Show Notes
Season 9 | Ep. 3
Myo Yin with Nikki Hajitoma In this episode, I sit down with Nikki Hajitoma, founder of Yintelligence, to talk all things Myo Yin. If you've ever wondered what happens when you combine myofascial release balls with Yin Yoga, this one's for you. About Nikki Nikki is a highly esteemed teacher within the international Yin Yoga community, a vastly experienced studio teacher, and founder of Yintelligence, a school of Yin and functional Yoga. She's known for her tenure as resident lead in the Yin Yoga teacher training at Pure Yoga (Asia's largest studio group). She is considered one of the key teachers to popularize Yin Yoga in Asia. She has trained extensively with Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers, Bernie Clark, and Jo Phee, and spent nearly a decade as a personal apprentice to Jo Phee Based in London, Nikki teaches online and travels internationally to deliver specialized teacher trainings in Yin Yoga, functional anatomy, and compassionate self-inquiry. What We Talk About We kick things off with Nikki's Yoga origin story, and it's a good one. She shares openly about her struggles with addiction, the moment Yoga cracked her open during treatment at 26, and how she went from the last person anyone would expect to become a Yoga teacher to one of the most respected Yin teachers in the world. From there, we get into: What Myo Yin actually is (spoiler: it's not just a ball in a Yin pose) The different ways to practice and teach it, from dynamic rolling before a pose, to static ball placement during a Yin hold Why the combination amplifies the physical benefits, and how it can also become a powerful mindfulness practice The importance of intelligent sequencing so it doesn't just become a gimmick How Nikki uses Myo Yin with more yang-focused students to ease them into stillness We also talk about functional anatomy, the one-size-fits-all cuing problem in Yoga, alignment culture, trauma-informed teaching, and why Nikki believes you can teach functionally without being trauma-informed, but you can't be trauma-informed without teaching functionally. That one hit home for me. Nikki's Upcoming Trainings 60-hour Myo Yin Teacher Training in London at Mission: December 7 to 13, 2026 Myo Yin Teacher Training in Hong Kong: January 16 to 24, 2027 Online workshops coming in fall 2026 Online teacher training: late 2027 The best way to stay in the loop is to sign up for the newsletter on her website.
Nicky's website: yintelligence.com and Instagram
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More from Yin Yoga Podcast
Season 9 | Ep. 4 In this episode, I'm talking about what it really means to "drop Yin-side" moving past the physical stretch into an actual inner journey. We cover why Yin is mentally and emotionally harder than most people expect, the 7-layer awareness approach I use at the start of every class, how to guide students from distracted to present, what to do as a teacher while your students are holding shapes, and some quotes you're welcome to borrow for your own classes. Whether you're a practitioner wanting a richer personal practice or a teacher wanting to guide attention (not just anatomy), there's something here for you. Also mentioned in this episode: Constructive Rest Should You Use Music Dear Yin Yoga Teacher Please Shut Up Loving Kindness and Yin (Metta) Care Bears Video