Accessible Yoga School Blog
6 Tips for Yoga Teachers Moving Towards Accessibility
By Jivana Heyman
I’ve had so many people tell me, “I’m not flexible enough to do yoga.” Of course, flexibility doesn’t really have anything to do with yoga! So hearing this over and over can be incre...
3 Trauma-Informed Breathing Cues
by Jivana Heyman
We can make our pranayama practices more accessible through a better understanding of the breath. Here, three trauma-informed breathing cues to inform your teaching.
1. Bigger isn’t...
Here's the poem I return to when thinking about the breath
by Jivana Heyman
Here’s a poem I often return to when thinking about the breath. Kabir clarifies the importance of the breath in spiritual practice, answering the timeless question, “What is God?” He...
Breathing Through the Kleysa
by Jivana Heyman
In one of the most poetic passages of his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali explains that pranayama, the breathing practices, allow our inner light, or spirit, to shine. He says, “As a result [...
3 Ways to Make Pranayama More Accessible
by Jivana Heyman
1. Celebrate your breath.
If you’re breathing, you’re doing it right. Starting with this affirmation can completely shift our experience of breathing practices. On the other hand, ...
3 Self-Study Prompts to Help You Tap Into a Realm of Infinite Possibilities
by M Camellia
This morning I woke up feeling chilly. I made myself a hot cup of coffee and went about my morning routine. Somewhere along the way, I set my coffee down, and when I next went to take a...
Reimagining Everything: A Guided Meditation with kelley nicole palmer
"If we are going to move it forward, stop leaning into performative allyship, and really build solidarity and community in an authentic way, we’re gonna have to think about it from a new angle. We’re ...
Do you use possessive pronouns when teaching yoga?
by Jivana Heyman
Our primary tool when teaching yoga is our language, and the words we choose are essential in sharing the heart of the teachings. Many of us have been trained to avoid using possessi...
How does ableism show up in yoga practice and teaching?
"Our job as accessible yoga teachers is to see through the veil of ableism, to understand that yoga is something that is already accessible to everyone. The essential concepts of yoga are that we have...
Disruption as a Practice: The Responsibility of Yoga Teachers in Dismantling Systems of Oppression
By kelley nicole palmer
There is this particular part of my way of working as a yoga teacher and coach that is part resistance, part deliberate dismantling, and part releasing the need to follow what...
