Accessible Yoga Podcast

Join host Jivana as he talks with his friend Anjali Rao, author of Yoga as Embodied Resistance, about the impact of her book one year after publication. Anjali describes the book’s focus on gender, caste, and the complexity of yoga history, and how it has resonated with South Asian readers by examining caste privilege and patriarchy in yoga spaces. Together they reflect on the problem of AI-generated yoga books, the importance of ethics in the yoga world, and why yoga needs critics as much as it needs practitioners.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana chats with co-host Deanna Michalopoulos about the themes that came up in the conversation, including AI, appropriation, and the role of academia in yoga. They also reflect on why so many people struggle to meditate, from lack of time and attention to the mystique that surrounds the practice. Jivana shares why he sees meditation as a conscious choice to spend time with yourself, and previews his upcoming book, Yoga Meditation.

Topics include:

• Inclusion and representation in yoga history
• Anjali's PhD journey and her hope to increase South Asian representation in yoga scholarship
• AI and the yoga book market
• Why the yoga world needs skepticism, critical thinking, and self-inquiry
• The benefits of a more reflective yoga practice
• Why individualism, caregiving, and the attention economy make meditation hard

Check out:

Anjali's book Yoga as Embodied Resistance: A Feminist Lens on Caste, Gender, & Sacred Resilience in Yoga History

Article by Leslie Kaminoff: The #1 Yoga Book on Amazon is an AI Fraud

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Anjali:

Anjali Rao shares an intersectional and decolonial feminist lens to the study of yoga integrating storytelling, art and poetry. Deeply influenced by her yoga practice and dance training, her work emphasizes an embodied approach and explores how spirituality, power and politics intersect. Her first book, Yoga As Embodied Resistance: A Feminist Lens in Caste, Gender And Sacred Resilience in Yoga History, North Atlantic Books, has been reviewed by L.A. Book review as "a scholarly work and a deeply personal journey" and Ms. magazine amplified it as "an accessible and timely intervention that all practitioners should read"

She is on the faculty of continuing yoga education and teacher training programs. She considers herself a first, foremost and forever a student, currently nerding out on a broad range of scholarship from feminist political economy to Indian erotic literature.

https://anjalikamathrao.com/ | @anjalikamathrao

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

In this episode, Jivana sits down with Sally SJ Brown, author of the newly released book The Diversity Gap in UK Yoga: Outsider Perspectives, which examines barriers to yoga access and ways the yoga community can address exclusion. Sally shares how the book draws from interviews with 17 people from marginalized groups in northern UK cities, her PhD research, and her experience as a community yoga teacher. Together, Jivana and Sally examine why good intentions are not enough and what it would actually take to make yoga accessible to the people who need it most.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana and co-host Deanna Michalopoulos reflect on why academic research like Sally's matters and dig into her three-part framework for understanding barriers to yoga access: practical (cost, location), perceptual (not seeing yourself in yoga culture), and cultural (systemic issues including racism, ableism, homophobia, and fatphobia). They also explore the harder conversation about white saviorism, who gets to be the teacher, and how Accessible Yoga itself began as an effort to train people from within marginalized communities rather than send outsiders in to fix the problem.

Topics include:

• How social prescribing in the UK makes accessibility a medical and policy issue
• What critical theory and "outsider perspectives" means in an academic framework
• How yoga's culture of positivity actively discourages the honest self-reflection needed to address exclusion
• The complexity of cultural appropriation
• The limits of trying to make existing studios accessible versus taking yoga directly into communities
• Sally's next research phase: building an academic "theory of change" from existing examples of best practice in accessible and diverse yoga

Check out:

Sally's book The Diversity Gap in UK Yoga: Outsider Perspectives

Article by Sally in The Independent: NHS patients are being socially prescribed yoga – but not everyone will benefit

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Sally:

I am a researcher, writer and yoga teacher with a focus on equity and inclusion, health and wellbeing and marginalised populations. I live and work in the city of Leeds in northern England. I’m an accessible and community yoga teacher. I’ve been teaching for nine years and I run a non-profit Leeds Community Yoga working with under-represented groups in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. I’m also a university researcher in health and sociology working in wellness, disability and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI). I completed my PhD doctorate in 2025 looking at yoga access and inclusion in the UK. Before that I spent over 20 years in communications in government and the NHS, and in journalism. I was diagnosed autistic 14 years ago.

http://www.sallysjbrown.com | https://leedscommunityyoga.com | @sally_sj_brown (IG) | linktr.ee/sallysjbrown

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Join Jivana as he talks with Theo Wildcroft and Beverley Nolan about their new book Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras. Theo and Beverley unpack the complex history of yoga nidra, its relationship to sleep science, and why demystifying the practice is one of the most important things we can do to make it safer. Together they explore the ethical responsibilities of anyone who leads this practice and why yoga nidra is ultimately a neurological process that any skilled yoga teacher can learn to lead with confidence and care.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana and co-host Deanna Michalopoulos reflect on why yoga nidra is so powerful and why that power has historically attracted some of yoga's most problematic teachers. They discuss the importance of giving students information before guiding them into vulnerable states, connecting the conversation to broader themes of accessibility and agency. We also hear a voicemail from Jeanie Jyanti of The Alchemy School of Yoga in Cork, Ireland, who asks Jivana to offer a dedicated yoga philosophy training. Jivana shares about his on-demand course with Anjali Rao and reflects on how yoga philosophy is most powerfully taught through presence and practice.

