What if yoga stopped asking you to earn your place and started meeting you where you already are? We sit down with Emily Anderson, a Pittsburgh-based yoga therapist and founder of All Bodies Welcome Yoga, to rethink movement through nervous system care, clear consent, and radical inclusion. No more “all levels” as code for bootcamp. No more stock-photo diversity without real access. This is yoga as a healing practice, not a performance. Emily traces her path from sweaty power vinyasa to a therapeutic approach that brought amputees, pregnant students, folks with Parkinson’s, and people living with chronic pain into the same welcoming space. We talk through the nuts and bolts: writing honest class descriptions, modeling chair and mat versions side by side, and using opt-in systems for touch so consent is real, not performative. She shows how to teach poses by purpose—grounding, balance, ease—rather than by aesthetics, making yoga adaptable for disabled, fat, aging, and neurodivergent bodies without diluting its depth. We also confront the culture around movement: diet-industry messaging, resolution season pressure, and GLP-1 ads that co-opt liberation language while selling shame. Emily offers a different path—building interoception and body trust, closing stress cycles, and treating somatic practice as preventative health. We dig into financial accessibility, from sliding scale policies to why corporate studios stay expensive while paying teachers little, and we spotlight Emily’s upcoming yoga therapy group focused on menstrual health and perimenopause. If you’ve ever felt invisible in a studio, rushed by cues, or judged for your body, this conversation is a breath of fresh air. You deserve movement that honors consent, clarity, and choice. Listen, share with a friend who needs it, and then tell us: what would make movement feel truly safe for you? Subscribe, leave a review, and help more people find a yoga space that finally fits. Show notes: Trigger warning: this show is not medical, nutrition, or mental health treatment and is not a replacement for meeting with a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Mental Health Provider, or any other medical provider. You can find resources for how to find a provider, as well as crisis resources, in the show notes. Listener discretion is advised. Resource links: ANAD: https://anad.org/ NEDA: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ NAMI: https://nami.org/home Action Alliance: https://theactionalliance.org/ NIH: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ How to find a provider: https://map.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians?tr=Hdr_Brand Suicide & crisis awareness hotline: call 988 (available 24/7) Eating Disorder hotline: call or text 800-931-2237 (Phone line is available Monday-Thursday 11 am-9 pm ET and Friday 11 am-5 pm ET; text line is available Monday-Thursday 3-6 pm ET and Friday 1-5 pm ET) If you are experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. Support the show
