The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga Jivana Heyman

“Yoga is about embodiment, which is freeing, but a lot of us have experienced a level of disembodiment in the aftermath of trauma.” - Nityda Gessel

Trauma manifests in our body and affects how our nervous system responds to external situations. Yoga teachers should be aware that asking students to connect deeply with themselves can be challenging due to trauma. 

Join Jivana and this episode’s guest, Nityda Gessel, to discuss trauma and its implications for yoga teachers. Together they explore what yoga teachers can do to create a safe and inclusive environment for a trauma conscious yoga practice.

Topics Include:


Understanding the broad spectrum of trauma
Invitational and exploratory language
Setting the stage for a choice-based yoga class
Self-regulation and co-regulation
Continuous self-work
Intersectionality, unconscious bias, and microaggressions
The healing journey

 

Check out Jivana’s new book, The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about the book on his website.

Connect with Jivana:

www.jivanaheyman.com |  @jivanaheyman   |  facebook.com/jivanaheyman

 

Nityda Gessel (she/her) is a somatic psychotherapist, trauma specialist, yoga teacher and educator, mom and heart-centered activist. Nityda is the founder of the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Institute, creator of The Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method℠,  and author of Embodied Self Awakening: Somatic Practices for Trauma Healing and Spiritual Evolution (W. W. Norton & Company, 2023). Nityda has devoted her life to supporting the upliftment of others, working at the intersection of Eastern spirituality, holistic mental health, and embodied activism. Nityda founded the Trauma-Conscious Equity Foundation to narrow the health disparity gap by providing funding for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ mental health professionals to receive yoga and somatic training. 

Connect with Nityda:

traumaconsciousyoga.com |  @trauma_conscious_yoga_method

 

Asana serves as a gateway to inner transformation, offering not just physical benefits but also profound connections to the mind, emotions, and spirit. When explored through the lens of accessibility, a deeper understanding of asana can unfold. 

What do yoga teachers need to know to make asana more accessible for their students? Join Jivana and this episode’s guest, Avery Kalapa, as they describe an accessible asana practice that is rooted in awareness, compassion, and inner exploration. Together they offer advice to yoga teachers to explore the intention of asana and approach an asana practice with courage and curiosity. 

Topics include:


Topics include:
Asana in Iyengar Yoga
Asana as the organization of energy
Using asana to support the design of the body
The function of asana in liberating the breath
Embracing structural organization over alignment
Subtle awareness and the inward journey
Understanding functional anatomy to empower asana 

 

Check out Jivana’s new book, The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about the book on his website.

Connect with Jivana:

www.jivanaheyman.com |  @jivanaheyman   |  facebook.com/jivanaheyman

Avery Janeczek Kalapa (they, them) is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, community weaver at Sadhana Support Collective, and queer + trans wellness organizer; they are also an eRYT500, YACEP, BFA, with over 2 decades of yoga experience. Celebrated for their enthusiasm, devotion, and depth of somatic technique, Avery specializes in functional asana grounded in applied yoga philosophy. They support queers and other counter-culture yoga lovers to break the burn-out cycle and be nourished, and spiritually powerful without bypassing the wisdom of their body and lived experience. Avery’s a parent, gardener, artist, creator; a white, queer, trans, nonbinary settler based in unceded Tiwa land, Albuquerque NM. 

Connect with Avery:

yogawithavery.com |  @yoga_with_avery

“There's almost never a singular way in a pose that we're going deep into, that I'm trying to get everyone to do…there's this range, you have to play within this range and figure out which one doesn't work and which one does work best.” – Jason Crandell

Each student is an expert in their own body and lived experience. By collaborating with students with a focus on outcomes over strict techniques, we can empower students to find what works best for their bodies.

In this podcast episode, Jivana talks with guest, Jason Crandell, about the complexity of the human experience and the universal essence of yoga practice. Together they offer advice for yoga teachers working with diverse populations and delve into the depths of yoga philosophy, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and community.

Topics include:


Technique as a tool, not an end goal
The equanimous experience of yoga
Instructional language vs. invitational language
Inclusive teaching practices and methodology
Patience and compassion as a yoga teacher
Acknowledging individual differences and challenges, both physical and emotional
Challenging the notion of a "normative" experience

Check out Jivana’s new book, The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about the book on his website.

Connect with Jivana:

www.jivanaheyman.com |  @jivanaheyman   |  facebook.com/jivanaheyman

 

Jason Crandell (he/him) is a teacher by nature and author with more than 20 years of experience. Named “one of the teachers shaping the future of yoga,” by Yoga Journal, Jason has been an in-demand teacher at conferences around the world for more than a decade. Considered a teacher’s teacher, Jason has served as faculty in countless  teacher trainings,  faculties, leads trainings globally, and regularly presents teacher-training content at esteemed conferences.

