What do you think?
Rate this book
Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body
“A treasure trove . . . what Yoga, capital Y, is all about. ” —Donna Farhi
“Nothing less than a gem.” —Judith Lasater
“A vital tool.” — Book Riot
This daring, visionary book revolutionizes yoga practice, making it truly accessible to everyone—in every body, at any age, and in any state of health
Yoga practice has so much to offer us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. But many of us feel discouraged to practice because we see young, slim, flexible, well, and able-bodied people dominating yoga spaces. Yet, yoga is truly a practice for all—conferring enormous benefits to our overall well-being as our bodies change, age, and navigate various health challenges.
Jivana Heyman, founder of Accessible Yoga, views yoga as a basic human right—saying we all deserve to practice it in whatever state we find our body or mind. Accessible Yoga offers a simple, clear, and wonderfully adaptable practice for all people regardless of ability, health, and body type. Heyman has spent over twenty years sharing yoga with people of all abilities and backgrounds, and in this book, he shares his knowledge by breaking down complex yoga poses, breathing practices, meditation techniques, and yoga teachings into clearly understandable and practical tools we can use every day, regardless of our limitations or challenges.
“Nothing less than a gem.” —Judith Lasater
“A vital tool.” — Book Riot
This daring, visionary book revolutionizes yoga practice, making it truly accessible to everyone—in every body, at any age, and in any state of health
Yoga practice has so much to offer us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. But many of us feel discouraged to practice because we see young, slim, flexible, well, and able-bodied people dominating yoga spaces. Yet, yoga is truly a practice for all—conferring enormous benefits to our overall well-being as our bodies change, age, and navigate various health challenges.
Jivana Heyman, founder of Accessible Yoga, views yoga as a basic human right—saying we all deserve to practice it in whatever state we find our body or mind. Accessible Yoga offers a simple, clear, and wonderfully adaptable practice for all people regardless of ability, health, and body type. Heyman has spent over twenty years sharing yoga with people of all abilities and backgrounds, and in this book, he shares his knowledge by breaking down complex yoga poses, breathing practices, meditation techniques, and yoga teachings into clearly understandable and practical tools we can use every day, regardless of our limitations or challenges.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 5, 2019
77 people are currently reading
475 people want to read
About the author
Jivana Heyman
7 books31 followersJivana Heyman, C-IAYT, E-RYT500, is the founder and director of the Accessible Yoga Association, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings. He’s the author of the book, Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body (Shambhala Publications 2019), as well as the forthcoming book, Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage & Compassion (Shambhala Publications, Nov. 2021).
Jivana has specialized in teaching yoga to people with disabilities with an emphasis on community building and social engagement. Out of this work, the nonprofit Accessible Yoga Association was created to support education, training, and advocacy with the mission of shifting the public perception of yoga. In addition to offering Conferences and Community Conversations, Accessible Yoga offers a popular Ambassador program.
Jivana coined the phrase, “Accessible Yoga,” over ten years ago, and it has now become the standard appellation for a large cross section of the immense yoga world. He brought the Accessible Yoga community together for the first time in 2015 for the Accessible Yoga Conference, which has gone on to become a focal point for this movement.
Jivana is also the creator of the Accessible Yoga Training and the co-founder of the online Accessible Yoga Training School with Amber Karnes, which is a platform for continued education for yoga teachers in the field of equity and accessibility. They also created the Accessible Yoga Podcast in 2020.
Over the past 25 years, Jivana has led countless yoga teacher training programs around the world, and dedicates his time to supporting yoga teachers who are working to serve communities that are under-represented in traditional yoga spaces. For more information head to www.jivanaheyman.com
Jivana has specialized in teaching yoga to people with disabilities with an emphasis on community building and social engagement. Out of this work, the nonprofit Accessible Yoga Association was created to support education, training, and advocacy with the mission of shifting the public perception of yoga. In addition to offering Conferences and Community Conversations, Accessible Yoga offers a popular Ambassador program.
Jivana coined the phrase, “Accessible Yoga,” over ten years ago, and it has now become the standard appellation for a large cross section of the immense yoga world. He brought the Accessible Yoga community together for the first time in 2015 for the Accessible Yoga Conference, which has gone on to become a focal point for this movement.
Jivana is also the creator of the Accessible Yoga Training and the co-founder of the online Accessible Yoga Training School with Amber Karnes, which is a platform for continued education for yoga teachers in the field of equity and accessibility. They also created the Accessible Yoga Podcast in 2020.
Over the past 25 years, Jivana has led countless yoga teacher training programs around the world, and dedicates his time to supporting yoga teachers who are working to serve communities that are under-represented in traditional yoga spaces. For more information head to www.jivanaheyman.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 5, 2019
4.25 accessed stars ★★★★✩
↠ I wonder how many people would answer that yoga is about calming the mind to connect with love in the heart?
