Intro to the Nervous System

Six modules

A short, self-paced course for yoga teachers who want to understand what they are already seeing in their yoga room. Six modules, released weekly. Yours for a year.

Sign up, £49.99

You have been reading the nervous system for years

A student stops coming to your strong classes and starts coming to your slower ones. Another cries in savasana and apologises. A third holds her breath every time you cue an inversion. You have been reading the nervous system in your room for a long time, whether or not you had the words for it. This course gives you the words.

It is a short introduction for teachers who want to understand the science under the practice without being buried in it. It stays with one thing: learning to see clearly. What the nervous system is doing in the bodies in front of you, and how to notice it.

It does not teach you how to change it. That work- the sequencing, the cueing, the practice itself- belongs to the 50-hour training this course leads into. Here, we learn to see first, and the rest of the work depends on it.

What you will learn

Six short modules, one released each week. Each one points at something you may have already seen in your yoga room, and the workbook helps you take the theory to your next class before the next module arrives.

Module 1: What We Actually Mean: Why the nervous system gets used so loosely in yoga, and what we will actually mean by it.

Module 2: The Two Things a Body Can Do: Two students in the same savasana, and only one of them is resting.

Module 3: When the Breath Unsettles a Student: Why the same breath settles one student and doesn’t another.

Module 4: When a Student Cries: The student who cries in a long hold, and a kinder and truer account of it than the one we have been told.

Module 5: When Practice Does Not Carry: Why some students never seem to carry their progress from one week to the next.

Module 6: Two Kinds of Stillness: The student who cannot rest, and the student who has quietly left the room, and the difference that changes how you teach them.

Honesty about What is Known…

Polyvagal theory sits behind most nervous-system yoga teaching now. It is useful, and it is also genuinely debated in neuroscience literature and recent research, and most trainings do not mention that debate. We do. You will learn it as a working map worth having, and you will learn where its edges are, so you can use the language honestly in your own teaching rather than repeat claims that are still debated.

Who This Training Is For

This training is suitable if you:

  • You are a yoga teacher, or close to qualifying as one.

  • You already use nervous-system language, and you want to understand what sits beneath it.

  • You are thinking about the 50-hour, and you want to see how you take to learning with me before you commit.

What's included in the course

  • Six short modules, video and written, released one a week.

  • A workbook that helps you take what you notice back into your own teaching space. It stays within observing only, not method.

  • One year of access to everything.

The First Step, not a separate spend

Whatever you pay for this course, the full £49.99 comes off the 50-hour training when you start it. The intro is the beginning, and the 50-hour training is where the practice lives; it opens on 19 October 2026.

Intro to the Nervous System
£49.99
One time

Six short modules for yoga teachers on what the nervous system is actually doing in your students' bodies and right in front of you. One module a week, with a workbook that takes each module's theory and concepts into your next class. One payment, and it is yours for a year.

✓ Six short modules
✓ One year of access
✓ Comprehensive workbook for your practice and classes

Testimonial / graduate reflections

  • If all teachers were like Gem the world would be a much lovelier place. Her knowledge is vast and I could listen to her all day. I'm awaiting her TedTalk and podcast. Her style of teaching is the perfect balance of loving, patient, confidence building whilst also pushing you a little out of your comfort zone because it's clear her intention is for you to be the best you can be. Gem's passion for yoga, Eastern Philosophy, anatomy, and many many other topics is super inspiring. This experience felt like a loving container and I have emerged with a renewed enthusiasm for life and certainly my yoga practice with I have deeply reconnected with. Thank you Gem, I truly appreciate the energy you shared with us, this weekend was medicine...I might sneak into every training 🤍

    Suzy Holiday (White Rabbit Glasgow)
    Yin Yoga Immersion

  • I absolutely loved my Yin Training with Gem, Gem is a fantastic teacher with tons & tons of experience, which she gladly shares with so much love & respect. I was unsure about doing the whole course online, but I think it could be a more effective way to learn! I felt more focused & comfortable in my own home, and although it was online, we all got to know each other & it felt very relaxed. The course is packed with learnings, but you never felt overloaded or rushed. I feel that my own personal teaching style has evolved from doing this course as well as learning about Yin, I honestly loved it and feel so grateful for the experience.

    Jules McKinnon

  • My experience of Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Gem was certainly not as expected. With the emergence of Covid-19 and its associated lockdown, our 50hrs moved online. I needn't have worried though. I was looking to understand the philosophy of Yin, develop my practice and improve the way I share my practice with others; I wasn't disappointed. Gem's teaching was fun, interactive and pitched correctly. She was also supportive and available for questions/counsel at any time. I learned so much and couldn't wait to share my new knowledge. I also learned a lot about myself and my own practice, through introspection and journaling. Loved it.

    Fiona McGill

  • A beautiful teacher training experience. Gem is so knowledgeable and delivers the training with a love and passion for all things Yin. I finished the Yin Teacher Training with all the knowledge and confidence to start my own Yin teaching journey. Gem gives so much across ALL the modules, you would be mad not to do your Yin YTT with Gem, let her love of yin yoga become your new passion

    Graham Munro

  • So many beautiful take-always. Gem’s course was well structured, a perfect balance of practice & theory. Questions & enquiry were encouraged and Gem’s ability to respond with a great depth of knowledge, experience & wisdom was evident. Her passion, accessibility & unpretentiousness made for a truly comfortable, inspiring & joyous learning environment, she gently guided us all into finding our own paths within the Yin practice which was really quite special.

    Yin Yoga Immersion Trainee

  • Gem’s Yin Yoga Teacher Training exceeded my expectations. It covered everything I needed to know to begin sharing yin yoga with others. Gem has so much insight and wisdom and delivers this authentically with passion and precision. There was the perfect balance of Yin practice, theory and teaching, planning classes, she welcomed the group into her warm and comfortable home and cooked delicious lunches each day! This course has give me the tools and resources to confidently start teaching yin yoga. Thank Gem!!

    Emma Saville (2023 Yin Teacher Training)

  • The training was not just about imparting knowledge but also great preparation for starting to teach yin confidently. Great ideas about how to structure classes - very pragmatic training. Encouraging you to apply your knowledge in a practical way.

    Sonya McKinlay (2023 Yin Training) 

 FAQs

Here, you’ll find answers to commonly asked questions about the course to help you feel informed and confident about your decision to join me for this Nervous System and Yoga Foundations training.

  • The first is there the day you join, along with your workbook for the whole course, and the rest arrive once a week after that. Everything stays available to you for a year. It is built this way on purpose. The workbook asks you to take one thing to your next class and watch for it, and that needs a week rather than an afternoon.

  • The course is written for yoga teachers and for committed students who are close to teaching. If you are unsure whether it is right for you, write to me here: deesideyogainstiute@gmail.com

  • No. This is the short introduction. It teaches you to read the nervous system in the room. The 50-hour is where you learn what to do with what you see, across Yin, somatic work, breath, and slower vinyasa, with assignments, personal feedback, and certification.

  • No, but it is the natural first step, and the fee comes off the 50-hour if you go on. If you are new to this material, start here.

  • No. It is education for teachers. It does not train you to treat or diagnose, and we are clear throughout about the scope of practice for yoga teachers.