Accessible Yoga School: Accessible Yoga Training Online

This training is for yoga teachers who want to expand their ability to serve diverse students, including those working with older adults, students with chronic conditions, people with disabilities, or anyone who may not fit into a conventional yoga class format. Ideally, participants hold a 200-hour yoga teacher certification, but it is not required.

The curriculum covers practical techniques for adapting asana, breathwork, and meditation for a wide range of needs. You will learn integrated chair and mat practices, including sun salutations, balancing poses, forward and backward bends, twists, inversions, and savasana adapted for different bodies. Dedicated sessions address bed yoga, wall practices for balance, and wheelchair yoga.

Beyond physical adaptation, the training addresses the social and cultural dimensions of accessibility. Topics include trauma-informed yoga, anti-racism in yoga spaces, creating queer and trans affirming environments, working with neurodivergent students, and understanding disability culture and communication. Pre-recorded content covers yoga philosophy including the Four Paths of Yoga, the Yoga Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita, alongside the science-backed benefits of yoga and guidelines for teaching safely.

The program is led by Jivana Heyman, founder of Accessible Yoga, a C-IAYT certified yoga therapist with over 30 years of teaching experience and author of three books on accessible yoga. He is joined by 15 guest faculty members, each specializing in a different area of inclusive practice — including Tamika Caston-Miller on yoga for larger bodies, Zabie Yamasaki on trauma-informed yoga, Rodrigo Souza on wheelchair yoga, and Michelle Cassandra Johnson on anti-racism in yoga.

The program runs over seven weeks in a hybrid format. Live training sessions take place via Zoom on Tuesdays and Fridays, totaling 28 hours of real-time instruction. An additional 16 hours of pre-recorded video content is available for self-paced study. Three hours of small-group study sessions are offered at multiple times to accommodate different time zones. All live sessions are recorded and available within 24 to 48 hours.

The curriculum covers practical techniques for adapting asana, breathwork, and meditation for a wide range of needs. You will learn integrated chair and mat practices, including sun salutations, balancing poses, forward and backward bends, twists, inversions, and savasana adapted for different bodies. Dedicated sessions address bed yoga, wall practices for balance, and wheelchair yoga.

Beyond physical adaptation, the training addresses the social and cultural dimensions of accessibility. Topics include trauma-informed yoga, anti-racism in yoga spaces, creating queer and trans affirming environments, working with neurodivergent students, and understanding disability culture and communication. Pre-recorded content covers yoga philosophy including the Four Paths of Yoga, the Yoga Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita, alongside the science-backed benefits of yoga and guidelines for teaching safely.