Topics include:

• The five-part structure of yoga nidra and how it differs from guided meditation
• The influence of relaxationism and Western psychotherapy on modern practice of yoga nidra
• Staying and awake and falling asleep during yoga nidra
• How to reduce the power imbalances that make yoga nidra vulnerable to misuse
• Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras's practical tools for teachers, including audio samples
• Writing books through collaboration

Check out:

Get your copy of Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras today!

Pre-order Beverley's forthcoming book Bodyscapes, also available as audiobook

Tracee Stanley

The Essence of Yoga: Making Yoga Philosophy Accessible with Jivana Heyman & Anjali Rao - available On-Demand

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Beverley:

Beverley Nolan is a yoga teacher-practitioner and a somatic movement educator with forty years’ experience. She is the founder of Barefoot Body Training (UK) offering professional trainings and further education programmes. Her offerings span the inquiry, integration and application of her work in experiential anatomy, developmental movement, embryology, somatic psychology, and Authentic Movement. Drawing on this wealth of experience and her inexhaustible curiosity, Beverley writes on Substack at Field Notes from the Body, and is the author of Bodyscapes, published by North Atlantic Books.

http://www.beverleynolan.com | http://www.barefootbody.com | @beverleynolan.writes (IG) | @gardenofyoga(FB)

Connect with Theo:

Theo Wildcroft, PhD is a yoga teacher-trainer, writer and scholar who is interested in the democratization of yoga post-lineage, somatic literacy, meaning-making and the counter-culture. She is a university lecturer, former Coordinator of the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies, Advisory Council Member for the American Yoga Council, and Secretary of the British Association for the Study of Religions. She has collaborated on numerous books, including The Yoga Teachers’ Survival Guide, Yoga Studies in Five Minutes and Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras.

http://www.theowildcroft.com | @theowildcroft (Substack) | @theodorawildcroft | @theowildcroft (FB)

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Join host Jivana Heyman and guest Becky Aten, founder of Yoga for Neurodiversity, for a conversation about making yoga accessible and affirming for neurodivergent students. Becky shares how their autism diagnosis at age 38 shaped their approach as a yoga facilitator and led them to create peer support spaces for neurodivergent people. Together, Jivana and Becky explore what makes a neurodiversity-affirming space different and why affinity spaces and more welcoming general spaces are both needed.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana chats with co-host Deanna Michalopoulos, in person in Dublin, Ireland, about how teachers can expand beyond their own experience and trust the wisdom in students' choices. They discuss why embodying the yoga teachings means being open to other people and conclude with an update on Jivana's upcoming Accessible Yoga Trainings.

Topics include:

• The origins of the term "neurodiversity"
• Why adapting an existing space is harder than building one from the ground up
• Pathology paradigm and ableism
• Quantum physics and yoga
• The tension between yoga as a spiritual practice and the goal-oriented "wellness" model
• Why yoga doesn't need to keep proving itself through Western science
• Letting go of a "helper" mindset and embracing community care
• Community organizing as leadership

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Becky:

Becky Aten (they/she) wears many hats in their work as a neurodiversity advocate, yoga facilitator, and a space-holder and bridge-builder for the neurodivergent community. As the founder of Yoga for Neurodiversity, they are passionate about co-creating welcoming, accessible, and affirming environments for self-exploration and community care, where diverse ways of being are seen and included.

Becky is also a nature-lover and ecological restoration volunteer, and in her free time she enjoys hiking, petting moss, nerding out with science and sci-fi, and playing tabletop games.

https://www.yogaforneurodiversity.com/ | @yoga_for_neurodiversity

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

In this episode, Jivana sits down with Tracee Stanley, author of the newly released book Living Ritual: Infuse Each Day with Purpose and Spirit. Tracee shares how she treated the writing of the book itself as a ritual and shares how practicing Bhakti Yoga through chants, mantras, and mental puja (manas puja) blossomed her personal practice. Together, Jivana and Tracee talk about the devotional aspect at the heart of the yoga tradition and why contemporary yoga has drifted away from Bhakti Yoga and devotional practice.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana chats with co-host Deanna Michalopoulos about his conversation with Tracee, including the idea that devotion does not have to be directed at a guru and can instead be offered to nature or to the small acts of daily life. They dig into mindfulness and pratyahara, the practice of consciously choosing where to place attention, and how ordinary moments can become rituals when done with awareness.

Topics include:

• The difference between performative ritual and internal or mental puja
• Reclaiming one's senses via Yoga Nidra is presented as a vital strategy against constant digital stimulation
• Simple ways to bring devotion into a yoga practice
• The risks outsourcing all spiritual knowing and devotion to an external authority or guru figure
• Pratyahara and the practice of making conscious choices about attention
• Turning daily habits like doing dishes or drinking coffee into small acts of ritual

Get your copy of Living Ritual today!

