Accessible Yoga Conference, San Francisco 2017

Join us for the Opening Ceremony of the Accessible Yoga Conference San Francisco! We're excited to see old friends and make new ones as we celebrate this auspicious occasion.  The program includes:

Swami Ramananda, Opening Meditation
Jivana Heyman, Welcome Talk
Judith Hanson Lasater, Keynote Address - "Yoga: a technology of compassion"

Emcee, Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz 

Mingle with fellow attendees and presenters while snacking on a light meal. 

LifeForce Yoga combines ancient yogic techniques that are informed by current research to support students in managing anxiety, depression, feelings of loss, stress, low self-esteem, and trauma. The tools are accessible and do not require a yoga mat for practice and can be woven into a yoga mat practice.

Through LifeForce Yoga, learn how you are so much more than current mood states and the swing of energy from moment to moment. You will take home practices that can be done anywhere and at any time to help you cultivate equilibrium.

During this workshop you will practice:

Breathing techniques to energize (pranayama)
Sound techniques to calm (mantra)
Visualization for goal setting (bhavana)
Hand gestures (mudra)
Meditation techniques to anchor the awareness
Deep relaxation

Note: Mary Jo Fetterly is unable to lead this session, so Jivana Heyman will teach instead, on the following topic:

In the Accessible Yoga Workshop, we’ll answer the question, “Who deserves the teachings of yoga?” And we’ll look at practical ways to make the teachings and practices of yoga available to all students regardless of ability or background. In particular, we’ll look at how to integrate different levels of ability into our classes so that we can serve the needs of all of our students.

We’ll consider how the essential principals of yoga are accessible to everyone, and how the challenges that come with disability, illness and pain can lead to greater wisdom and insight. The program will include a mixture of discussion, yoga practice, and practice teaching.

Content includes:

• How do we make yoga accessible? Considering the role of the yoga teacher in accessibility.
• Variations of a few popular asanas, including chair yoga and bed yoga versions.
• Techniques for creating integrated Accessible Yoga classes.

Bringing Yoga & Ayurveda into County Mental and Behavioral Health presents certain challenges. It’s not rocket science, but Yoga and certainly Ayurveda are far from mainstream, so we simplify: by changing input through the five senses, we change the output. Winning a contract is just the beginning. New brain science and ancient practices offer clients in poverty, with trauma and addiction an opportunity to see experiences in a new light. Ayurvedic routines around sleep and mealtime builds ojas and balances agni, which reduces suffering, and clients are thus less likely to relapse and recidivate into our strained correctional system.

There are many who can benefit from Yoga and Ayurvedic self care practices, but in order to reach those multitudes with no luxury income, more studies are needed to appeal to heads of Departments of Health. There are many studies that show mindfulness works to reduce recidivism and relapse, but few show yoga and diet/ lifestyle does too. My work with Sierra County Drug Court is the beginning of what may become a trend throughout the United States.

In these classes, we will explore methods that yoga teachers and yoga students living with disabilities can use for taking the practice wherever it needs to go, moving beyond typical limits of culture and society into the love and respect of heart-to-heart communication, while we stretch traditional concepts of posture and movement in sometimes surprising ways. As teachers, we can welcome every range and variety of ability - physical, mental, developmental and psycho-spiritual.

Keeping the principles of anatomy, physiology, alignment and form in mind, we will experience the creative and liberal use of both yoga props and generous hands-on support from one or more helpers to meet to meet individual circumstances. We'll work on ways more mobile students can practice as independently as possible and learn how to work more interactively with less mobile students.

With adaptive asana - including conscious breathing - as our foundation, we'll add techniques from Thai Massage, Acupressure, Shiatsu, range of motion and muscle resistance. And, we'll examine ways to use meditation and pranayama, verbal suggestion, guided imagery and vocal sound.

Together, we'll celebrate that yoga is for everyone!

Join our panelists for a thought-provoking exploration of Disability, Accessibility, Inclusion, Equality, Movement, Language and Yoga. What are the essential elements of an accessible yoga environment? Listen, share and learn with us.

Yoga for Healthy Aging is a unique program developed by Baxter Bell, MD and Nina Zolotow as a natural outgrowth of thei 6 years adventure on the blog of the same name. In this workshop, you will learn about the 3 Pillars of Healthy Aging, the 4 Physical Skills, as well as the unique perspective on aging for special communities. There will also be mini experiential practices interspersed throughout our session.

*Please note this is a 2 hour class

Accessible Yoga & T'ai Chi Chih, Breath, Voice, and Movement-A Multi- Modality approach to Accessible Yoga found along the Silk Road.

