012. What is the role of asana in yoga? [Making Asana Accessible Part 1]

Episode 12 is the first in a series about making asana accessible for all bodies. In part 1, Amber and Jivana dig into the ways physical practice is centered in western yoga culture. Jivana and Amber talk in detail about the other parts of the practice that often are ignored in most yoga and wellness spaces. We also talk about a simple mindset shift that prepares you for adapting almost any asana. This conversation invites us all to investigate the misconceptions we hold about changes in the physical body and how asana can support us through those changes. 

• How philosophy calls for making the practice accessible
• How physical practice is centered in western culture
• The role of physical asana in an accessible practice
• How the practice supports our spiritual body as well as our physical body
• The process of accepting our inevitable death and changes in the body
• How systems of oppression have influenced the current yoga culture
• How Jivana supported his grandmother, an advanced yogi, through aging and death
• How Jivana witnessed the physical practice showing up for folks he was supporting through death and dying in his HIV/AIDS activism 
• The importance of understanding why we do poses, considering their benefits and contraindications
• How to lead a mix leveled class through different physical postures
• How we can support folks in any body experience the intention of the physical postures
• How our language and communication about bodies can disempower of students
• The importance of releasing our conditioning about bodies, ability and accessibility

Today’s inquiry

Each week we’ll leave you with a powerful question. We encourage you to sit in inquiry with this question, write about it, discuss it with another community member on this path. Today, we invite you to reflect on this question:

Can you deepen the experience without doing more physically or leaning on making your practice more demanding? 

Resources: 

• Kemetic yoga 
• Matthew Sanford (we also recommend his book and DVD)
• Jivana’s book - Accessible Yoga
• Amber’s video on eagle pose and larger bodies
• Want to learn more about making asana accessible? Join the January cohort of the Accessible Yoga Training. You can drop your name on the waitlist here, and we’ll let you know when enrollment opens!

Get a transcript, links to resources, and show notes at accessibleyogatraining.com/podcast.