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Tracee:

Tracee Stanley is the author of the upcoming book Living Ritual: Infuse Each Day with Purpose and Spirit (St. Martin’s Essentials August 2026) and the bestselling books Radiant Rest and The Luminous Self. Tracee is the founder of Empowered Life Circle, a sacred community and portal of practices, rituals, and Tantric teachings inspired by more than 30 years of studentship in Sri Vidya Tantra and the teachings of the Himalayan Masters. Tracee is devoted to sharing the wisdom of yoga nidra, rest, meditation, self-inquiry, nature as a teacher, and ancestor reverence. Tracee holds certificates from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Advanced Eco-Therapy, New Thinking, Best Practices, and Emerging Modalities, and a certificate in Advanced Ecopsychology. Tracee is devoted to illuminating the magic and power found in liminal space and weaving devotion and practice into daily life.

https://www.traceestanley.com/

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Join host Jivana as he talks with his friend and fellow author, Indu Arora, about the philosophical essence of yoga, the householder path, and the importance of individual experience. Indu shares about what it really means to "teach" yoga, why she calls herself a student rather than a teacher, and how her own teachers shaped that humility. They talk about living yoga philosophy and why yoga's health and wellness benefits are only side effects of a much deeper spiritual purpose.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana chats with co-host Deanna Michalopoulos about his conversation with Indu, including the idea that real life is the true guru and how modern yoga culture has drifted into a commoditized, checklist-style practice. Deanna asks Jivana a question drawn straight from his forthcoming book: how do you make the discomfort of spiritual practice accessible?

Topics include:

• Personal embodiment over intellectual hoarding of yoga knowledge and techniques
• Sharing personal stories as a bridge between lived experience and philosophy
• Rethinking the idea of "guru" as an element found in the teachings, nature, and life itself
• Trust (shraddha) and faith as the foundation of spiritual practice
• Making space for discomfort in meditation and asana without re-triggering trauma
• Yoga as a sanctuary for self-acceptance rather than a discipline of self-improvement

Check out:

Workshops and trainings with Indu

Indu's books, including Mudra: The Sacred Secret, Yoga: Ancient Heritage, Tomorrow's Vision, Soma: 100 Recipes for Self-Care

Join Indu, Jivana, and other guests at the upcoming Accessible Yoga Training Online, September 18 - November 3rd, 2026

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Indu:

Indu Arora is a lifelong student and teacher of Yoga and Ayurveda. She is the founder of Yogsadhna, and is devoted to sharing traditional Yoga and Ayurvedic wisdom. Teaching since the age of nineteen, she brings decades of study, practice, and lived experience to her work. She is the author of three other books on Yoga. Her guiding motto is: “Yoga is work in, not work out.”

Yogsadhna.com | @induaroraofficial (IG) | @InduArora (YouTube) | @induaroraofficial (Threads)

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Join host Jivana as he talks with Libby Hinsley, a yoga teacher and physical therapist based in Asheville, North Carolina, about yoga and hypermobility. Libby, who lives with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome herself, shares how her own health journey shaped her approach to treating clients with hypermobility syndromes and connective tissue disorders, and why she wrote her book, Yoga for Bendy People. Together, they explore the dangers of using yoga to try to "fix" students and balancing service and self-care as a yoga teacher managing a chronic health condition.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana chats with co-host Deanna Michalopoulos about yoga culture's fixation on flexibility and the importance of not projecting fear onto students' bodies. They discuss ABCs of Accessible Yoga (agency, boundaries, collaboration) as a framework for handling distractions or tension in class and conclude with an update on the editing process for Jivana's upcoming book, Yoga Meditation.

Topics include:

• The connection between hypermobility, impaired proprioception, heightened interoception, and neurodivergence
• Strength training and self-massage as tools for sensory grounding
• Asana's role in nervous system regulation and stability versus true strength-building
• Why disabled students are often more attuned to their bodies, not less
• The ABCs of Accessible Yoga: agency, boundaries, and collaboration
• Book editing as a meditation / mindfulness practice

Check out:

Get your copy of Yoga for Bendy People: Optimizing the Benefits of Yoga for Hypermobility

Accessible Yoga for Older Adults course

Join Libby, Jivana, and other guests at the upcoming Accessible Yoga Training Online, September 18 - November 3rd, 2026

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Libby:

Libby Hinsley is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, E-RYT 500, and certified personal trainer specializing in the treatment of hypermobility syndromes in Asheville, NC. Her book — Yoga for Bendy People: Optimizing the benefits of yoga for hypermobility — was published in 2022 and explores how people with joint hypermobility syndromes can use the tools of yoga to support their thriving. She has also developed a successful strength training program for people with hypermobility syndromes called Bendy & Badass. As a person living with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and related health conditions, she is committed to raising awareness about hypermobility syndromes. She also teaches anatomy for yoga teachers through her online program called Anatomy Bites.

http://www.libbyhinsley.com | @libbyhinsleypt (IG)

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Content Warning: The second part of the episode talks about death and grief

In this episode, Jivana sits down with Jo Stewart, author of the new book Eight Limbs of Aerial Yoga: Adapting Practice for Accessibility, Neurodiversity, and Physical Support. Jo shares how she connects aerial yoga to yoga philosophy, using Patanjali's eight limbs as a framework, and reframes the aerial hammock as an accessibility prop. She and Jivana dig into how the hammock supports pratyahara (sense withdrawal), helps regulate the nervous system for trauma survivors and neurodivergent practitioners, and opens up movement possibilities for older adults and people with chronic pain or mobility differences.

In the second half, Jivana and co-host Deanna Michalopoulos reflect on the conversation with Jo and how a yoga practice creates a foundation of support through life challenges. Then, they turn to a listener voicemail from Nicole, who asks Jivana how the AIDS epidemic shaped his relationship to grief and death, and the role yoga has played in his healing. Jivana shares candidly about his years in ACT UP, his own grief, and finding support through yoga and community.

