Clarification of Terminology

Accessible Yoga School: 

A yoga training school, led by Jivana Heyman, offering various continuing education training programs and a 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training, which promote accessibility in all aspects of yoga teaching and practice

AYS Website | Instagram | Facebook | Email

Accessible Yoga Teacher:

A teacher who has completed either:

• 200 hour Accessible Yoga Teacher Training with the Accessible Yoga School, OR
• 30-40 hour Accessible Yoga Training with the Accessible Yoga School (online or in-person) + a 200 hour (minimum) yoga teacher certification training

Guidelines for Use

Those who meet Accessible Yoga Teacher training eligibility criteria (outlined above) are welcome to:

• Promote themself as an Accessible Yoga Teacher
• Display the Accessible Yoga Teacher Badge on their website, social media, business card and/or promotional materials when promoting appropriate / relevant offerings
  • We ask that any digital display of the Accessible Yoga Teacher badge is linked to / includes links to our Accessible Yoga School website or social media:
  • www.accessibleyogaschool.com
  • @accessibleyogaschool
• Include in their website / social media bio that they:
• Have completed Accessible Yoga Training with Jivana Heyman / the Accessible Yoga School
• Are Accessible Yoga certified
• Have trained with the Accessible Yoga School
• Promote their offerings as Accessible Yoga Classes
• Offer non-certification workshops on the topic of making practices more accessible, for students or teachers

Examples of acceptable terminology:

• Accessible Yoga classes with Sarah Jones (YES)
• Integrated Chair/Mat Accessible Yoga classes with Sarah Jones (YES)
• Adaptations to Make Your Practice More Accessible - a Workshop with Accessible Yoga Teacher, Sarah Jones (YES)

Completion of our Accessible Yoga Training does NOT qualify graduates to:

• Use the Accessible Yoga School logo or Accessible Yoga / Accessible Yoga Association logo on their website or promotional materials
• Offer / promote their own Accessible Yoga Training certification courses (training others to become Accessible Yoga Teachers), Eg.
  • X Accessible Yoga Certification Training with Sarah Jones (NO)
  • X Accessible Yoga Teacher Training with Sarah Jones (NO) 
  • X Accessible Yoga Training with Sarah Jones (NO) 
• Promote themself / their business as ‘Accessible Yoga’ in ways that suggest a direct affiliation with ‘Accessible Yoga’ (which is an international non-profit organization), eg. 
• Eg. X Accessible Yoga New York (@accessibleyoganyc) - business name / handle for an individual teacher's classes or studio located in NYC, suggesting they are an official branch of Accessible Yoga (NO)
• Replicate any parts of the Accessible Yoga Training manuals to share with students or teachers, without express permission from Jivana Heyman / Accessible Yoga School
• Share course content from our Accessible Yoga Training with students or other teachers (including videos, slides, handouts etc) - these materials are copyrighted

Inclusivity & Accessibility Guidelines

We ask those who have completed our Accessible Yoga Training to acknowledge that promoting offerings as “Accessible” is much more than a marketing term or trending phrase.

When promoting your offerings as “accessible yoga” please consider the following:

• Are your classes being offered in an accessible venue (for in-person classes), where details of the venue accessibility are provided (and can easily be located), or that accessibility considerations are in place for online offerings (eg. live captioning)
• Are props to support the practice available within the venue, or guidance given (which is easily located) for options for bringing own props
• Are your classes welcoming and are you actively including all who may want to practice, with options for chair practice if getting down on the mat is not available 
• Is your teaching approached with consideration of acknowledging and challenging racism, ableism, diet culture / fat shaming, ageism, homophobia, transphobia etc (eg. being actively anti-racist, anti-ableist etc)
• Do you practice land acknowledgement, and acknowledge the roots of the practice through your offerings, ensuring respect and appreciation rather than appropriation
• Is your class pricing financially accessible (eg. tiered pricing options / class scholarships available - without the need for work trade)
• Do you engage in ongoing learning / unlearning / professional development, specifically in areas where you are socially located in closer proximity to power (eg. white, non-disabled, cisgender) 

Please note - this is a non-exhaustive list of considerations. We encourage teachers to be in a continual space of further learning / unlearning.