• Seated or standing, your choice.
• Relaxation and breathing, experiencing the intrinsic energy. Experiencing the "Mountain pose" in all movements, the length of the spine, "Yin and Yang" energies,
•Balancing the body and mind, lines of energy, grounding the energy through the earth, letting go.
• Begin with 30 minutes of Accessible Yoga Stretching and coordination of movement with music & breath-work, then bridge into 3 basic weight shifts using chairs.
• Experience Italian vowels to open the throat, and feel elongated, while connecting to the breath and spine, with movements like “seated Cat and Cow”. Adding sound to movement on the exhale.
• Learn how to improve your physical and mental well-being and manage your stress through the practice of Accessible Yoga and a bridge to T’ai Chi Chih
• Body check for correct alignment. Group work with mentors to learn the various weight shifts, generate and circulate energy in the body through breath control and voice work. Seated or standing, your choice.
• A Moving Meditation class the second hour, with music by Steve Halpern, experiencing "Deep Theta". Enjoying the ride by learning to experience life in the “slow lane”. The 3- part yoga breath and breathing from the "T'an Tien" (abdomen to heart) can unite in this slow Qi Gong practice.
• Learning how to relax by moving slowly, balancing the intrinsic energy through breath and movement with T'ai Chi Chih, a basic Qi Gong practice of 19 Movements and one pose. We will learn 6 movements seated, then standing (your choice)
• Letting the chi or prana flow through all the cells ("nadis", "meridians") by connecting Mind, Body, Breath, and Voice through Movement in T'ai Chi Chih while breathing from the center.
• Feel the flow of the 3- part breath at the central "Meridian" for "Rocking Motion" and "Bass Drum".
• Learn about circularity, softness, continuity, and moving through heavy air. Connect concepts like prana and the chi. Learn about how breath moves from the "energy sea" at the abdomen, as does the 3- part breath in classical yoga.
• Experience the final body scan without every getting on the floor. Connecting Mind, body, and emotions through the quiet breath
• End with Yoga alternate breathing and a time to meditate, feeling the connection of heart and abdomen, as the body lets go.
• Change the flow of energy by experiencing the joy of laughter in the work from Madan Katari at the end of class, as you re-awaken the body through a taste of Laughter Yoga.
• Know that the highest form of meditation is the joy of laughter!

Join Melanie Klein, Amara Miller and Zubin Shroff for a joint presentation and discussion that examines the intersection of media representation and the commodification of yoga with the lack of diverse imagery in contemporary yoga culture. Related topics to be discussed include cultural appropriation, media literacy education and spiritual justice. Not only will this presentation explore *why* the current paradigm needs to be changed, but *how* it can be changed to one that is diverse, inclusive and equitable.

Due to an illness in the family, Melanie Klein is unable to attend the conference.  Amara Miller and Zubrin Shroff will be leading the Representation Matters presentation on her behalf.  To make up for her absence, Melanie has graciously extended VIP access to a webinar she will be hosting to AYC attendees.  More details to come!  Om shanti. 

You have a vision for your Accessible Yoga work. You're committed to seeing it through. The work is challenging, but rewarding. But is your work sustainable and are you working with available resources to make your vision a reality?

Accessible Yoga is at an important time of growth. As leaders in this movement, it's up to us to help the public see how this practice can benefit more individuals. Most of us come to our teaching and practice with a vision born from a deeply rooted and personal cause. It's easy to let our desire to do good work outshine our need to cultivate a sustainable business model. ¶ Join Kerri Hanlon, co-founder of Yoga Home and creator of their Adaptive Yoga Program for an exploration of the business side of yoga.
We'll examine:
Core Values – Have you articulated what drives you, your teaching and your business?
Business Models – Are you an independent contractor, studio owner/partner, FT/PT staff?
Marketing & Communications – Is your website engaging? Is your SEO working for you? Are you active on FB, IG? (hint – if the acronyms are foreign to you, perhaps we should connect!) Are you seeking opportunities to speak with the media about the important work you're doing? Staffing – Are you able to recruit, hire, train and manage staff in a manner that supports your efforts? As your client base grows, are you cultivating additional talent to help expand your offerings? 
Compensation – Are you able to make a living at what you love to do? Are you mindful when assessing the value of your time when setting your rates? Most importantly, how do you define fair compensation, and does it include non-monetary values?
Strategic Partnerships – Who are your allies in helping you expand your vison? Are you tapping into your local and national communities to support your efforts?