Topics Include:

• Aerial yoga as an accessible practice
• Jivana’s foreword to Jo’s book
• The history of suspended and prop-based yoga practices
• The challenges of getting a book out into the world AI's growing (and troubling) footprint in yoga publishing
• The role of relationships in self-care
• Consensus-based activism
• Yoga as preparation for death

Check out:

Get your copy of Eight Limbs of Aerial Yoga: Adapting Practice for Accessibility, Neurodiversity, and Physical Support

Jo's studio in Melbourne, Australia - Garden of Yoga

The Flow Artists Podcast with Jo Stewart and Rane Bowen

The Katha Upanishad

Accessible Yoga for Older Adults course

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Jo:

Jo Stewart has been teaching yoga since 2005 and aerial yoga since 2011. She has an adv. diploma of Yoga and Health (CAE AIYT 2005), and is a level 3 Senior Teacher with Yoga Australia. Jo's creative approach adapts to each practitioner’s individual needs, with a focus on body positivity, self-compassion and accessibity.
She founded the Garden of Yoga studio in Northcote in 2013 where she is the principal teacher as well as sharing her classes online and co hosting The Flow Artists Podcast. Jo is the author Eight Limbs of Aerial Yoga: Adapting Practice for Neurodiversity, Accessibility and Physical Support which was published by Singing Dragon in 2026.

gardenofyoga.com.au | @gardenofyoga (IG) | @gardenofyoga (FB)

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Join host Jivana Heyman as he talks with Mookaite Jasper (Kite), a queer, trans, non-binary, and autistic yoga teacher from Middlesbrough, England, about their book Queer Yoga: A Guide to Well-Being Through Inclusive and Accessible Yoga. Kite shares their journey from discovering yoga in Thailand, coming out, getting sober, and how the queer community yoga nonprofit they founded eventually inspired their book. Together, Jivana and Kite discuss the concept of masking and the importance of creating safe spaces for marginalized groups and the role of yoga in mental health.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana and co-host Deanna Michalopoulos reflect on the parallels between Kite's story and Jivana's own early work teaching yoga to gay men with AIDS. They respond to a listener question from Verna about making ancient yoga texts more accessible, covering Sanskrit translation, the difference between scholarly and interpretive versions, and Jivana's key insight that Patanjali is not asking us to become something new, but to remember who we already are.

Topics include:

• How nonprofit work and service can lead to burnout
• How Queer Yoga was impacted by Kite’s participation in Accessible Yoga programs
• Jessamyn Stanley's foreword and her opening line: "Yoga has always been queer"
• Honoring queer elders
• Different forms of meditation Rest as resistance: teachings from Tricia Hersey and Evie Muir on burnout and recovery
• Navigating the Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita: how to find translations that actually land

Check out:

Get your copy of Queer Yoga: A Guide to Well-Being Through Inclusive and Accessible Yoga

Julie Shipway's writing course: The Yoga Writer's Handbook

Jessamyn Stanley's substack and online studio The Underbelly

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Mookaite:

Mookaite Jasper, known as Kite (they / them), is a trans non-binary autistic yoga teacher, based in Middlesbrough, UK. They are the author of Queer Yoga. Kite is a member of the Accessible Yoga School mentorship program and trained in yin yoga and yoga for older adults. Their passion is yoga for the LGBTQIA+ community. They work as a freelancer for Proud Allies, delivering inclusion training.

mookaitejasper.com | @mookaitejasper (IG) | @mookaitejasper (Bluesky)

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Join host Jivana Heyman as he talks with yoga therapist and author, Carol Krucoff. Carol shares her journey from her early career as a journalist for the Washington Post to her current role as yoga therapist at the Duke Integrative Medicine Center. Carol shares how she stumbled into teaching older adults through a volunteer gig and what a near-death experience at a marathon finish-line revealed about the true purpose of yoga practice. Together they reflect on the importance of teaching older adults with both care and respect, the difference between what you do and how you do it, and why yoga is so much more than asana.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana chats with co-host Deanna Michalopoulos about what it means to find your voice as a yoga teacher and how the language we use shapes a student’s experience. They also respond to a listener question from Reika Shucart about dualistic and non-dualistic yoga philosophy, breaking down the difference between Patanjali's classical approach and the Vedanta tradition of non-duality, and why both paths ultimately point toward the same truth.

Topics include:

• Bridging yoga and Western medicine together and the importance of publishing in medical journals
• How intensity, not the poses themselves, is the key variable when teaching older adults
• Why yoga injury rates rise sharply in older adults and what that tells us about how they're being taught
• Clearing up the confusion around the risks of certain movements and teaching with awareness rather than fear
• Carol’s personal shift from a physically intense yoga practice to a more gentle practice
• Communicating while teaching in way that avoids condescension and creating hierarchies of practice

Check out:

Accessible Yoga’s upcoming online course, Accessible Yoga for Older Adults: Building a Safe & Effective Practice

Carol’s Relax Into Yoga Seniors Training co-created with Kimberly Carson

Carol’s books: Yoga Sparks, Relax into Yoga for Seniors, Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain, Healing Yoga for Neck and Shoulder Pain

Jivana’s episode with Reika on her podcast Full Time Yoga Teacher (Ep. 105)

Accessible Yoga's on-demand course, The Essence of Yoga: Making Yoga Philosophy Accessible with Jivana Heyman & Anjali Rao

