Ready to take your chair yoga teaching to the next level?
In this comprehensive 28-hour online training, you’ll deepen your sequencing, cueing, and languaging skills, so you can design creative chair yoga classes that meaningfully integrate the heart of the teachings.
This program will grow your knowledge of teaching chair yoga so that you can bring the practice to all students and populations who would benefit—including those who live with spinal cord injuries or neurological conditions, stroke survivors, and older adults.
Through workshops and sample practices, you’ll gain practical tips for offering chair yoga in spaces beyond the studio, learn how to adapt these practices to a vast spectrum of needs and experiences, and expand your reach as a teacher.
Enrollment includes 1 year of access to the course content, including live session recordings, pre-recorded practices & associated resources.
Who is this course designed for?
COURSE OVERVIEW & SCHEDULE
The Art of Teaching Chair Yoga is a 28-hour online course, including 19-hours of LIVE training, 6 hours of pre-recorded mini-workshop & practice videos, plus a final teaching and reflection project to put the skills you have learnt into practice.
Session 1 (FREE PREVIEW)
Friday January 23rd, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (75 mins)
Teaching a Holistic Chair Yoga Practice
with Jivana Heyman
One of the most important questions we need to ask ourselves as teachers is whether we are sharing the fullness of yoga with our students. This is especially true when we’re teaching chair yoga, in which we distill complex poses and concepts into safe, accessible practices that offer tremendous benefits for various special populations. When we integrate subtle practices and the philosophy at the heart of yoga’s teachings, it creates a richer, more effective experience.
In this 75-minute session, we’ll cover:
- Teaching pranayama safely in chair yoga
- Integrating meditation in a chair practice
- Incorporating yoga philosophy in chair yoga classes
Plus, we’ll experience a short chair yoga practice without additional props.
Join the first session of The Art of Teaching Chair Yoga as a FREE course preview
If you are curious about this new 10-part live online course with Jivana Heyman & guests, with additional pre-recorded practices, we invite you to join the first session as a FREE course preview.
Enter your details below to register to receive access to this 75-minute session with Jivana Heyman, Teaching a Holistic Chair Yoga Practice, on January 23rd, as a preview of the full course.
(If you are unable to join live, that's okay! Registration for this free course preview will also include access to the captioned replay).
Session 2
Tuesday January 27th, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
Building Effective Chair Yoga Sequences
with Jivana Heyman
A yoga sequence guides us on an inward journey back home to ourselves. Just like any yoga class, the sequence of practices in a chair yoga class is an essential ingredient. However, in the context of a chair yoga practice, we have additional safety elements to consider, especially given the communities we serve. For example, our sequences can help reduce potential blood pressure regulation issues, or even falls—and they can consider major health conditions of our students.
This session will share a clear, concise method to approach sequencing through the wisdom of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga. We’ll also experience a chair yoga practice demonstrating this progression.
Session 3
Friday January 30th, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
Understanding the Impact of Our Words
with Jivana Heyman
As teachers, our language can create a chair yoga experience that leaves our students feeling welcomed, supported, and encouraged. While our word choice is important, the way we express it is too! It’s not about memorizing prescribed sentences or words—finding your voice as a teacher is a big part of effective teaching. In this session, we’ll explore the yogic concept of karma, which means action, and the result of action, to refine our language and tap into our authentic voice. We’ll also dive into trauma-informed teaching and tips to effectively communicate with our students.
This session will include a chair yoga practice with a focus on language options, including invitational language, for teaching.
Session 4
Tuesday February 3rd, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
Creativity & Collaboration in Chair Yoga
with Jivana Heyman
Teaching chair yoga demands creativity and spontaneity. We need to be prepared for class as well as flexible and ready to shift the plan. If this makes us nervous… that’s a good thing! Mistakes or missed opportunities are the field for learning and growing, and over time we’ll find that the answer always lies in creative and collaborative solutions, working with our students as co-creators of the experience. Plus, it can be freeing and fun to let go of the plan and lean into what the moment calls for. In this session, we’ll explore how to shift our perspective to tap into our creativity, and approach teaching chair yoga as a practice in itself.
