Accessible Yoga Association
Monthly Programs
Workshops | Asana Classes | Community Forums
Eligible for CEUs through Yoga Alliance & IAYT.
Replays will be made available for those who cannot attend live. Captions available.
*Photo by Sarit Z. Rogers
Organized around a monthly theme, our monthly programs offer professional education for making yoga accessible to under-resourced and underserved communities as well as addressing other obstacles to accessibility. Our programs include a monthly Workshop, Asana Class, and Community Forum. We also offer podcasts, newsletters, social media posts, and blog posts related to our monthly themes.
Learn
The Workshop focuses on detailed educational information. Come prepared to learn an overview of the theme and learn practical application skills for working with the community or area of focus.
Practice
The Asana Class offers a sample class with safe and effective practices for the community or area we are focusing on.
Networking
The Community Forum offers an opportunity for professional networking in the area we are focused on. This includes a discussion of best practices, educational referrals, and networking with other yoga professionals.
June 2022: Yoga for People Who Use Wheelchairs & Mobility Devices
This month, Accessible Yoga’s monthly programming focuses on yoga for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
Featuring presenters with personal and professional experience practicing and teaching yoga for those who use mobility devices, each offering aims to expand awareness and broaden our communal knowledge of how to make yoga accessible to people with mobility disabilities.
Asana Class
Exploring Asana in My Wheelchair
Asana Class with Cherie Hotchkiss
Monday, June 13th, 2022
3pm-4pm PDT (Los Angeles)
6pm-7pm EDT (New York)
(Replay available for registrants)
(Convert to your local timezone)
People who use wheelchairs, for a better quality of life, can practice asana in their wheelchair, along with the other limbs of yoga. Obviously, there are specific issues not covered in a traditional yoga certification. This class, appropriate for wheelchair users as well as teachers who share classes for this population, or would like to, will include wheelchair etiquette, safety, a 45 minute asana practice in a wheelchair and time for questions.
Yoga instructors who have never used a wheelchair, and invite people who do use wheelchairs to their classes, are encouraged to rent a wheelchair to experience this unique practice for themselves.
Recommended props:
- 2 chairs, preferably without arms, or 1 ideally a wheelchair (can be rented for a day from a durable medical equipment store)
- 2 blocks and/or large bolster
- 1 or 2 blankets
- Second rolled yoga mat or same size bolster
Cherie Hotchkiss (she/her)
Tiered pricing to reflect your financial situation.
Discounted Bundle available to attend all three events (Workshop, Class, and Community Forum)
Workshop
Teaching Accessible, Adaptive and Inclusive Yoga Classes for Wheelchair Users Workshop with Rodrigo Souza
Wednesday June 22nd, 2022
9am-10:30am PDT (Los Angeles)
12pm-1:30pm EDT (New York)
6pm-7:30pm CEST (Sweden)
(Replay available for registrants)
(Convert to your local timezone)
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Mobility is the most common disability, affecting 1 in 7 US adults, that is 14.29% of the population. Yes, I know! That’s a lot of folks!
In this 90-minute online workshop, we will broadly walk (or roll!) you through the journey of; Yoga and the Nature of Disability, Common Neurological Conditions, Adaptive Yoga, Ableism & Inclusive Language, Basic Safety Considerations and Teaching Tips.
You will also learn the benefits of Adaptive Yoga, how to teach wheelchair users and how to design an inclusive and accessible class; how to sequence, chair yoga variations, inner awareness, language, and how to truly create a welcoming experience and space when a wheelchair user student comes to your class.
If you would like to make your offerings more accessible to this population, join us!
What to bring along: This Workshop will be predominantly lecture-style, so please bring a note-book and pen, or device for note-taking, some water, and a sturdy chair, or your wheelchair.
Rodrigo Souza (he/him)
Tiered pricing to reflect your financial situation.
Discounted Bundle available to attend all three events (Workshop, Class, and Community Forum)
Community Forum
Yoga for People Who Use Wheelchairs & Mobility Devices
Featuring Nina Boswell Brown, Maria Aroch & Christy Parker, hosted by Sunny Barbee
Tuesday June 28th, 2022
11:30am-1:30pm PDT (Los Angeles)
2:30pm-4:30pm EDT (New York)
7:30pm-9:30pm BST (London)
(Replay available for registrants)
(Convert to your local timezone)
*The first 90 minutes of our Community Forum will be a panel discussion and Q&A with our presenters. We'll then host a 30 minute community 'mixer' where you can stay to network and connect with fellow community members.
This month, join experienced accessible yoga teachers Nina Boswell-Brown, Maria Aroch, and Christy Parker, along with host Jacquie “Sunny” Barbee, for a Community Forum discussing yoga for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices. Presenters will share from positions of personal experience practicing yoga in partnership with their own mobility devices, as well as from professional experience teaching students with various mobility disabilities. They will address specific considerations and varying needs for those who use wheelchairs, the benefits and challenges of various accessible yoga class structures, and how to emphasize and utilize the breadth and bounty of yogic practices for every body and ability.
The panel discussion will last 90 minutes, including some time for audience questions. Participants are invited to stick around after the panel concludes for a 30-minute social mixer and networking session, with the option to share their own experiences and meet other community members whose work centers whose who use wheelchairs and mobility devices.
Nina Boswell Brown (she/her)
Maria Aroch (she/her)
Christy Parker (she/her)
Sunny Barbee (she/her)
We are offering FREE registration for this event.
If you'd like to make an optional donation to support the programming that the Accessible Yoga Association (which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization) offers, tiered pricing registration options are also available below.
We also offer a Discounted Bundle option to attend all three events (Workshop, Class, and Community Forum)
Equity Pricing, Ambassadors & Scholarships
We recognize that financial barriers to access are just as real as physical ones. As an organization committed to equity and promoting financial accessibility, we've created three pricing tiers for each of our scheduled community events. If you do not see a tier that reflects your financial situation, you're invited to apply for a scholarship. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Accessible Yoga Ambassadors are invited to attend all of our scheduled programming for FREE. If you would like to attend multiple Accessible Yoga Associate events in 2022, becoming an Ambassador offers you the best price. Sign up today to make your first monthly or annual sustaining contribution to Accessible Yoga (as low as $9/mo. or $108/yr.) and immediately gain access to the free registration link OR register for a single event (below).
Current Ambassadors should log in to their Ambassador dashboard to access their special registration link.
Be Sure to Subscribe
Make sure you're signed up for our Monthly Programs interest list so you'll be the first to know when new presenters are announced and registration opens for future events!