⇝Preface.
I think I've been practising Yoga for about 3 years now? I started when my gym introduced Cyberobics. Once they also offered live-classes with personal trainers, I slowly began to witness how Yoga affected my life outside the gym. I had a completely different approach towards unpleasant surprises and problems and also learned to cherish the good and simple things in life for what they were: a gift. I also slowly came to see, what Yoga isn't:
Although I made lots of progress there, I always failed to practice Yoga at home without anything to guide me but myself.
⇝Overall.
I picked up this book hoping it would help me to build the fundament for a decent Yoga practice at home. It didn't matter to me whether that would mean practising asanas or simply centring myself with breathing and/or meditation. My first assessment says it did help me to get a grip of practising at home. If you want a short answer to what it is that book did for me, it's that I got a bit closer to fully internalizing that
I myself noticed how Yoga - the practice and the tools you supposedly need to do it 'properly' - are the victim of capitalism and Western appropriation. It has become an exclusive thing that is denied people of - financially, socially and physically - marginalized groups.
In this regard, one particularly impressive aspect of this book was obviously the respect and understanding with which Jivana addresses people who are physically prevented from doing Yoga as most instructors tend to teach it. He constantly emphasises that
Jivana also encourages Yoga teachers to keep in mind that consent is a very important and ongoing process in every Yoga class. Correcting peoples' poses is important, no argument there, but it is even more important to acknowledge individual peoples limits to touch. I never thought much of it myself but highly agreed with Jivana when he made the point.
Although I could have guessed so, I was a bit disappointed to not get an insight into more complicated poses of yoga. This book is mainly oriented towards people with less physical abilities than most Yogis and as such it did a great job. I'm very glad I got approved.
➺The book is structured as follows.
I MAKING YOGA ACCESSIBLE
1 Accessible Yoga Philosophy
2 A Revolutionary Practice
II MAKING ASANA ACCESSIBLE
3 Warming Up
4 Strengthening and Massaging
5 Sun Salutation
6 Standing and Balancing
7 Backward Bending
8 Forward Bending
9 Inverting
10 Twisting
III ACCESSIBLE SUBTLE PRACTICES
11 Relaxing
12 Breathing
13 Meditating
IV ACCESSIBLE YOGA PRACTICE
14 Building a Home Practice
15 For Yoga Teachers
_____________________
Writing quality + easy of reading = 5*
plot development = 4*
enjoyability = 4*
insightfulness = 4*
_____________________
This eArc was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!
↠ I wonder how many people would answer that yoga is about calming the mind to connect with love in the heart?
This book is for… yogis or those who want to become a yogi regardless of age, years of experience, and individual physical capability. Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body does a great job illustrating, that yoga is about more than complicated poses and Instagram followers but underlines what yoga can help us accomplish in practice and life in general; a calm, flexible mind is far more valuable than a flexible body.
⇝Preface.
I think I've been practising Yoga for about 3 years now? I started when my gym introduced Cyberobics. Once they also offered live-classes with personal trainers, I slowly began to witness how Yoga affected my life outside the gym. I had a completely different approach towards unpleasant surprises and problems and also learned to cherish the good and simple things in life for what they were: a gift. I also slowly came to see, what Yoga isn't:
From the outside, yoga may seem self-indulgent and exclusive. But much of what we think of yoga is really a modern Westernized practice. At its heart, yoga is about love and service, not yoga pants and Instagram followers. [...] In fact, yoga is designed to amplify our voices by giving us tools to make us stronger and clearer. It’s designed to make us peaceful warriors. We can use yoga to deepen our connection to love and truth; to speak up for those who don’t have a voice.
Although I made lots of progress there, I always failed to practice Yoga at home without anything to guide me but myself.
⇝Overall.
I picked up this book hoping it would help me to build the fundament for a decent Yoga practice at home. It didn't matter to me whether that would mean practising asanas or simply centring myself with breathing and/or meditation. My first assessment says it did help me to get a grip of practising at home. If you want a short answer to what it is that book did for me, it's that I got a bit closer to fully internalizing that
At its heart, yoga is a spiritual practice that can be used by anyone at any time - if you know how. Yoga is a path of self-exploration, self-study and self-awareness.
I myself noticed how Yoga - the practice and the tools you supposedly need to do it 'properly' - are the victim of capitalism and Western appropriation. It has become an exclusive thing that is denied people of - financially, socially and physically - marginalized groups.
In this regard, one particularly impressive aspect of this book was obviously the respect and understanding with which Jivana addresses people who are physically prevented from doing Yoga as most instructors tend to teach it. He constantly emphasises that
People are more important than poses, and it’s better to adapt a pose to a person than a person to a pose.
