Around 61 million adults in the U.S., or more than one in every four Americans over the age of 18, are living with some type of disability. At Sun Rock Yoga, we believe that yoga is for every body. That’s why we’re proud to be hosting a workshop designed to help make yoga more accessible to those living with a disability.

On January 27 and 28, 2023, Sun Rock Yoga studio in St. George, Utah, will host an Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop. This workshop is designed to teach yoga teachers, aspiring teachers, health care providers, caregivers, therapists, and other students how to adapt common yoga poses to make them adaptive and accessible for individuals with different physical abilities. 

Whether you’re a health care provider, yoga instructor, or simply want to learn how to make yoga more accessible, keep reading as we dive into what you can expect from the Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop at Sun Rock Yoga studio.

Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop: What You’ll Learn

The Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop at Sun Rock Yoga is focused on helping to bring yoga to everyone, regardless of their physical abilities, age, or injuries. 

During this course, students will learn how best to adapt common yoga poses for students with different physical needs, such as mobility impairments, physical trauma, injuries, different abilities, or older adults. We’ll dive into how mobility exercises can help individuals to improve their walking stability and gait alignment to help with their everyday movement. Your instructor will teach you how to use chairs and other useful props to make yoga more accessible for your students. Finally, we’ll discuss how to create a safe, welcoming environment for all students through adaptive yoga adjustments.

What’s Included in the Workshop

During this two-day, 8-hour workshop, students will participate in adaptive yoga classes to help them learn the various adaptations and approaches that they can use with their own students. Also during the workshop, you’ll get a chance to practice with various props to learn the options for using them to meet your students’ needs. 

Each student will receive a full color guidebook with photos to help you lead your own practice in the future. At the end of the workshop, students will take away three adaptive yoga sequences that are pre-made for immediate use with their own students. 

Students who have already completed their yoga teacher training who attend this workshop and complete all course requirements will receive eight continuing education hours through Yoga Alliance.

Meet the Instructor

The Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop at Sun Rock Yoga will be taught by Abigail Atkinson. Abigail is a stroke survivor, who has seen firsthand the frustrations and challenges of losing her physical abilities, and living with impaired physical abilities. She chose to channel her frustrations, turning to her personal yoga practice and learning ways to adapt her practice to support her recovery. Her experience inspired her to spread her knowledge and teach others about adaptive yoga.

Abigail received her adaptive yoga certification training under Matthew Sanford. Matthew is a critically-acclaimed, leading pioneer of adaptive yoga. Abigail is an E-RYT 500 with more than 2,400 teaching hours, as well as five years of experience teaching adaptive yoga. She studied biomechanics from Katy Bowman of Nutritious Movements, and also incorporates her knowledge in her own style of adaptive yoga.

Who is This Workshop Right For

This class is open to anyone who wants to learn how to make yoga more accessible to those with different abilities, as well as to those who want to learn more about the benefits of yoga for those recovering from injuries or seeking to improve their mobility.

Yoga instructors will benefit from learning how to better adapt their classes to fit their individual students’ needs. You’ll build on your existing skills as you learn new ways to adapt common yoga poses for those with physical impairments.

However, this workshop is a great choice for more than just instructors. Health care providers, caregivers, and therapists looking to better treat their patients, and particularly those with impaired mobility, will also benefit. You’ll not only learn how to adapt common yoga poses, but also gain a better understanding of how mobility exercises can help with walking stability and improving an individual’s gait.

Even if you aren’t an instructor or health care provider, the Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop at Sun Rock Yoga is a wonderful chance to learn more about making movement accessible to others, and about the unique challenges that those with physical impairments, injuries, or senior citizens face.

What Other Workshop Participants Have to Say

We spoke with former participants who took Abigail’s Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop. Here’s what they had to say about this unique, informative course:

“Abigail is an incredible teacher with an adaptive training that radiates her valuable insight and experience. Her organization and preparation made me feel confident and informed. As a graduate, I feel more empathy for my students. Learning these adaptive options for yoga poses completely transformed my individual practice. I am grateful to her for teaching me how to make yoga more accessible and inclusive to everyone.” -Katrina Lee

“With such a diverse population on the planet, Adaptive Yoga is much needed in today’s world. Being a brain injury survivor with hemiparesis with hopes for getting certified, I spent months trying to locate a studio that provided accessible yoga training close to home. Then I found Abigail’s program. Through her experience in the field and personal imprint, Abigail teaches with heart and it shows in her practice.”

– Elliot Frei

“This course was really my first on my journey to yoga teaching and I’m really glad that it was. It helped me think beyond my own movement practice and opened up the possibilities for what a yoga class can be made of. I feel more confident going into my YTT program knowing how to keep in mind the expansive options that are available and being aware of the ways that I can create a more inclusive environment in my classes. It is easy for movement to feel like a barrier to people who may not feel like they have the abilities to be “good” at a yoga class but this training helped me understand how I can remove those barriers and open up the world of yoga to anyone and everyone.”

– Kara K.

Save Your Spot for the Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop

The Adaptive Chair Yoga Workshop with Sun Rock Yoga studio is fast approaching. Save your spot today to participate in this incredible course, and learn how to make yoga more accessible for everyone!