You'll leave this session with seeds of ideas to take home for future Strategic Planning as well as specific action items that can help you build your brand upon implementation.  At the Accessible Conference in NYC in May, Jivana hosted a session Accessible Yoga – A Revolution. He challenged us to be part of a revolutionary movement focused on empowering marginalized communities with the powerful tools of yoga. This session in San Francisco bridges the vision with the practical application to make this revolution a reality.  A combination of lecture and small group discussion, you're encouraged to come prepared with questions, creativity and an open mind.   

The true way to the center of the heart is through service. From the Upanishads to the Sutras to the Bhagavad Gita we are inspired to realize the obstacles that greed, money, ego and glory have tied to them. However, here we are living in a world where the pull of fame and success is constantly bombarding our senses. How can we keep up with this culture and remain fulfilled and connected to our truest self?

In this workshop you will learn and experience practices to access your deepest hearts desire. In finding your true yogic calling you will discover the communities you wish to serve.
Asana, Pranayama, and Sankalpa exercises will inspire your mind, body, and heart to unite, empower, and become fearless. Ultimately realizing your own dharma and a clear path of action.

In this workshop we’ll play around with a variety of ideas, adapting asana for people with disabilities keeping ease and comfort a priority (Sthira Sukham Asanam). Yoga teachers and students who are curious about how to adapt asana to our unique bodies and are willing to play will enjoy this workshop. We'll work together to find new ways and share our tried-and-true methods of teaching and helping students to safely find their way into a pose.

Many of us are troubled by recent events and the divisive ideology that has intensified violence and exploitation around the world. We are witnessing radical movements that exhibit dehumanizing values and lead to ​unnecessary ​suffering. Join Swami Ramananda, Kamala Berrio, Mukunda ​Morozumi, and Linda Natera for a discussion of how we can ​apply the teachings of Yoga to oppose such factions ​with compassion in our hearts ​and stand together in the knowledge that we are all one in Spirit. Together, we can explore how to join with other conscious peoples as a voice for inclusiveness and social justice.

Cancer is one of life’s greatest challenges. Can ancient wisdom practices, together with modern-day knowledge, help those with cancer meet the totality of their experience more directly and courageously?

Based on the highly successful Courageous Women, Fearless Living retreats at Shambhala Mountain Center, the answer appears to be yes. Instead of focusing on all the cool and amazing studies that show that yoga and meditation work as adjuncts to cancer treatments, this workshop focuses on how to teach and what to teach. Join Courageous Women, Fearless Living co-founder Linda Sparrowe as she explores how to create a healing environment that supports and empowers those touched by cancer or any life-threatening illness. This 90-minute exploration includes:
Tibetan meditation and mindfulness practices
Ancient teachings from the Yoga Sutra—what they have to offer and how to present them Specific yoga asana and pranayama techniques—what to do and what to shy away from
Yoga nidra practices
Ritual and dance

Workshop includes lecture, discussion, and practice (mostly meditation and pranayama)

This workshop will teach hands-on and interactive activities, yoga poses and breathing exercises specifically designed for children with autism and special needs. Participants will come away from this workshop with ideas of how to support children with autism and special needs emotional regulation, socialization, communication, sensory processing, body awareness and unique learning styles through yoga. Suggestions for modifications, adaptations and supports will be provided to make yoga fun, inclusive and accessible for children of diverse abilities. Yoga strategies discussed in this workshop have an emphasis on children with special needs but would be appropriate and beneficial to all children.

Join Freidel Kushman and Miarco Tiama McMillian for a workshop investigating best practices for serving Yoga Therapy within the chronically homeless community. Cultivate a pathway forward for how you may affect change and influence your local government to integrate a holistic framework for the healing of chronic homelessness, mental illness, and trauma growing within chronically homeless, at-risk, and underserved populations.

This workshop is designed to help ensure that ALL children can experience the benefits of yoga and mindfulness with their peers - including children with autism, developmental disabilities, learning differences, and other health conditions. The goal is to teach children the tools to be present, develop self-awareness, regulation, and physical control to support their social-emotional and academic growth.

This presentation will include yoga, movement, and mindfulness experiences, video, powerpoint and discussion.

Yoga and Mindfulness:
• Helps children to be present, calm, focused, and experience their true nature.
• Teaches children awareness of the physical body including: balance, strength, and flexibility.
• Teaches children life long tools for kindness and compassion toward self and others.

Participants will:
1) Learn and experience yoga and mindfulness techniques and programs (including sound, yoga and breathing) to help improve attention, executive functioning, self-awareness, regulation, motor control, empathy, kindness, and compassion.
2) Understand current brain research and neuroscience related to yoga, mindfulness and stress reduction practices.
3) Participate in breathing, visualization, and relaxation activities to calm, energize, and promote awareness.
4) Leave feeling calm and energized!