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Carol:

Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT, is a yoga therapist at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, NC, and co-director of the Yoga for Seniors professional trainings, which are designed to help yoga instructors safely adapt the practice to older bodies, minds and hearts. Carol has practiced yoga for more than 50 years and studied with master teachers from around the world. She has consulted on several yoga research studies and co-authored numerous articles in medical journals. An award-winning journalist, Carol was founding editor of The Washington Post’s Health Section and has authored several books including “Relax into Yoga for Seniors.”

http://www.yoga4seniors.com | http://www.healingmoves.com

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Content Warning: This episode talks about death and grief

Join host Jivana as he talks with Dr. Yasmin Bedi, a UK-based gerontologist and yoga therapist, about her unique integration of Western medicine and yoga. Dr. Bedi describes how yoga has made her more mindful and holistic in patient care, especially in caring for older adults. Together, they reflect on balancing service and self-care, the role of grief in aging, and the importance of sharing yoga’s tools with others.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana chats with co-host Deanna Michalopoulos about his recent birthday and planting two new trees in his garden expansion project. Together they reflect on the conversation with Dr. Bedi and how yoga can support emotional and physical well-being, especially for caretakers or those dealing with grief. We also hear a listener voicemail sharing their journey into meditation through Zen Buddhism. Jivana answers a question about meditation practices in yoga ashrams and shares about his personal practice.

Topics include:

• Dr. Bedi’s experiences working in hospital emergency departments, supporting both patients and families through aging, illness, and end-of-life conversations.
• Dr. Bedi’s initiatives to bring yoga to hospital patients and healthcare workers
• The need for a balanced approach to yoga for older adults, combining active practices with relaxation and mindfulness
• The value of community
• Yoga as preparation for death
• How a personal self-care practice benefits those around you

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

**Learn more about the Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and join today! We look forward to seeing you there.**

Connect with Dr. Yasmin Bedi:

Yasmin Bedi is an NHS Consultant Physician and Geriatrician working in an acute NHS University Hospital. Her specialist interest is in "front door frailty" reducing length of stay and unnecessary hospital admissions amongst the frailest patients. Yasmin commenced a formal Hatha Yoga practice in 2011 and undertook yoga teacher training in 2018. In 2020, Yasmin started to explore alternative approaches to health, ultimately leading her to train as a C-IAYT Yoga Therapist with The Yoga Therapy Institute, graduating in 2024. Yasmin brings yoga to older persons in her acute NHS Trust as part of a wider project in collaboration with therapy staff to reduce de-conditioning and support emotional and mental health.

http://Www.yasminbedi.com | @yasmin.bedi (IG)

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Content warning: This episode and show notes include discussion of gun violence, death, and ICE agent brutality

In this episode, Jivana Heyman sits down with Lucia Yess, owner of Yess Yoga studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota to hear how her community responded to the violent ICE surge that swept through their city. Lucia shares the moment Alex Pretti was murdered one block away from the studio and how her studio became a place of refuge for neighbors seeking safety and mutual aid. She emphasizes the need for community support and how her studio's actions were aligned with their mission of liberation, compassion, and connection. Together, Jivana and Lucia reflect on the connection between yoga philosophy and social justice and what it looks like to truly live yoga off the mat.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana is joined by co-host Deanna Michalopoulos to explore what the yoga teachings say about service and action. They look at karma yoga and passages from the Bhagavad Gita, and discuss how genuine service isn't a duty we force ourselves into but something that flows naturally when we feel connected to others. They close with a reminder that service can be small and quiet, and that taking care of yourself counts too.

Topics Discussed:

• Lucia's background in social work and social justice, and how it shaped Yess Yoga
• Jivana’s activism work in the 90’s during the AIDS epidemic
• Financial accessibility and sustainability with sliding scale models
• Yoga practice as escape vs. practice as transformation
• Responding to "keep yoga out of politics"
• The yoga teacher as community leader
• The power of collective action and compassion

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Lucia:

Lucia Yess is a Minneapolis-based yoga teacher and parent who focuses on community-building, social justice, and inclusive space making. She has lived and traveled around this beautiful earth, learning all she can about the art of yoga. Lucia studied ancient approaches to the practice and is an enthusiast of yoga's way of life. Her classes focus on integrating a healthy mind, body and soul, both on and off the mat. By applying yoga principles to everyday life, Lucia has found a deeper sense of contentment, peace and connection. Her goal is to help others discover an authentic life full of embodiment and joy.

https://www.yessyogastudio.com | @yessyoga (IG) | Yess Yoga (FB)

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

In this episode, Jivana Heyman sits down with his longtime friend and Accessible Yoga collaborator, Rodrigo Souza, to explore the season's central theme of balancing self-care with service. Rodrigo, who lives with a complete spinal cord injury, shares candidly about managing limited energy, letting go of guilt around rest, and learning to stop measuring his worth by how much he produces.

Together, they reflect on what it really means to show up for others and why setting boundaries isn't selfish but essential. In the second part of the episode, Jivana is joined by Deanna Michalopoulos to unpack the philosophical heart of the discussion: karma yoga, seva, and what the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras teach about selfless service. They explore why genuine service has to come from a place of fullness rather than lack and why self-love might be one of the most radical practices of all.

