Why More Neurodivergent Yoga Teachers Are Needed

Neurodivergent yoga teachers aren't all that rare, we've always been here. Nevertheless we are often pushed into the shadows, not known about or put of teaching due to neuronormative standards.

My experience finding yoga as a neurodivergent person

Being a late diagnosed neurodivergent person in a religious family and a small town meant I grew up never knowing about neurodiversity. I like many late diagnosed neurodivergent people got diagnosed with anxiety and depression in my teenage years after being subject to years of abuse and trauma as a result of my unmet needs. Doctors put me on medication for years and gave me therapy that never really helped and as a result my ability to cope got worse.

I was first introduced to both yoga and the concept of neurodiversity by one of my old therapists. I was seeing this therapist to get help with my trauma after getting diagnosed with PTSD (later confirmed to be C-PTSD) in 2016. They told me they thought I was autistic and that I should try yoga to help cope with my intense emotions and unique nervous system. Learning to navigate the yoga community as a freshly discovered neurodivergent person who was just scratching the surface in terms of understanding trauma, C-PTSD, autism and neurodiversity in general, was difficult to say the least.

I started my yoga journey by downloading the app insighttimer, doing meditations in the bath and practicing yoga videos on YouTube. I struggled massively to start, all these neurotypical teachers who seemed to have everything in life and were capable of completely silencing their minds all while doing the splits, telling me to calm myself like my brain knew or wanted to do that (news flash it definitely didn't). When I typed 'yoga for autism' into YouTube nothing came up and I could barely find any information on yoga for neurodiversity. I slowly developed my practice with teachers and practices that seemed to work for me but I still felt disconnected from the yoga community and disheartened to not join certain spaces to protect myself.

That's when I found the neurodivergent yoga community and my life changed. I started to join Becky Aten's yoga for neurodiversity community connection meetings and realised there were many people out there just like me who also wanted to share their love of yoga but saw just how inaccessible yoga spaces can be, and all shared similar experiences of this.

I could finally understand why some spaces and practices didn't work for me. I started to connect with others like me and learned to show up in the yoga community in my own way. Since I have found many spaces and teachers pushing for neurodiversity-affirming accessibility and inclusion in yoga, and is the reason I created NeurodiverseYoga.

Where are all the neurodivergent yoga teachers?

Many neurodivergent people have spent majority of their life not knowing they are neurodivergent. Ableism can be so impactful that some people never will know or accept their differences.

There are many reasons there is a lack of visible neurodivergent yoga teachers. To start neurodivergent yoga teachers have always been here but hidden in plain view. Many neurodivergent people may not have had the access to information about neurodiversity just like I didn't. We may be living in small towns, be isolated or be from countries that may not have had this education around neurodiversity or mental health. They may not understand what certain neurodivergent identities are (like autism, or adhd etc.) and as a result have outdated information, stigmas or stereotypes around these identities.

Some neurodivergent people may be undiagnosed/unrealised or only just discovering their neurodiversity. Some people may choose not to disclose it to anyone or feel safe to share, meaning you may not know a teacher or student is neurodivergent. This is why ensuring accessible yoga spaces exist for absolutely everyone matters. Some people may not identify with a diagnosis or as neurodivergent, for some people they may not want to identify that way and that is okay.

Many neurodivergent teachers are not active on social media. Social media also reinforces a lot of ableism and neuronormativity which usually means it excludes neurodivergent or disabled people specifically higher needs individuals. It is also very dangerous for some neurodivergent/disabled individuals. This all means it can be hard to find neurodivergent yoga teachers, as we may not be able to market ourselves similar to our neurotypical peers.

Many teachers may not have found an accessible yoga teacher training. Although companies and teachers like Accessible Yoga for example, are making strides in this department, many neurodivergent people may have not found a good fit. We also have to take into account the financial problems associated with being neurodivergent or disabled, stopping people from being able to take a training. Additionally many neurodivergent people may not have even found yoga yet, there's a whole population out their without this information that desperately needs care & guidance with the use of yoga.

