Teacher Training in Yoga For Adults with Learning Disabilities: An All Abilities Modality 

 

I joined the Teaching Adults with Learning Disabilities 30 hour Yoga Teacher Training weekend in June thinking I knew just what to expect. 

Alison Henning, Dr Ellie Firth, and Emma Stripe, and Rachel Gosling delivered interactive presentations and engaging practical sessions.

Adult Yoga practitioners with Learning Disabilities co-delivered sample classes alongside the team.

Topics covered during the introductory weekend included:

-Learning Disability Terminology, contexts of social and health inequalities 

-Mental Health, in Learning Disabilities

-The Nervous System

-Polyvagal Theory

-Sensory World,

-Class Planning, 

-Designing sessions as ‘open-to-all’ and much more…

 

Hosted at the fantastic Waves Group venue in Slaithwaite, I joined a lovely group of yoga teachers from a diverse range of backgrounds such as somatic practitioners, gym instructors, social workers, artists, dancers, nurses, legal and housing sector professionals- from as close as Leeds, and as far as Norfolk!

 

Thanks to this training weekend, I was happily humbled by how much I have to learn;

From the relationship of health inequalities to life expectancy, to the direct connection of mental health and nervous system regulation, there were many complex ideas made easier to grasp by the expertise of the team- all leading back to applied Yoga teaching in practice.

 

As a Yoga practitioner of nearly 20 years, 200hrs Yoga teacher for nearly 5 years, and having spent a further 3 years teaching with Umbrella Yoga; I have developed a set of teaching skills adapted for dementia-friendly, trauma-sensitive and learning disabilities groups.

 

So why did I need to join the 30 hr CPD course? & why do I think it leads to benefits for all participants?

 

To try to answer, I decided to revisit the benefits of communal movement:

 

As we age, the majority of us can ‘forget’ how to ‘play,’ and we lose our range of physical motion, agility, and strength. This reduction in physical activity, can lead to other losses, such as mobility, and mental agility.

 

 

 

I want to invite the reader to reflect, along with me, on what movement for wellbeing means for you.

 

Can you recall any of your early memories of a movement-based activity that you enjoyed?

Perhaps it was roller skating, or dancing at a disco or around your local neighbourhood?

Or running with friends around a playpark or a game of tag?

Or climbing trees? Maybe it was cartwheeling, handstands, or swimming? Or none of the above?

 

Why did you enjoy it?

Throughout childhood, like a lot of other 90’s kids, I was lucky enough to be very active, and relatively safe to adventure outside; Tree-climbing, river-swimming, dog-walking, and rollerskating were the favourites. Whilst being able-bodied, I was also neurodiverse. My physical coordination was not great, and I was shy of social interaction.

 

My early memories of a dance class involved feelings of shame and embarrassment, that I was bad at choreographed dancing. The modern dance teacher grew exasperated with 7 year old me:

“You’re not doing it right!…Move the RIGHT foot first, aren’t you listening?”

Being singled out for being ‘less able’ put me off dance, and communal classes in general. By the age of 8 I had given up ballet, dance and gymnastics classes. In doing so, I also lost access to skills in socialisation, resilience, and wellbeing. I spent more time alone, or watching television. The reason was mainly because the environment and the delivery of the teachers was not ‘accessible’ for my learning-style, and sensory sensitivities- not because I was the ‘problem’.

 

Play-Full Movement & Identity

 

Teaching, and learning Yoga Asana has been a way to reconnect to an unmet need for communal movement practice. It is important to state that whilst I still find it hard to access classes where I feel relaxed, and included- it is those (sadly all-too-rare) exceptions which have made it possible for me to learn and teach in communal spaces.

 

I was fortunate enough to find a sense of belonging amongst the Yoga teachers who shared similar stories and views at the Teacher Training last month.

 

We exchanged tales and ideas around adaptations, and experiences for learning disability and neurodiversity participants, inclusive practices, tackling inaccessible ‘studio culture, and misperceptions of ‘who yoga is for’.

 

The course highlight for me, which has been echoed by the other teacher training participants, was the chance to meet and learn with three of the regular Waves Group Yoga participants (Casey, Arjun and?). The pioneering trio led us confidently and expertly through a fantastic Yoga session tailored for adults with LD. Their obvious passion for the practice, and pride in leading the session, was testament to the impact that inclusive Yoga can have for each and everyone of us. The inspiration it sparked reminded me of the quote:

‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin

 

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Are you a qualified Yoga Teacher, or health professional?

For more information about the Umbrella Yoga Training courses please see this page on our website:

Our 2026 Teaching Yoga for Adults with Learning Disabilities course is filling up fast!

We also offer a short CPD workshop using the principles of yoga to improve health outcomes for staff and beneficiaries- details are here: healthcare professionals 

Contact us at:

Hello@umbrellayoga.co.uk

Ellie@umbrellayoga.co.uk

Rachel@umbrellayoga.co.uk for further details, and advice.