Topics include:

• Brahmacharya as conscious management of time, energy, and boundaries
• Representation and visibility of disabled practitioners and teachers
• Yoga tools for anxiety management Imposter syndrome and challenges of teaching in a capitalist society
• Teaching what you need to learn
• Rodrigo’s involvement in Accessible Yoga Mentorship Program and current online series Yoga on Neurological Conditions

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Rodrigo:

Rodrigo Souza (he/him) is an Adaptive and Accessible Yoga teacher with experience in instructing folks who have endured trauma and disability.

After suffering a traumatic injury which left him paralysed from the chest down, Rodrigo recognised the significance of taking care of his own recovery to enhance his long-term well-being.

This journey inspired him to become a yoga teacher, where he aims to share his personal insights into discovering joy in movement and rest.

http://www.allihopayoga.com | @allihopayoga (IG)

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

Credit: Mikus Dharma, AYP Podcast Sound Engineer

Welcome to season five of the Accessible Yoga Podcast! In this launch episode, Jivana Heyman and Deanna Michalopoulos reunite to catch up, share what's been inspiring them lately, and reveal their personal journeys to finding balance in their lives. They offer a preview of this season's overarching theme of self-care and balancing self-care with service, especially for yoga teachers.

Jivana shares an early look at his upcoming book, Yoga Meditation, which explores meditation in the yoga tradition and its accessibility. Deanna, who is editing the book, shares what she loves about it, especially how Jivana weaves in personal stories and practical applications. Together, they discuss the potential impact of the book on both yoga teachers and practitioners, aiming to deepen their understanding of the many paths into meditation that yoga already offers.

Topics include:

• Nature, movement, and daily practice as Jivana's self-care foundation
• Deanna's experience learning German and living in Berlin
• Using the ocean as a metaphor for capacity, resilience, and riding life's waves
• Finding time for self-care and outlets such as creative hobbies
• Jivana’s upcoming audiobooks and book, Yoga Meditation, set to release Fall 2026
• Gratitude for the Accessible Yoga community, team, and podcast sponsors

We Want to Hear from You!

How do you balance self-care and service in your yoga practice and teaching? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma (they/them), AY Podcast Sound Engineer

Join Jivana Heyman and Deanna Michalopoulos for the final episode of the Accessible Yoga Podcast’s fourth season, celebrating Jivana's 30 years of teaching. In this reflective conversation, Deanna turns the tables and interviews Jivana about his journey, asking him to answer the paramount question posed to every guest throughout the season, “What is one teaching that's made an impact on your life and continues to today?”

The episode offers an intimate look at what this yearlong series has meant, with heartfelt gratitude to the guests, team, sponsors, and listeners who made it possible. The conversation ends with appreciation for everyone who has been part of this journey and the promise of returning after a short break with a new season.

Topics Include:

• Non-attachment and selfless service
• Yoga as preparation for death
• The transformative impact of yoga practice and teaching
• How service benefits both the giver and the receiver
• Yoga as a living tradition passed down through generations
• The future of yoga and the yoga community
• Hope for moving beyond capitalism toward collective kindness

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessible-yoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma (they/them), AY Podcast Sound Engineer

Join Jivana Heyman in conversation with his friend, Itzel Hayward, a former lawyer turned yoga teacher who brings together yoga, Buddhism, nonviolent communication, and social justice work. Itzel shares her journey of integrating these seemingly separate parts of her life into a unified practice centered on service, empathy, and compassion.

The conversation delves into the philosophy of restorative and transformative justice as alternatives to punitive systems, and how these approaches align with yogic principles. Itzel explains nonviolent communication as both a technique and a lens for seeing everyone's actions as attempts to meet universal human needs. Together, Jivana and Itzel discuss Sutra 1.33 from the Yoga Sutras, known as the "locks and keys" teaching, and how it can be applied to relationships and social justice.

At the end of the episode, Jivana and co-host, Deanna Michalopoulos, continue to explore Sutra 1.33 (friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and equanimity toward the non-virtuous). They discuss how these practices help us overcome obstacles to enlightenment while serving others in the world. The conversation concludes with reflections on non-attachement and how it is a central theme in the yoga teachings.

Topics include:

• Integration of yoga and social justice
• Itzel’s contribution to Jivana’s book, Yoga Revolution
• Dual vs. nondual yoga teachings and their implications for social justice
• How becoming a parent taught Itzel about non-attachment and empathy
• Addressing guru abuse and creating safer spiritual spaces
• Balance between internal and external practices in yoga

Check out:

Itzel’s upcoming event, Engaged Nonduality: Awake Awareness, Wise Action — A Nondual Approach to Anti-Racism on Sunday, February 1, 2026, https://www.attunedliving.com/events/engaged-nonduality

Tracee Stanlee’s book, The Luminous Self

Join a free Accessible Yoga webinar!

Join the first session of The Art of Teaching Chair Yoga as a FREE course preview:
Friday January 23rd, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (75 mins) -- Register Here

Find Your Center Practice: Explore Balance in a Chair & On a Mat
Monday February 2nd, 2026
9am PT | 12pm ET | 5pm GMT -- Register Here

Building Balance in Accessible Yoga Workshop
Thursday February 19th, 2026
10am PT | 1pm ET | 6pm GMT -- Register Here

We Want to Hear from You!