Jivana also encourages Yoga teachers to keep in mind that consent is a very important and ongoing process in every Yoga class. Correcting peoples' poses is important, no argument there, but it is even more important to acknowledge individual peoples limits to touch. I never thought much of it myself but highly agreed with Jivana when he made the point.
Although I could have guessed so, I was a bit disappointed to not get an insight into more complicated poses of yoga. This book is mainly oriented towards people with less physical abilities than most Yogis and as such it did a great job. I'm very glad I got approved.
➺The book is structured as follows.
I MAKING YOGA ACCESSIBLE
1 Accessible Yoga Philosophy
2 A Revolutionary Practice
II MAKING ASANA ACCESSIBLE
3 Warming Up
4 Strengthening and Massaging
5 Sun Salutation
6 Standing and Balancing
7 Backward Bending
8 Forward Bending
9 Inverting
10 Twisting
III ACCESSIBLE SUBTLE PRACTICES
11 Relaxing
12 Breathing
13 Meditating
IV ACCESSIBLE YOGA PRACTICE
14 Building a Home Practice
15 For Yoga Teachers
_____________________
Writing quality + easy of reading = 5*
plot development = 4*
enjoyability = 4*
insightfulness = 4*
_____________________
This eArc was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!
November 5, 2019
This book achieves what it sets out in the title/subtitle. We have an introduction to the teacher, to the philosophy, and to the practice. I have to admit that one of the reasons that I enjoyed the book is that my idea of yoga aligns with the author - not every pose is for every body. There was so much adherence to the "proper alignment" for so long and it ignored the fact that not every body is able to move like those poses and it may, in fact, be inappropriate for some bodies. The many variations shown in the photos give many options to all levels of movement and bodies.
December 25, 2024
There is a lot of valuable instructive information in this book. Mr. Heyman found a good way to organize the content.
There are spelling and grammatical errors. For example, he talks about shoulder roles instead of shoulder rolls and confuses breath and breathe.
The photographs are not very helpful. Don't get me wrong, the models all are great and I love love love the inclusion of all different kinds of bodies, but they're mostly wearing all dark clothes and using all dark props/mats. The photographer (understandably, in the situation given) under exposed the dark clothing and props, which makes it difficult to see the details in bodies and props. There are some points I was looking at the photos, and the person had a bolster or something underneath the body that wasn't visible at all. Maybe there is a version of this book with color photographs that are easier to see?
I also appreciate the contribution of so many different bodies and the very helpful resources section at the end of the book. Understanding so many people's experiences with yoga is a valuable resource and gives the teacher something to consider.
There are spelling and grammatical errors. For example, he talks about shoulder roles instead of shoulder rolls and confuses breath and breathe.
The photographs are not very helpful. Don't get me wrong, the models all are great and I love love love the inclusion of all different kinds of bodies, but they're mostly wearing all dark clothes and using all dark props/mats. The photographer (understandably, in the situation given) under exposed the dark clothing and props, which makes it difficult to see the details in bodies and props. There are some points I was looking at the photos, and the person had a bolster or something underneath the body that wasn't visible at all. Maybe there is a version of this book with color photographs that are easier to see?
I also appreciate the contribution of so many different bodies and the very helpful resources section at the end of the book. Understanding so many people's experiences with yoga is a valuable resource and gives the teacher something to consider.
May 18, 2020
There are not enough superlatives to do justice to the beauty and importance of Accessible Yoga. It does what it says and shows through illustrations how to do different poses on a mat, in a chair, with supports, such as bolsters, and give permission for everybody to what's right for them. He calls out yoga culture that is competitive and closed and elite making it difficult to share in the human experience of doing yoga and meditation. But the beauty of the book lay in its philosophy about human rights and accessibility for all, disabled or not. Mr. Heyman reminds us that without equality and social justice for all groups, especially one's that are marginalized we cannot even begin to do justice to supporting everybody in their practice; the way we all deserve to be supported. Breaking down barriers to include everybody is at the heart of this stunning book.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Shambala books for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Shambala books for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion.
December 1, 2019
This book describes and illustrate how to adjust yoga poses such that everyone can practice yoga. Thus thereby making yoga accessible to people with different abilities and body types..
This book is very well written and the illustrations really help communicate the message.
It would have been great if there was a link to some yoga videos with cueing. This book seems more geared towards yoga instructors but is still great for any yoga practioners especially home practioners like myself. This book is definitely the worthy addition to the “yoga for all” movement.
I highly recommend this great yoga reference book.
I received an ARC from netgalley and the publisher, Shambhala Publications Inc, in exchange for my honest review.
This book is very well written and the illustrations really help communicate the message.