Why it's important for neurodivergent yoga teachers

to connect with one another

When your neurodivergent and have a nervous system very different to other people, the spaces created are not built for us in mind. They are built for the neuromajority (those with neurotypes that make up the majority of society, usually neurotypical). Meaning they are not as accessible, are too high-demand or not flexible enough to meet our needs.

Getting employed or finding spaces to teach as a yoga teacher is difficult for anyone with neurodivergence, disability, chronic illness or those with health conditions. This is again due to lack of accessibility, inclusion and the sheer amount of barriers stopping neurodivergent teachers from sharing their love of yoga.

This is why it's so important for neurodivergent yoga teachers to connect with one another. We may feel safer to unmask in peer-led environments.

This is because;

• Our identities, experiences and stories are represented, we finally belong!

• Our needs are seen and supported

• Neurodivergence is genuinely accepted and embraced (all experiences are welcomed and never pathologized)

• Differences are valued over conformity

The western colonialised yoga community seems to have a certain way they look and teach yoga that seems to focus heavily on a phyiscal asana practice that involves wearing tight designer yoga leggings, performing acrobatics, being happy 24/7 and is all about constant improvement both physically and mentally. For a lot of neurodivergent people this is a huge turn off for practicing yoga and by default many neurodivergent people think yoga isn't for them.

Neurodivergent people are sometimes more susceptible to exploitation and being drawn into spaces that are actively harmful. The coercive, high-demand perception of yoga we see in western colonised spaces is particularly dangerous to neurodivergent people as they try to look for belonging or new things to try and as a result can often put them in really toxic situations with people who claimed to have a 'safe space'.

When we have spaces that are led by people who truly understand what it means to embrace and celebrate differences, to make sure we speak about differences in a way that is strength based, that we don't pathologize or talk about differences as being deficits to be fixed. Then we really can let go of that rigidity of having to conform. - Becky Aten

Neurodivergent yoga teachers, its your time to shine

If folks at the door are more neuro-inclusive then we can start to change neuronormative, ableist culture and start to decolonise yoga. The experiences and stories of neurodivergent people are needed, not only to help neurodivergent people feel represented but also to help educate the neuromajority. Neuro-inclusive spaces are beneficial for everyone, the entirety of humanity is diverse and so are our brains, bodies and nervous system's. When this is recognised we can all feel seen, heard and supported.

Neurodivergent yoga teachers you are needed, whilst there still may hesitancy in your mind to get out there and teach which is complete valid due to all the aspects spoken previously. There are still spaces developing with you in mind, there are teachers who want to support you and there are people out there that would benefit incredibly from your insight and experiences as a neurodivergent person.

Here are some spaces and teachers I have found genuinely striving for neuro-inclusion:

• Accessible yoga (they have a neurodiversity + yoga workshop, plus are the pioneers of the accessible yoga movement)

• Yoga for Neurodiversity (led by Becky Aten, amazing neurodivergent yoga teacher, they created the yoga for neurodiversity project and are dear friend of mine)

• Zenly (This is a neurodivergent led accessible studio in Australia)

• Brutally soft club/bellaneergard (Bella is an incredible teacher who has her own blog, teaches in Copenhagen and has neurodiversity-affirming on-demand yoga classes)

• Cozy yoga club (led by Audrey and Katie, a co-led neurodivergent, chronically-ill, queer, covid conscious, disabled owned business)

• Mad yoga network (a co-collectively owned yoga network run by neurodivergent people)

• Wonkee (led by Scottee from @scotteisfat on instagram, online + on-demand yoga for wonky wobbly weirdos)

Also HERE, at NeurodiverseYoga!

Founded by me Amy Nairne (disabled, queer and neurodivergent) NeurodiverseYoga is a steadily growing neurodivergent led company that is pushing for accessibility and inclusivity in the yoga community for neurodivergent people. We have just released the start of our FREE founding practitioner directory, the first ever neurodiversity-affirming wellness business directory, where we will help to support teachers in teaching to neurodivergent people. We also have a small collection of on-demand classes that are planned to expand this year.

So wherever you are in your teaching journey, there are spaces for you and people willing to help, support, embrace and guide you along the way. Come join a community of like minded individuals today and share your love of yoga with the world!