Celebrating Women, Expanding Access: Yoga and Disability Inclusion on International Women’s Day

Each year on International Women's Day, we celebrate the achievements, leadership, and resilience of women around the world. It is also a day that invites reflection — asking who is included, who is missing, and what we can do to create spaces where everyone can belong.

In the world of yoga, this question matters deeply.

Yoga is often described as a practice for everyone. Yet many yoga spaces unintentionally exclude people who have disabilities. Images of yoga in media frequently portray a narrow version of who a “yogi” is: flexible, able-bodied, young, and often performing complex poses. These representations can make many people — including women who have disabilities — feel as though yoga is not meant for them.

But the philosophy of yoga tells a different story.

At its heart, yoga is about connection, awareness, and compassion. It invites us to meet ourselves exactly where we are. When we truly embrace these principles, yoga becomes a powerful tool for inclusion.

Women, Disability, and Access

Women who have disabilities often experience layered barriers in health, wellness, and community spaces. In yoga, these barriers may include inaccessible studios, lack of adaptive instruction, financial limitations, or social assumptions about what a person can or cannot do.

Yet women are leaders, teachers, advocates, and practitioners within the yoga community. Their voices can help reshape what yoga spaces can look like — spaces that celebrate diversity in bodies, abilities, and experiences.

When yoga becomes more inclusive, it benefits everyone.

Reimagining Inclusive Yoga Spaces

Creating disability-inclusive yoga spaces does not require perfection. It begins with awareness and intentional change.

Inclusive practices might include:

• Offering seated or adaptable versions of poses

• Using clear, descriptive verbal cues

• Welcoming the use of chairs, walls, and props

• Encouraging choice and autonomy in movement

• Recognizing that stillness, breath, and presence are as valuable as physical postures

These shifts honour the reality that yoga is not about achieving a specific shape, but about cultivating awareness and well-being.

A Move Toward Inclusion

On this International Women's Day, lets reflect on how wellness spaces can support all women — including women who have disabilities.

Inclusion does not always begin with sweeping change. Often, it begins with simple questions:

• Who feels welcome in our spaces?

• Whose needs might we be overlooking?

• What small changes could help more people participate?

Whether you are a yoga teacher, studio owner, practitioner, or community member, each of us can help make wellness spaces more accessible and welcoming.

When we expand our understanding of who yoga is for, we honour the true spirit of the practice — one rooted in compassion, respect, and connection.

And in doing so, we move closer to a world where every body belongs.