We bring our unique perspective from our pediatric physical and occupational therapy backgrounds together with our yoga teaching for a fun, playful, calming and focusing experience for children.

Chinnamasta will guide the group through the Joint Free Series as described in the book Structural Yoga Therapy and recorded on DVD. This sequence is the foundation for decreasing pain, restoring the flow of prana, increasing energy and balancing strength and relaxation of the body. This series can be done from a bed lying down, in a (wheel-) chair, on the floor or standing holding a chair. The asana part of class will be completed with a guided relaxation & pranayama practice.

Adaptations will be given where needed. The class will be opened and closed with mantra and prayer.  

In this workshop we’ll play around with a variety of ideas, adapting asana for people with disabilities keeping ease and comfort a priority (Sthira Sukham Asanam). Yoga teachers and students who are curious about how to adapt asana to our unique bodies and are willing to play will enjoy this workshop. We'll work together to find new ways and share our tried-and-true methods of teaching and helping students to safely find their way into a pose.

Chair Yoga: Yoga for Everyone!
Learn gentle yoga postures using a chair for support (standing and seated). Includes yoga exercises for the body and mind and ends with a guided relaxation.

This class is great for those with limited mobility, seniors, those with chronic illness, if healing from an injury, pre/post surgery, if in a wheelchair and for those wanting to learn how to do yoga at work (to reduce computer related neck, back, shoulder and eye strain). *No need to change clothes or bring a yoga mat. Yoga truly is for everyone!

Listen to members of our Accessible Yoga community describe the work they are doing out there in the world!

Moderator: Bonny Chipman

Anita Havron
Bhavani Rena Ivy
Melissa Calasanz
Alexandra Schang
Debbie Moore
Jennifer Kuo
Camella Nair 
Jess Dene Schlesinger 
Nancy Yates 

Join Jivana for an interactive workshop focused on building on the grassroots work of Accessible Yoga. Jivana will explain the current status of our work as an organization, and together we'll explore where we want to go. Specifically, we'll look at ways to connect our growing international community, how to make sure that everyone feels included, and how collaboration can lead to empowerment for each of us individually.¶ Accessible Yoga uses a team structure for collaborative, team building. Our teams are dedicated to making yoga accessible through specific tasks, such as advocacy, fundraising, communications, etc. We'll split up into teams to look at next steps for our work. Many of our Accessible Yoga Team Leaders will be on hand to hear your ideas and explore possibilities with you.This is a great way to connect with a vibrant, grassroots movement of yogis from all backgrounds and of all abilities. Please join us to explore how we can work together, and how we can be connected, included and empowered!

Chinnamasta will share a Dharma talk about the importance of shaping, personalizing, adapting and maintaining a personal Sadhana on and off the mat in your daily life. She will teach how to balance your Sadhana & self care with service to others using Chapter 2 of Patanjali Yoga Sutra's as a guideline for an appropriate yogic & ayurvedic lifestyle. 

Structural Yoga Therapy is first of all a path of self-inquiry and healing leading one to an understanding and personal experience of sattva. Once sattva is known and established you are able to look at another from a neutral perspective and to offer guidance coming from a wisdom place. 

She will explain why your Sadhana shifts throughout your life based on the teaching of Sri Krishnamacharya: "It is not the person who should adapt to yoga, but rather yoga to the person". The subtitle of the book Structural Yoga Therapy is "Adapting to the Individual”. 

Before we can serve others we daily have to commit to time to serve ourselves. By connecting to the Source daily as the most important relationship in our lives we can learn how to move through our day experiencing a dynamic balance guided from our heart and learn to ride the waves of life with Grace. When we live a life that is holding integrity and compassion towards ourself, we will radiate that love to others. 

Everybody has to be unique because every body is carrying a unique soul." - Osho

Creating a safe, supportive space where individuals of all abilities are free to experience the practice of yoga will be the focus of this training. You’ll learn to modify yoga postures and breathing techniques for individuals with varying physical limitations. We’ll explore the benefits derived from various postures and how we can adapt these postures for any body.

Adaptive yoga benefits students by creating:
Increased strength, balance and flexibility — both mental and physical
Rhythm, an inward sense of direction and the ability to move through life in a more integrated way
The capacity to live more fully within the body
An enhanced ability to manage stress
A deepened sense of connection with others

You'll also learn how to construct an Adaptive Yoga Class that is appropriate for mixed levels and abilities. Kerri's classes at Yoga Home might include individuals with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Down's Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury and other diagnoses. Students arrive in wheelchairs, scooters, walkers and some are ambulatory. Using the asanas (poses) as a guide, you'll see how to provide options and modifications for all.