What story, teaching, or practice inspires your yoga journey today? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Itzel:

Itzel Hayward is a yoga teacher, facilitator, and former attorney whose work sits at the intersection of contemplative practice, justice, and collective care. After more than a decade practicing law in the areas of consumer protection and economic justice, she felt called to explore ways of restoring communities to wholeness after harm. She turned to restorative and transformative justice, compassionate communication, mindfulness, and yoga as practices of repair and healing—both outwardly and inwardly. Through her organization, Attuned Living, and in her role as an Adjunct Professor at UC Law San Francisco, Itzel supports inclusive, collaborative processes rooted in presence, agency, and right relationship with ancestors, community, and the living world.

attunedliving.com | https://bsky.app/profile/attunedliving.bsky.social | https://www.linkedin.com/in/itzelhayward/ | https://www.instagram.com/attunedliving

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessible-yoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma (they/them), AY Podcast Sound Engineer

Join host, Jivana Heyman, as he welcomes Oneika Mays, for an inspiring conversation about her forthcoming book, "Sit with Me : A No BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation," which details her transformative work at Rikers Island prison in New York City. Oneika shares her journey, the challenges of teaching mindfulness in a prison setting, and her practice and understanding of metta (loving-kindness).

Together, Jivana and Oneika discuss the importance of embodied wisdom, the role of storytelling in teaching, and the need for self-compassion and boundaries in service work. Oneika opens up about the vicarious trauma she experienced and how to recognize when to walk away from situations that no longer serve us.

The episode also features an exploration of how ancient teachings like Patanjali's Sutras relate to contemporary practice. Jivana and co-host, Deanna Michalopoulos, discuss the paradox of embracing the body fully before learning to release attachment to it, offering practical insights for teachers navigating yoga’s complex philosophies.

Topics Include:

• Processing trauma through writing
• The importance of supervision and support for service-oriented teachers
• Balancing service work with concerns about upholding oppressive systems
• Embodied wisdom and listening to your body's signals
• Cultivating a relationship with yourself through yoga and meditation
• Jivana’s upcoming free webinars and The Art of Teaching Chair Yoga Training, January 23 - February 24, 2026

Pre-Order Sit with Me : A No BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation
by visiting Oneika's website https://www.oneikamays.com

Join a free Accessible Yoga webinar!

Join the first session of The Art of Teaching Chair Yoga as a FREE course preview:
Friday January 23rd, 2026
10:30am PT | 1:30pm ET (75 mins) -- Register Here

Find Your Center Practice: Explore Balance in a Chair & On a Mat
Monday February 2nd, 2026
9am PT | 12pm ET | 5pm GMT -- Register Here

Building Balance in Accessible Yoga Workshop
Thursday February 19th, 2026
10am PT | 1pm ET | 6pm GMT -- Register Here

We Want to Hear from You!

What story, teaching, or practice inspires your yoga journey today? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Oneika:

Oneika Mays is a writer and facilitator who leads with joy, passion, and wisdom. As a Black, queer feminist, meditation teacher, and yoga instructor with nearly 15 years of teaching experience, she brings a poignant lens to building a more compassionate world.

Oneika’s gift is taking big ideas and teachings and weaving them with stories. She’s rooted in what she’s studied but teaches from her own experience. Oneika’s your teacher, your auntie, your friend - here for the work of personal and collective liberation. Her memoir Sit With Me (HarperOne, March 2026) delivers a no-BS journey to mindfulness that embraces the mess.

Grounded in Buddhist and yogic teachings, Oneika has taught at Rikers Island, Yoga International, and Embodied Philosophy. She believes joy is a revolution and getting closer to your heart is how we change the world.

IG @oneikamays | Substack @oneikamays

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessible-yoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma (they/them), AY Podcast Sound Engineer

Join Jivana Heyman in conversation with his longtime teacher and mentor, Swami Ramananda, a monk (sannyasi) in the Integral Yoga tradition. Swami Ramananda, who has dedicated nearly 50 years to the practice and teaching of yoga, shares profound insights, offering practical wisdom on working with the mind and cultivating inner peace. He discusses the challenges and rewards of monastic life, and how living in service has shaped his understanding of yoga practice. Together they explore the importance of spiritual community, the transformative power of meditation, and essential yogic concepts including non-attachment, surrender, and compassion.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana reflects on his 30-year yoga journey and how his practice has transformed his relationship with his mind. He shares that the concept of non-attachment has been a life-changing teaching, helping him understand that happiness comes from within, rather than external circumstances. Jivana emphasizes that yoga isn't about fixing ourselves but rather shifting our identification from ego to spirit, and he expresses gratitude for his teacher Swami Ramananda's influence on his practice and life.

Topics include:

• Jivana’s history with and departure from Integral Yoga
• The role of meditation in everyday life
• Non-attachment as a path to freedom while still engaging with the world
• Sangha (spiritual community) and how it supports yoga practitioners
• The relationship between inner practice and outer service
• Bhakti Yoga, prayer, and surrender
• Developing a compassionate relationship with ourselves

We Want to Hear from You!

What story, teaching, or practice inspires your yoga journey today? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Swami Ramananda:

Swami Ramananda, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a highly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, with over 45 years of dedicated practice. A certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of Yoga Alliance, Ramananda is known for his compassionate presence, deep wisdom, and ability to translate the timeless teachings of Yoga into accessible tools for everyday life.