It would have been great if there was a link to some yoga videos with cueing. This book seems more geared towards yoga instructors but is still great for any yoga practioners especially home practioners like myself. This book is definitely the worthy addition to the “yoga for all” movement.
I highly recommend this great yoga reference book.
I received an ARC from netgalley and the publisher, Shambhala Publications Inc, in exchange for my honest review.
February 24, 2020
In Accessible Yoga Jivana Heyman brings his love of yoga practice to everyone; especially those who have previously felt intimidated and excluded in the past because of perceived limitations such as mobility, injury, age, and size.
I love how inclusive this book is, and how the proposed variations are detailed and explored so you know it's the correct variation for you.
It's a fantastic guide and would be perfect for teachers and individual practitioners alike.
Many thanks to Shambhala Publications, Inc. and NetGalley for the advance copy.
I love how inclusive this book is, and how the proposed variations are detailed and explored so you know it's the correct variation for you.
It's a fantastic guide and would be perfect for teachers and individual practitioners alike.
Many thanks to Shambhala Publications, Inc. and NetGalley for the advance copy.
December 17, 2023
One thing this book lacks is easy-to-follow routines. I usually grab yoga books for full page sequences, so that was a bit of a turnoff. I was impressed with the range of representation, and the bibliography which will direct you to resources for yoga with arthritis, MS, spinal injury and more. Here is a great resource for accommodating poses using straps, blocks, bolsters, chairs, etc. It also offers a guide for other limbs of yoga that may help foster a positive mindset for healing and appreciating your body.
September 18, 2019
I would say that this is a very helpful book for anyone who wants to practice yoga but who is disabled or handicapped or in some way finds traditional yoga asanas impractical. There are some good photographs, and there is also a lot of background info that might be better suited to yoga teachers who are teaching accessible classes.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
April 20, 2022
A must read for yoga students and teachers alike, highlighting accessibility in both the mental and physical practices of yoga in the studio and/or at home. The picture references and descriptions for asana instruction was super helpful, and how to incorporate props. I also appreciated the social-justice and human rights oriented framework.
January 1, 2024
I find myself constantly returning to this book to plan accessible yoga sequences for adaptive yoga and gentle yoga for veterans. Of all the books I have on the topic, this one is the most comprehensive.
November 20, 2019
This was a great guide for anyone that doesn't have the "typical yoga body". I found the exercises to be easy to do thanks to the directions being so clear. Highly recommend!
February 17, 2020
Basic introductory poses. Too many personal stories for my taste. Book focuses more on the intention of yoga and breathing then actual poses.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2020
Great reference for yoga practitioners and teachers in need of creating a more accessible practice.
April 15, 2020
Among the huge stack of very important and useful tools for yoga teaching and practice.
July 30, 2020
favorite gems from this book...
~don't fit the body to the pose, fit the pose to the body
~yoga is about having a flexible mind, rather than a flexible body
~don't fit the body to the pose, fit the pose to the body
~yoga is about having a flexible mind, rather than a flexible body
August 20, 2020
Fantastic introduction which firmly places yoga as a means of creating a fairer society
Useful modifications to make yoga accessible
Useful modifications to make yoga accessible
November 23, 2021
The best I’ve seen for accessibility - easy to understand and well photographed. It is at a beginner level, see Bondy’s books for more advanced accessibility instruction.
March 17, 2022
Skimmed.
April 6, 2022
so helpful for students and teachers.
December 1, 2022
Interesting read.
October 28, 2023
A really helpful book for teachers that want to adapt to many abilities. I highly recommend
October 6, 2024
Well-written text for inspiration on teaching accessible yoga. Jivana is so knowledgeable and I find myself coming back to this book again and again!
December 16, 2025
Not my favorite yoga reference guide, but it had a good bibliography for discovering more information on yoga for arthritis.
September 15, 2020
Excellent manual for showing that every body is a yoga body!
November 10, 2019
I have been waiting for this book and it was worth the wait!
I sped through this book first reading! I love the personal stories . Content is written in down to earth every day language Will read again to take a closer look at the pose suggestions. Some of these poses I have used already with a private client. Just finishing up my yoga thesis and this wonderful book will be listed as one of my references!
I sped through this book first reading! I love the personal stories . Content is written in down to earth every day language Will read again to take a closer look at the pose suggestions. Some of these poses I have used already with a private client. Just finishing up my yoga thesis and this wonderful book will be listed as one of my references!
September 25, 2019
Jivana Heyman spells out so many things in this book that I've thought for a very long time - about spiritual materialism, competitiveness, lack of access, and lack of accommodation for those who don't fit the mold of the "ideal yogi." I loved Heyman's personal story, his thoughts and interpretations of the yoga philosophy, and the multitude of options for adapting all types of asanas to all types of bodies and abilities. I wish all yoga teachers would read this.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews