The Guide to Adaptive Yoga

Four Pillars to Adaptive Yoga

I knew early on that teaching yoga to unique populations was what my heart was calling me to do. I was certain that I wanted to bring yoga to people who would otherwise not be able to easily access it. Years ago I began by peddling my offerings into rehab centers and where the elderly lived. I also volunteered many years with the National MS society. I started my adaptive yoga journey at a local organization that offers adaptive sports to adults with varying disabilities. Teaching to this population, I found was definitely at home and found pure joy in the work.

I also have taught and continue to teach “typical” people in my studio and in the community. It fills a different place in my heart and I love bringing some of my special experiences with my other students into the space of a regular ol’ yoga class. When I was actively sharing yoga in the hospice world, I had many lessons that were gifted to me from those who were dying and I embedded them into my yoga classes.

For nearly two decades I have logged and stored away many of those special experiences and continue to pull from them often. I also have grown tremendously as a yoga teacher and have developed techniques that have great success when sharing yoga with different populations. After many years of teaching I have crafted this technique into a method I call the Four Pillars to Adaptive Yoga. Really, these pillars should be in every yoga class, but a definite must for the adaptive yoga world.

I know for sure that every community across the globe has people with disabilities who need adaptive yoga and mindfulness. They need connection, movement, breath and gratitude. It is my mission that as many people as possible will have access to yoga, but I need your help!

If you are a yoga teacher, a mental health worker, an occupational therapist, a counselor, a certified nurse’s aid, or a compassionate person YOU can do this!

The Guide to Adaptive Yoga

I created a guide to get you started and I have TONS of resources and experiences if it sparks something in you that wants more. I will walk you through how to market yourself, how to invoice, how to grow your offerings and how to bring YOU into your community to serve others.

Let’s do this! It starts here!


Stacie believes that it is her life purpose to share the gift of Yoga with anyone who is willing to say yes. In addition to raising a family and being an advocate for those with disabilities, Stacie is founder of Embracing Spirit Yoga which specializes in bringing adaptive Yoga into community centers and rehabilitation clinics. Bringing her depth of compassion to the mat–or the chair–she offers students the opportunity to grow as an individual in all aspects of their life.

With over sixteen years experience, Stacie Wyatt is an experienced 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, Certified Brain Injury Specialist, Certified Trauma Informed Coach, Life Wellness Coach, Senior YogaFit Instructor, Mind/Body Personal trainer, Stress Reduction and Meditation Instructor, Pilates Instructor, and Barre Instructor. Stacie is also certified in Integrative Movement Therapy™and is also a believer in the power and application of essential oils for health and wellness and proudly shares doTERRA essential oils.

Stacie brings her personal life experience of raising a daughter with a disability and over 12 years working in special education to her everyday Yoga classes.

Embracing Spirit Yoga

It never occurred to me to be a yoga teacher until I realized through my own awakening that many people who could not easily access a yoga class could also benefit from the gifts of the practice. Sharing mindfulness, body awareness, peacefulness, connection to Self and so much more became my passion. I also never wanted to be an entrepreneur. In truth, after raising kids I had no idea what I wanted to do. I dabbled with the idea of being a social worker, and the funny thing is many of my social work friends now tell me that is exactly what I am doing. I spent years working in special education and raising my own unique kid sure paved some ways of understanding differences and I knew my desire for advocacy for this group was huge. Having all those pieces come together was a mystery. And then it happened.

Eleven years ago I created my business known as Embracing Spirit Yoga. At that time I had been sharing yoga for awhile but hadn’t stepped completely into full time teaching. I decided to take the gigantic leap into the unknown, quit my j.o.b. and trust that my purpose would sustain me.

Sustain me it sure has.

People assume that teaching yoga full-time must be so “fun”. I would not describe it as fun, but it IS what I believe I am here to do. I believe 100% that I was given my special daughter to lead me down a path of teaching yoga to people with disabilities. The road with her hasn’t been easy, but I can see now that it certainly has gifted me with amazing compassion.

Since I began my business in 2011, I have shared yoga in countless group homes, assisted living settings, nursing homes, hospice beds, parks, health clubs, community rec centers, schools and in my own studio. I teach to all types of abilities in a variety of settings. To some who witness a group of us huddled around a coffee table on leather furniture in a living room they may question if that is really a yoga class. Most of my settings are not perfectly curated yoga spaces with flickering candles, dimly lit room and soft comfortable pillows along the wall. The classes I teach are designed to be accessible anywhere.

It has been a wonderful eleven years and I have grown so much as a person and as a teacher. I could not have succeeded and been able to touch so many lives without the support of my students, my family, my friends and those who have taken a chance on my offerings and who have seen first hand the dedication I give to my students. The ongoing encouragement and understanding from the people closest to me fuels me. To some it may seem like I am frazzled and running like crazy, but those who love and respect me see that the hard work is a reflection of my passion for serving those with disabilities.

Every person who has generously said yes to my teachings has made the last eleven years magical and I am so thankful. Grateful doesn’t even begin to capture what my heart feels.

If you are curious and want to learn more about what I do, check out this informative webpage and read about what I believe to be the foundation of any quality yoga class.