He offers practical methods for transforming life’s challenges into pathways toward inner freedom and realizing one’s full potential. A co-founder of the Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI), Ramananda brings together individuals committed to social justice, environmental healing, and spiritual activism. His warmth, insight, and gentle humor have inspired and uplifted countless students on the path of Yoga.

@swami_ramananda_108 | facebook.com/Swami Ramananda 108

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

Simplify your yoga business with their all-in-one platform. Visit offeringtree.com/accessible-yoga to save 50% off your first 3 months on a monthly subscription or 15% off an annual subscription.

Credit: Mikus Dharma (they/them), AY Podcast Sound Engineer

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of mental health challenges and suicidal ideation. Please practice self-care when deciding whether to listen.

In this episode, Jivana Heyman sits down with longtime friend and colleague ML Maitreyi to discuss her journey as a yoga teacher living openly with bipolar disorder. Maitreyi shares candidly about how yoga became a lifeline in managing her mental health and the importance of community and discusses the particular challenges of being open about mental health in a yoga world.

Maitreyi also celebrates the release of her new chair yoga book, explaining why she wrote it as an "encourager and friend" rather than an instruction manual. Together, Jivana and Maitreyi discuss the significance of the teacher-student relationship and the importance of mutual respect and collaboration.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana and co-host, Deanna Michalopoulos reflect on the importance of addressing mental health in the yoga community and why chair yoga represents the distilled essence of yoga. Jivana also introduces his new course, "The Art of Teaching Chair Yoga," designed for yoga teachers. He explains the course's focus on teaching skills and the importance of creating a holistic and engaging class experience

Topics include:

• Breaking the silence around mental health in the yoga community
• Challenging the pervasive myth that yoga should "fix" or cure mental health conditions
• Alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) as a nervous system regulation tool
• Teaching as invitation rather than instruction
• The art of distilling complex yoga teachings into simple, accessible practices

Check out ML Maitreyi's book, Chair Yoga for Strength and Balance: Accessible Exercises to Improve Mobility and Relieve Pain on sale now!

We Want to Hear from You!

What story, teaching, or practice inspires your yoga journey today? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with ML Maitreyi:

ML Maitreyi is the Founder, Director and Teacher Mentor for Accessible Yoga Sacramento/Tahoe which has offered a free weekly class for the past decade. ML brings with her 30 years as a practitioner and 20 years of experience sharing yoga in diverse community spaces. In December 2025, her first book, Chair Yoga for Strength & Balance: Accessible Exercises to Improve Mobility & Relieve Pain, was released in partnership with Harper Collins Focus and Cider Mill Press. Her Sanskrit name, Maitreyi, means "friendly". She has relocated from California and now permanently resides in San Felipe, Baja Mexico.

IG: @accessibleyogaml, @accessibleyogasacramento

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

OfferingTree

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Credit: Mikus Dharma (they/them), AY Podcast Sound Engineer

Join Jivana Heyman for an inspiring conversation with Heather Sheree Sanders, founder of the Sedona Yoga Festival, about karma yoga, community organizing, and the often overlooked work that happens behind the scenes in the yoga world. Their conversation explores what it means to be a humble leader in yoga, the transformative power of yoga, and why Western yoga may finally be reaching a pivotal moment where practitioners are ready to go deeper than asana-focused practice.

Heather shares how merging her natural gifts with her yoga practice helped her find a sustainable balance between passion and service. She shares her vision for the Sedona Yoga Festival, emphasizing its role in providing a comprehensive yoga education and fostering community. Together, they reflect on the transformational power of in-person events and the need for human engagement in the yoga community.

The episode also features a listener question from Eric Johnson about finding courage as a yoga teacher, sparking a profound discussion about how yoga builds prana (energy), why ethical practice is essential for directing that power, and how our authentic selves – including our struggles and vulnerabilities – are actually our greatest gifts to share with the world.

Topics Include:

• Deconstructing narrow definitions of what yoga "looks like" Heart-led leadership through karma yoga ​
• Recognizing the teacher-student relationship as sacred
• Community organizing as activism
• Approaching yoga holistically
• The power of yoga nidra Heather’s work with Sedona Yoga Festival, Yoga Unify, The Ramble Burlington
• Jivana’s book, Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage and Compassion

Check out the next Sedona Yoga Festival, April 23-26, 2026

We Want to Hear from You!

What story, teaching, or practice inspires your yoga journey today? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here (90 second maximum): https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga

Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!

Connect with Heather:

Heather Sheree Sanders, Producer and Director of the annual Sedona Yoga Festival in Sedona, AZ, has been a practitioner of yoga since 1996. She believes passionately in yoga's ability to heal and to create peace, and focuses her efforts on bringing authentic yoga to people everywhere through a variety of platforms. Heather's commitment to building community and offering service in the field of yoga, arts, and consciousness is reflected in decades of event and conference creation and direction, as well as program development dedicated to mentorship, civic engagement, creativity, and collaboration.

https://sedonayogafestival.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathersheree

https://www.instagram.com/heathershereesanders

https://www.instagram.com/sedonayogafestival

https://www.linkedin.com/company/sedona-yoga-festivalhttps://www.facebook.com/sedonayogafestival

https://www.facebook.com/heathershereesanders/

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

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

Thank You to Our Sponsor!

beYogi

Comprehensive insurance for yoga instructors and wellness practitioners. Get $20 off our annual yoga teacher insurance policy at https://beyogi.com/jivana/.

Credit: Mikus Dharma (they/them), AY Podcast Sound Engineer