simultaneous impact: grounding and elevating, which create a sense of balance and equilibrium in our being.

Please note: If you want to receive Laurent's e-book, 'Touching the Body with The Breath', please join our mailing list, and we will email it to you at the end of this series.

In 2023, I eagerly put pen to paper to craft a little book, sharing a compilation of my own favourite meditations that unite poetry with Body-Breath Connections.

Today, I've chosen to present this book and its six chapters on The Penny Drops podcast. In this trailer, I introduce the series and explain the content of the six short episodes.

Please note: If you want to receive Laurent's e-book, 'Touching the Body with The Breath', please join our mailing list, and we will email it to you at the end of this series.