This Training is open to all who have an interest in helping individuals with physical disabilities more fully explore the mind-body-spirit connection. Yoga teachers, physical therapists, occupational therapist, recreation therapists, caregivers, parents and individuals with and without disabilities are all welcome.

Kerri has completed Adaptive Yoga Level I/II with Matthew Sanford and is Opening Yoga Instructor Certified. Her approach weaves her learning from OYI and fellow Adaptive Yoga teachers with her personal experience. She created the Adaptive Yoga Program at Yoga Home, to help more individuals with disabilities experience the benefits of yoga. 

I was 46 years old - at the prime of my life and yoga teaching and personal practice, when everything changed and I became instantly paralyzed at my local ski hill.The three biggest questions that people asked were: "How will she do yoga now? And "What will she do now that she can't teach yoga?" and "Will she walk again because she is a Yogi?" The expectation that I can heal from a completely severed spinal cord & injury because I knew Yoga seem to contradict the assumption that because I was paralyzed and in a wheelchair that somehow now I didn't know Yoga and certainly couldn't teach it.

This epitomizes the dilemma and the challenges that we have as accessible and Adaptive Yoga teachers, and quite frankly as yogis in general. First of all the fallacy that we have to be a perfect body to practice the physical limb of yoga - Asana, and secondly that the postures are the only limb of yoga to practice or teach, third that you can't know or experience yoga if you're disabled.

Most of you know that this is simply not true, that of the eight limbs that make up the practical application of yoga none of them are 'inaccessible' to anyone. If there's one thing that living with a disability has taught me - it is that we are one of the most adaptable and adaptive species on the planet, and that generally the life force itself is an example of a exalted adaptogen.

My recovery from complete paralysis has been nothing short of miracles and manifestation. It is quite unheard of that a person with high-level complete quadriplegia obtains the amount of core & diaphragm control, and spinal connection that I have been able to achieve. I am catheter free, which amongst many milestones is directly attributed to bandha practice and visualization. I have used firsthand many non-physical energetic aspects of yoga including, but not limited to, the five kosha's and Vayu's, to adapt and recover beyond all medical projections from what is a very debilitating and potentially depressing situation. This is a small example of why Yoga can be applied therapeutically from early on in the recovery stages of a Traumatic injury all the way through rehabilitation and into daily living.

There are many different elements and levels of how one would approach this as a teacher or a guide, and my intention is to provide a framework for those of you who are interested in helping clients from the early stages of their injury or anywhere along the continuum of healing and into daily living; using all Eight Limb's. We will also explore other tools of Hatha and Tantra Yoga such as mantra, nada & sound Yoga, visualization, Yoga nidra, Marma & massage and how they contribute to an accessible and Adaptive Yoga offering.

With such complex nervous systems it is important to have many tools at our disposal and to understand the relevancy of timing, application, safety and diversity in applying any or all of them.

The integration and application of Yoga therapies and techniques within the healthcare system as well as within rehabilitation settings is an essential and fundamental next step for our medical healthcare and teaching community. The absence of yoga in a rehabilitation, traumatic, or extended-care setting is soon to become a thing of the past, as more and more yoga therapists and clients are educating themselves. As a survivor of a severe spinal cord injury, I have lived and breathed the power and profundity of utilizing yoga throughout my continued recovery. And yes, I have taught able-bodied people since my injury, but most importantly I have learned how to adapt Yoga to heal and deal with my own body and then how to apply this to other disabilities and rehabilitation models. Through the 13 years of my disability I have subsequently developed a comprehensive Adaptive Yoga program and training.

For our session together, we will look at the nervous system as it moves through the stages of recovery, at the tools of yoga and the application of them from injury through rehabilitation. We will explore the physical and non-physical physical components of yoga and how to simplistically weave them into a practical and effective application for the student.

I have over 30 years of teaching experience with 10 of those teaching personal development and teacher training, and 10 years as a person with Quadriplegia. I am a public speaker and a Ambassador for The Rick Hansen Foundation, and am often asked to present on yoga and disability.

As a yoga teacher, undergrad, disabled person and professional in my community I experience daily the call and demand for more hands-on application of yoga from hospital to home, to enhance and redefine somebody's quality of life. We all benefit by reducing suffering.

Join us for the Closing Ceremony of the Accessible Yoga Conference San Francisco. We'll hear some inspiring words from:

Linda Sparrowe, Keynote Address- "Yoga's Call to Action"
Jivana Heyman, Thank You and Goodbye

Emcee, Rudra Swartz

Join new friends to celebrate the conclusion of the weekend's events.  Light refreshments will be served.