Connect with Jason:

jasonyoga.com |  @jason_crandell

 

Yoga and business can feel contradictory at times, but there is a way to put yoga into practice in your work as a yoga teacher. Incorporating yogic philosophy into how you market yourself and run your business can revolutionize the way yoga is offered and perceived and foster inclusivity and trust within the yoga community.

Join Jivana and this episode’s podcast guest, Tristan Katz, as they explore the vital intersection of yoga, accessibility, and business/marketing. Together they advocate for transparent language, sharing personal experiences, and celebrating diversity within the yoga community. 

Topics include:


The role of marketing in accessibility
Intentional language and transparency
Scope of practice
Sharing personal values and training background in marketing
Celebrating personal differences
Business and marketing as a yogic practice

Tristan is offering an upcoming online course, Conscious Marketing: Justice-Focused Digital Strategies, with Accessible Yoga. Learn more here.

Check out Jivana’s new book, The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about the book on his website.

Connect with Jivana:

www.jivanaheyman.com |  @jivanaheyman   |  facebook.com/jivanaheyman

Tristan Katz (they/he) is a writer, educator, digital strategist, and equity-inclusion facilitator. They offer training and consulting on gender equity, trans inclusion, queer competency, and justice-focused marketing practices. Tristan’s intention is to share this work with an anti-oppression and intersectional lens. He’s worked with organizations and clients such as Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Accessible Yoga School, HubSpot, Stanford University’s YogaX program, and Williston Northampton School, among many others. Tristan was named one of Yoga Journal’s 2021 Game Changers and is proud to serve on the Board of Directors of Accessible Yoga.

Connect with Tristan:

www.katz-creative.com |  @tristankatzcreative

What is the difference between giving commands and inviting exploration in a yoga class? How can yoga teachers allow students to be their own authority over their bodies and practice? These questions relate to power and consent, and sharing power and promoting a culture of consent is fundamental to making yoga accessible and equitable. 

In this podcast episode, Jivana Heyman and guest, M Camellia highlight the importance of recognizing power dynamics in the teacher-student relationship within yoga spaces and leveraging power to create more access for students, respond to students’ individual needs, and hold space for them to uncover their own innate power on their path toward liberation. 

Topics include:


Power dynamics in yoga spaces
Resources as power
Power and the yoga teachings
Yoga as a discipline
Improvisation in the classroom
Abuse and trauma in yoga lineages
The power of embracing uncertainty and possibility

Check out Jivana’s new book, The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about the book on his website.

Connect with Jivana:

www.jivanaheyman.com |  @jivanaheyman   |  facebook.com/jivanaheyman

 

M Camellia (they/them) is a yoga practitioner and facilitator, writer, consent educator, and advocate called to create profoundly accessible spaces for self-inquiry. M is a co-founder of the Trans Futures Collective (previously known as the Trans Yoga Project) and, among other roles within the realm of yoga service, serves on the staff of the Accessible Yoga School. Their teaching and writing center Queer and Trans identity, consent and agency, body liberation, and disability justice in relation to yoga philosophy and practice. They serve as a mentor for other yoga teachers and practitioners who desire to deepen their understanding of accessibility, power dynamics, trauma, and yoga as social justice. 

Connect with M:

mcamellia.com |  @foundspaceyoga

 

In yoga culture, teachers are often placed up on pedestals, creating an unequal power dynamic. So, what happens when teachers get down from the pedestal and learn alongside the student? When teaching is approached as a practice, a collaborative and intuitive relationship with the student can be formed and opportunities for growth discovered.  

Join Jivana Heyman and this episode’s guest, Michelle Cassandra Johnson, as they unravel the intricate layers of teaching yoga as a practice. Together they reflect on the role of wonder and curiosity in teaching, self-trust, and the value of sharing the sacred practice in community.

Topics include:


Countering dominant culture’s power hierarchies 
Cultivating humility and learning from mistakes
Intuition in teaching
Advice to new teachers
Trust, faith, and spiritual practice
Communing and building community 
Incorporating humor

Check out Jivana’s new book, The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about the book on his website.

Connect with Jivana:

www.jivanaheyman.com |  @jivanaheyman   |  facebook.com/jivanaheyman

Michelle Cassandra Johnson (she/her) is an author, activist, spiritual teacher and practitioner, racial equity consultant and trainer, and intuitive healer. Michelle teaches workshops and immersions and leads retreats and transformative experiences nationwide the focus on exploring embodied approaches to racial equity work, creating ritual in justice spaces, our divine connection with nature and Spirit, and how we as a culture can heal. Michelle is the author of Skill in Action, Finding Refuge, We Heal Together, published by Shambhala Publications, and A Space For Us, published by Beacon Press.

Connect with Michelle:

www.michellecjohnson.com |  @skillinaction