Accessible Asana training - adapting yoga poses and practices for everyone!

Are you passionate about mindfulness tools through movement and want to help make them more accessible to all? Then consider joining us for our new Accessible Asana continuing education series for yoga students and teachers. This training will offer personal and professional development for those who are committed to fostering inclusive approaches to practicing and teaching yoga poses, ensuring accessibility for all bodies.

In this series, you’ll explore the heart of yoga—asana (postures)—and discover how to make these poses more accessible. Each session offers hands-on experience, adaptive techniques, and inclusive teaching strategies that honor all body types and mobility levels.

✨ Session Dates & Focus Areas:
🌿 June 22, 12pm-4pm: Standing, Balancing & Forward Folding Poses
🌿 September 28, 12pm-4pm: Twists & Backbends
🌿 October 26, 12pm-4pm: Hip Openers & Inversions

Each 4-hour session stands alone, but attending all three gives you a 10% discount and an Open Up Accessible Asana certificate. Sessions will be held in person at our Lawrenceville studio.

One of the eight limbs of yoga in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, asana involves the poses, or postures, that strengthen, support and attune the body. In the upcoming Accessible Asana Series, participants will learn to adapt practices through guided asana labs, practical adaptations, and inclusive teaching strategies for all body types and mobility levels. The series will be offered in three parts for a total of 12 hours of training, although each 4-hour training can be taken on its own. The training is designed to support yoga students wanting to deepen their personal practice, as well as for yoga teachers looking for continuing education.

All three sessions will be held in person at our Lawrenceville studio and will be grounded in our organizational values - Be Open, Nurture Growth, Cultivate Joy. On June 22, from 12pm -4pm, we will kick off the series by using an adaptive lens to explore Standing, Balancing & Forward Folding postures. In the second session on September 28, from 12pm-4pm, we will continue our series by looking at yoga poses that involve Twists & Backbends. We will wrap up the series on October 26 from 12pm-4pm with accessible Hip Openers & Inversions. 

Accessible Asana Series is offered through Open Training, an Open Up program that seeks to address the lack of inclusive, accessible, and culturally aware wellness education by offering yoga and mindfulness-based training for people of all abilities. These programs support personal growth, professional development, and create safer, more welcoming spaces in both personal and workplace settings. Through a focus on accessibility, emotional safety, and cultural appreciation, these trainings empower individuals and organizations to practice and share wellness more intentionally.

Our vision is for all people to have ease of access in finding avenues for increasing their sense of overall well being. We believe that all people should be able to experience joy in community with others. To that end, we are offering a tiered pricing model to support access for all, including individuals with disabilities, caregivers, and those working to create inclusive communities. In addition, participants who register for all three sessions in the series will receive a 10% discount & earn the Open Up Accessible Asana certificate and will be eligible for Yoga Alliance credits. 

Past participants of our Open Trainings programs share how the individual and communal experience supported their personal growth and professional development. After taking part in one of our training sessions, Jess said “I now practice and teach yoga from a more open, inclusive place and I am so thankful for that." Ann shared that “Everyone at Open Up is so approachable and did whatever they could to support my particular learning style, in order to grow as a yoga instructor.”

The three-part series will be facilitated by Advocacy Lead Anea Michelle, who brings over a decade of experience as an accessible yoga teacher, doula, writer, and educator. Anea holds numerous certifications, including being a 500 RYT yoga teacher, an accessibility lead trainer, and a specialist in sound healing and mindfulness. In developing the Accessible Asana Series, Anea is excited to work with participants to foster inclusive spaces for everyone and build strong, supportive communities, bridging the gap between diverse populations, ensuring that yoga and mindfulness are accessible to all.

We hope you join us for this essential educational series to support accessible yoga asana!

We welcome any questions, feel free to send them our way at info@open-up.org