Guided By Humanity in Denver Provides Yoga Teacher Training to Students with I/DD
A yoga studio in Denver is breaking down barriers, one Asana at a time. Walking into Guided By Humanity’s space, one is greeted with a sense of calm and belonging. The studio space is typical with mats, blocks, and other implements, but true inclusivity is practiced in this space.
Mary Medellin Sims, the founder of Guided By Humanity, developed the concept based on her previous work as an advocate for individuals with I/DD. Practicing Hatha Yoga transformed her life, supporting her mental health and wellness, improving her relationships, and bolstering her self-compassion. She knew that yoga benefited everyone and understood that many groups felt out of place or unwelcome in traditional studios. Classes were expensive, and unfortunately, many studios had little to offer people who needed support, especially people with disabilities. She decided to be the change.
In 2014, while on a honeymoon trip with her partner, Sims chose to become a yoga teacher. Returning home, she started her training. Now empowered, she moved forward with her vision to make yoga attainable for everyone. In 2017, she opened Guided By Humanity–a non-profit organization specializing in yoga for all people.
Yoga Class for everyBODY and everyABILITY
Classes are mindfully designed to welcome students of all ages and abilities and feature gentle yoga, restorative yoga, adaptive yoga, and yoga for amputees. All community classes are Pay-What-You-Can, ensuring financial equity and disrupting the mythos of yoga being exclusive to the elite few.
One class stands out from the rest: All Abilities Yoga which benefits people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD). The class features more than just yoga practice. It teaches community building, body awareness, social and emotional learning, mindfulness, breathing techniques, guided meditation, and reflection activities.
While this was satisfactory, Sims and her team wanted to go further. To make All Abilities Yoga more inclusive, representative, and empowering for the students, it made sense to have someone with I/DD lead the class. Knowing that people with I/DD struggle with obtaining employment and job training, the decision was made to launch the Peer-to-Peer All Abilities Yoga Teacher Training Program.
The 6 to the 8-month-long program is designed for people who want to learn to lead their own All Abilities Yoga class. Students take All Abilities Yoga classes as part of the curriculum to practice the skills they learned in the classroom. Students meet on Zoom weekly, and each trainee is partnered with a mentor to build on skills.
Upon graduation, students will be placed in a 12-month-long internship at the Guided By Humanity studio, where they act as an assistant during All Abilities Yoga classes. Upon completion of the internship, the students elevate to Lead Teacher and will run their own All Abilities Yoga class in a supported work setting.
Special Olympics Colorado athlete Bella Larsen is currently a student in the All Abilities Teacher Training Program. She was profiled on the Special Olympics website. She discussed her training program and aspirations to become a yoga teacher with the long-term goal of teaching classes for Special Olympics Colorado and Children’s Hospital.
Larsen said she was nervous when she started her training program.
“I get shy easily, and I wasn’t a very outgoing person when I started this,” she said. “But now I’m like ok, I can do this. They taught me to just be yourself, and yoga doesn’t have to be perfect.” (Special Olympics Colorado, 2022).
Larsen’s mother and aunt are both yoga instructors. Despite her familial connection, Larsen recounted how many other yoga studios struggled with her disability, but not Guided By Humanity.
“Guided By Humanity knows how to teach me and my other friends, but I wish that other studios and teaching places could teach everyone because we’re equal like everybody else. I’ve been in situations where I’ve felt left out because of my disability, and Special Olympics and Guided By Humanity want everyone to be included.” (Special Olympics Colorado, 2022).
Making a Difference
The mission statement of Guided By Humanity reads:
“We are a community-focused non-profit organization filling in the gap by offering inclusive, accessible, and equitable health and wellness services for everyBODY and everyABILITY.”
When asked what access and inclusion meant to her, Guided By Humanity’s founder Mary Medellin Simms replied,
“Access is more than physical access. Access to me is more of an umbrella to include access to the location, access by giving options, choice, and autonomy, access to affordable to no-cost services, access to empathy, access to belonging, and access to a wide range of services and employment opportunities. Inclusion, to me, is not just being asked to dance. It is being the party planner.”
Sims’ vision is coming to fruition through her All Abilities Yoga class and Peer-to-Peer All Abilities Yoga Teacher Training Program. Current student Bella Larsen provided this testimony.
“All Abilities Yoga is important because you can move your body in a way that is comfortable to you, and you can be with other people like you.” (Special Olympics Colorado, 2022).
An actual inclusive yoga space filled with Love.
Equity.
Compassion.
Inclusion.
Dignity.
Kindness.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Guided By Humanity is located at 3496 S. Broadway, Englewood, CO 80113.
For information about the All Abilities Yoga and Yoga Teacher Training Program, visit Guided By Humanity, email info@guidedbyhumanity.org or call 720-573-6412
Sign up for a class by following this link.
Be sure to get the latest updates by following Guided By Humanity on Facebook and Instagram.
Watch this video to learn more!
