More Than Asana - Teaching Accessible and Inclusive Classes
If you google Yoga, then you are likely to come up with a screen full of images of bendy white folks doing asana, the physical postures of yoga. This is the way that the Western world seems to understand yoga at the moment. The west loves to market to people by using images of things that they would like to attain.
What if I told you that yoga isn’t about the asana, at all. The goal of yoga is to unite the body, mind and spirit, and to achieve liberation. Asana practice is not ancient like some people may have you believe and the physical practice was used to help people sit in meditation for longer periods of time.
Now, that’s not to say that asana isn’t important. As our lives become more and more sedentary, it’s incredibly important that we move our bodies as much as we can. However, yoga asana classes shouldn’t be the exclusive practices that we see so much in the west. Oftentimes we create classes that are inaccessible and down right scary for people to enter. We have become so caught up with attaining the fancy postures, that we make them the main aim of our yoga practice. This is the antithesis of yoga and frankly, it’s damaging as it bypasses the point of this spiritual practice. It’s not about how we look outwardly or physical things that we can achieve. It’s about looking inward, understanding ourselves better and attaining peace with where we are at.
So, how can we ensure that we are practicing Ahimsa (non-harming) when it comes to teaching our classes?
How to create accessible and inclusive yoga classes:
Teach accessible classes - this is not your time to show your skills. It’s your time to facilitate an asana class that is beneficial to all bodies.
Watch your language - The things that you say and the way that you say them can have huge effects on your students.
Stop gender-specific queueing/wording - It’s unlikely that you know how everyone in your class identifies, and it’s ignorant to assume things based on gender.
Honour the practice - If you are not using any other aspects of the wider yoga teachings in your class, you’re just teaching group exercise. Give people the space to understand this healing practice by including more than just movements in your class.
Refer out - If someone comes to you with a dodgy knee, you are not equipped to diagnose and treat (unless you also have a medical doctorate in that field). By all means, allow them to be in class but advise them that they need to listen to their own bodies and should seek the guidance of a professional. Referrals will also help you to build a network.
Never stop learning - It’s our responsibility as yoga teachers to keep educating ourselves. Whether that’s becoming more trauma informed, understanding equity in yoga spaces or simply getting to know the wider practices of yoga better, we must keep learning.
Make class descriptions honest - Explain whether there will be floor work, standing work, vinyasa work, props, etc. This allows people the chance to understand what the class will involve and to decide whether it is a good fit for them.
These are just a few of the many ways that we can work to make our Yoga classes more inclusive and accessible. It’s a constant learning journey but if you strive to understand yoga as a whole practice, and not just asana, you will be doing good work.