This session will include a chair yoga practice taught as a narrative journey. Using story and connecting with functional movement, chair yoga can be engaging, useful, and fun.
Session 5
Friday February 6th, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
Chair Yoga for Neurodivergent Adults
with Shawnee Thornton Hardy
In this workshop, we’ll explore how chair yoga supports neurodivergent adults in cultivating body awareness, grounding, and regulation through gentle, accessible movement.
Combining education on proprioception, interoception, and authentic expression with an embodied chair yoga practice, we’ll explore edges, midline, and flow as pathways to safety, containment, and wholeness.
Rooted in a trauma-informed and neuro-affirming lens, this offering nurtures inclusion, embodiment, and resilience for a wide range of bodies and nervous systems.
Session 6
Tuesday February 10th, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
Chair Yoga for Spinal Cord Injuries & Mobility Disabilities
with Dara Brown
Join Dara Brown, MPH, E-RYT 500 for an insightful workshop exploring yoga for individuals with spinal cord injuries and other mobility disabilities. This session will offer foundational knowledge of these conditions, introduce effective and adaptive teaching methodologies, and provide practical strategies for creating inclusive, accessible yoga classes. You will have the opportunity to apply concepts from the lecture and demonstrations by engaging in a guided seated yoga class. Plus, you will leave with actionable tools to enhance your personal practice and more confidently support students living with mobility challenges.
Session 7
Friday February 13th, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
Chair Yoga for Neurological Conditions
with Lian Norris
In this workshop, you’ll explore common neurological diagnoses and symptoms that affect movement, balance, sensation, and cognition. You’ll learn how to weave yogic concepts, including breathwork, grounding, and mindful awareness, into practice. The session will include a guided yoga demonstration with variations and strategies for all abilities.
You’ll leave with tools to create accessible, empowering movement experiences that build confidence, ease, and mindfulness.
Session 8
Tuesday February 17th, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
Chair Yoga for Functional Strength & Therapeutic Movement
with Dr Marcia Dernie
Discover techniques for using asana to strengthen during a chair yoga practice, with varied levels of intensities and options. We’ll also review teaching implications when considering acute illness and/or chronic conditions to allow for therapeutic movement.
This session will offer valuable insight about building safe, effective chair practices from a physical therapist’s perspective.
Session 9
Friday February 20th, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
Chair Yoga for Older Adults in Aged Care and Assisted Living Facilities
with Dr. Yasmin Bedi
In this workshop we will be covering the key aspects associated with safely and effectively delivering chair yoga to older adults living in assisted living facilities. We will start by understanding who we are working with, in terms of their unique needs and considerations prior to commencing a chair yoga practice. We will explore our core aims and how we can benefit the older adults we are working with. Finally, we will discuss who and/or what is needed to deliver a chair yoga class, before undertaking a practical session to put our learning into practice.
Session 10
Tuesday February 24th, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (2 hours)
The Power of Chair Yoga: Expanding Your Reach
with Jivana Heyman
Chair Yoga is truly for everyone—which means that there are a lot of students in our community who can benefit from our offerings! As chair yoga teachers, we have the power to demonstrate radical inclusion in the way we teach. In this session we’ll explore ways to expand reach as a chair yoga teacher. This includes how to start new classes, engage existing students, and share about chair yoga as service to all humanity and as a reflection of yoga’s core teaching of union and connection.
This session will include a practice focused on building our inner power and setting an intention for our future goals.
