Special Yoga For Adults: Disabilities & Autism
SPRING ‘25 COURSE
Tuesday evening Webinars
No prior knowledge of yoga necessary
Book now and pay one single payment or five installments
Next course starts early 2025 - Book Below
Yoga and You
Since our training began over twenty years ago, we have met many individuals like you who have a desire to share yoga with a wider community, especially with those who face greater barriers in accessing the transformative and empowering benefits of yoga.
This course will teach you how to go beyond labels and equip you with the skills, knowledge, and tools to share yoga with adults who have learning and physical disabilities, as well as autism, regardless of how these conditions manifest.
We have trained social workers, carers, occupational therapists, yoga teachers, parents, physiotherapists, support workers, and more.
Our practices and methodology can be incorporated into existing professions, educational and healthcare settings offering tremendous benefits for adults, promoting physical and mental well-being.
Whether you have a regular yoga practice or are a complete newbie, Special Yoga will provide you with a toolbox of practices and demonstrate how effective they can be when shared by you, incorporating the uniquely beautiful qualities you bring to the practice.
Upon completing this training course, you will be able to apply the insights gained from the practices you have learned and integrated. You will then be empowered to share these practices with your community in a confident, heartfelt and effective way.
Make a difference to the lives of the adults you support, see the magic of Special Yoga!
Why Special Yoga?
The Special Yoga methodology has been developed and practised for over twenty years; in that time Jyoti says she has “never yet met a child who hasn’t benefitted from yoga at some level”.
Special Yoga includes postures breathwork, mindfulness, relaxation, sound & rhythm, massage & energy and more and it can be done by anyone.
In the videos below Jyoti explains the benefits of some of our key practises and you can see students using them.
On this course you’ll learn how to integrate the Special Yoga methodology into your profession
Learn how to apply specific asana, pranayama and relaxation practices to safely support the benefit of yoga to these populations.
Learn supporting techniques including: sound, mantra and energy medicine, massage and touch and positive affirmations,
Develop your own self-awareness into how your state matters, and work from the heart as a way to build your confidence and style of teaching,
Build a lesson and create a plan,
Support in various settings including groups, mixed ability sessions and 1-1,
Use a chair to support the less mobile, including wheelchair users,
Manage contraindications to work safely,
Learn how to work with support workers, family members and other caregivers so they have knowledge and understanding of what we are trying to do.
The Benefits of Special Yoga for Adults
Yoga isn’t just about improving flexibility - although the practices learned can certainly facilitate this, and a host of physical benefits, but that’s just the start.
When you learn to share Special Yoga you’ll be sharing movement, breathwork, singing and sound, massage and energy, relaxation, mindfulness, working with the feet and self-care. These techniques combined offer physical, emotional and psychological rewards including improved:
Mental and emotional wellbeing
Strength, coordination and balance
Attention and concentration
Self-esteem and maintaining independence
Social interaction and communication
Physical health and reduced pain
Book now and pay one single payment or five installments
Next course starts early 2025 - Book Below
On this course you’ll get…
Live Webinars
Webinars offer an amazing opportunity to learn direct from Jyoti and from other teacher/advanced practitioners with many years using our methodology with children and adults.
Not only will you learn from their experience but you'll also benefit from hearing about the experience of the other practitioners on the course. There will be time spent practising together, time discussing the teachings and learning how to implement becoming more confident in adapting practices to whomever is before you.
This is your opportunity to ask questions, immerse yourself and come away with a rounder understanding of what it takes to be a Special Yoga practitioner.
Live Teaching Webinars on this course will be: Tuesday 25th February between 6.30pm - 9.00pm and Tuesdays 1st April, 6th May and 10th June between 6.30pm - 8.30pm.
The first webinar is a 'must-attend' - we all get to meet each other and from that you'll be allocated to a small study group with a study group teacher who'll support you throughout the course. We can't imagine why you'd not want to be there for the remaining webinars but we know that sometimes life get's in the way. If you can't attend you will need to watch the recording.
A great opportunity for support as you study
Study support groups to test & embed your learning. After the opening webinar when we’ve met you and heard what you want from the course you’ll join a small study group with one of our senior practitioners.
The four live study support sessions on this course provide you with the opportunity to learn from each other as you work through study group assignments set specifically to draw out what you’ve all learned and help develop your skills to share with the special children in your lives.
Live Study Groups on this course will be held on Tuesday 4th March, 8th April, 13th May and 3rd June at 6:30pm.
Recorded video and written lessons
Course Learning At Your Fingertips via desktop, app or tablet. A course space exclusively for the students on this course can be accessed via desktop, tablet or mobile phone enabling you to access the self guided elements at the optimum time for you to learn.
Content is time released so you can pace yourself as you go. You can access the videos for three months post course for ongoing support. There are two personal assignments to work through with constructive feedback from your assigned teacher.
You will get access to the first self learning module one week before the opening webinar.
Access ends three months after the date of the final assignment.
Student Testimonials For This Course
Leading the Training…
Jodie Spiers
Jodie joined the Special Yoga team in 2012. This coincided with a career shift into health and social care, where she has spent the last ten years working for a charity as a support worker and manager of day services for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism.
Since beginning her yoga training journey with the Special Yoga Adults course, Jodie has gone on to train as a yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Senior Special Yoga practitioner under the guidance of Jyoti Manuel, and mentor Christine Godwin.
Jodie has a particular interest in the co-occurrence of mental health challenges in adults with learning disabilities and autism.
Currently Jodie balances working as a Senior Special Yoga Practitioner, sharing group classes, workshops for parents and support staff, and one to one sessions with adults whilst continuing to work in health and social care, developing services for children and adults in North West London. She is passionate about advocating and sharing the benefits of yoga with the people she works with and those who support them.
Sophie Horsman
Sophie has worked with children and adults with learning disabilities and autism since 1993,supporting people in residential, day services and as a respite carer. She is a mum to adult twin sons who have profound learning disabilities and autism and grew up with a close family member who has Angelman’s Syndrome.
Sophie began practicing yoga regularly after her sons were born. She initially trained with Special Yoga whilst working at a day centre for adults in order to be able to share yoga with both her children and her clients and, loving the heart-based connection-focused practices she discovered, alongside experiencing the benefits of practices which focus on emotional regulation for herself and her children, she has subsequently gone on to train as a senior practitioner.
Sophie currently works as a special yoga practitioner, predominantly sharing yoga with adults with complex needs, PMLD and autism.
On This Course You Get….
Eight and a half hours of live teaching and group study
Fifteen hours of pre-recorded videos and written lessons
Seventeen hours of self study, self practice and assignments
Total Course Time Commitment Is Around 20 Minutes Per Day
To learn from teachers with a wealth of experience supporting adults with disabilities and autism
To share the joy of your exploration and use of Special Yoga with a supportive and understanding community