PRE-RECORDED PRACTICE
Adaptive Yoga for Life After Stroke
with Abigail Atkinson
This adaptive chair yoga class offers gentle, accessible movement practices for people living with the effects of stroke. Taught by stroke survivor and yoga educator Abigail Atkinson, the session explores practical ways to rebuild confidence, reconnect body and brain, and move with greater ease. Abigail begins with key considerations for teaching students after stroke, followed by a guided chair yoga practice done seated and standing with support. You’ll gain insight into safe, effective adaptations, while students discover simple ways to enhance awareness, balance, and trust in their body’s capacity to heal and grow.
PRE-RECORDED PRACTICE
Chair Yoga for the Workplace
with Claire Cunneen
This class gives chair yoga teachers a practical experience of teaching in workplace and corporate settings. Claire will lead a guided chair yoga class, with demonstrated techniques for promoting posture, mobility, stress relief, and mental clarity in an office or working from home environment. Along the way, you’ll gain insights into effective class structure, cueing strategies, and ways to engage employees, including tips for addressing common workplace challenges such as tension, fatigue, and reduced concentration. By the end of the session, you’ll gain knowledge of how to lead a chair yoga class that supports well-being, enhances focus, encourages connection and contributes to a healthier, more productive workplace culture.
PRE-RECORDED PRACTICE
Service-Oriented Chair Yoga
with Finlay Wilson
In this class, Finlay Wilson leads a fun, prop-free seated chair yoga practice appropriate for community outreach settings. The dynamic practice focuses on building strength and mobility throughout the body, including a focus on hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders, neck, and spine, to support a range of populations, including those who use mobility devices. The practice includes options for a range of abilities and needs, and options to incorporate props for those who have props available. Sharing about his experience as a CEO of a community-focused organization, Finlay also offers some considerations for teaching in a variety of community and outreach settings, and centering service and accessibility in your teaching.
PRE-RECORDED PRACTICE
Chair Yoga for Teens
with Chloë Thorogood
Learn an approach to teaching chair yoga appropriate for teens and school settings, through movement, mindfulness, and connection to support a healthy mind and body. In this session, Chloë Thorogood discusses considerations for supporting younger people, including key challenges and changes they may be experiencing. She also shares the benefits of yoga for teens to promote focus, creativity, connection and calm, as well as supporting positive body image, building tools for self-regulation and resilience, and providing a space for autonomy and self-awareness. Chloë also shares a predominantly seated chair yoga practice for teens, incorporating fun and creativity, energizing and calming postures, strength and balance, mobility, breath practices, and guided relaxation.
Are you curious about how this training differs from our signature 50-hour Accessible Yoga Training Online?
Check out our FAQs for further details about these two courses.
Check out the course FAQs
Equity Pricing Explained:
Upon registration, you’ll choose from one of three pricing tiers that best suits your financial means:
- Community Rate (supported by your peers)
- Sustainer Rate (covers your enrollment)
- Supporter Rate (covers your enrollment + supports peers)
Need help clarifying which pricing tier is most appropriate for you? Please refer to this helpful graphic by Alexis J Cunningfolk.
Each tier offers 2 ways to enroll:
- Single upfront payment
- 3-month payment plan, with equal installments charged upon registration and on the same date each month for the duration of your plan.
If the pricing options available are not financially accessible, please refer to the partial scholarship application information below.
Intention of Equity Pricing:
Our equity pricing structure and scholarship program was created to amplify training access for those who hold marginalized identities and those experiencing significant financial hardship.
If neither of those qualifications apply to you, please consider enrolling at the Supporter or Sustainer Rate, which supports the ability to offer Scholarships and a Community Rate to folks experiencing financial difficulties.
Click your chosen pricing tier below to access payment options.
In addition to the live course, enrollment includes 1 year of access to the live session recordings, pre-recorded content and associated resources.
Community Rate $399
Sustainer Rate $499
Supporter Rate $599
Partial Scholarships
Please review our above tiered pricing and payment plan options, as well as the intention of our equity pricing structure.
If our tiered pricing and payment plan options are financially inaccessible, you are welcome to apply for a partial scholarship.
PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
