Allihopa is a colloquial Swedish term meaning “every body.” It’s also the name of Rodrigo Souza’s accessible and adaptive yoga community. I was so lit up by Rodrigo’s online workshop with Love Your Brain last week.
More than 50 of us logged on to learn from his story and practice yoga together. The practice was open to every body—wheelchair users, disabled, anyone. It was one of the most inspiring yoga practices I have been to in a long time.
Rodrigo Souza’s Story
In 2014 Rodrigo had a climbing accident and injured his spinal cord. He’s been in a wheelchair since then, paralyzed from the waist down. Prior to his accident he had done some Bikram yoga, but it was only after his accident that he got into yoga in a big way.
The body awareness and presence that comes with disability, he said, makes for a stronger yoga practice. He realized he could augment his recovery by adapting yoga to the body he was in. Rodrigo speaks about the acceptance that is integral to healing from trauma like a spinal cord injury.
“Yoga is a form of self-care. If you live more deeply in your body, in all its grace and all its flaws, you become more compassionate towards life, and we believe that the essence of yoga is the ability to remember and reconnect with ourselves.”
Mobility/Disability
In Canada, over 3 million people, roughly 10 percent of people over 15 years old, have a mobility disability. As we age beyond 65 years old, the percentage of us with limited mobility goes up to 25 percent.
Nearly 8 million in the UK have a mobility disability. In the US, 34 million people have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Worldwide, Rodrigo said, we are looking at 1 billion people who struggle to get around.
Common reasons are neurological conditions including spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s, and ALS.
The language of inclusivity
Rodrigo talked to us about the language around disability, and changing our assumptions. The wheelchair, for him, is freedom. He does not want people to think of wheelchair users as either pitiable or heroic. Wheelchairs give humans the freedom to move.
Though I’m not a wheelchair user, I’ve had my challenges with mobility because of a TBI. It was hard to accept the “disabled” label. But, like Rodrigo, I never saw disability as a reason to stop doing yoga.
My injuries have always been the best incentive to keep practicing yoga. Yoga has been the underpinning of my recovery and helps me manage pain day to day, knowing I can modify and adapt my practice to stay within my limits.
It was after my TBI in 2020 that the door opened for me to become a yoga teacher, with a clear vision to support elders who want access to yoga in different ways and places.
Rodrigo’s tips for creating an accessible yoga practice
- Notice what the body tells you and listen to its wisdom
- Get curious and explore movement
- Less is more
- Spend time on subtle practices (e.g. mantra, meditation, pranayama)
- Teachers, get to know each student
- Listen more than you talk
- Sit when you’re talking with someone in a wheelchair; meet eye to eye
- Create a safe space and know that mistakes happen
- Learn from mistakes
- Teach body awareness and connection without trying to fix disabilities
- Show up in the places where disabled people are (e.g. care homes, hospitals, rehab centres, non-profits)
- Nurture community
Like Rodrigo Souza, I’m passionate about sharing yoga that is adaptive and accessible to every body. I hold onto the words of Krishnamacharya:
“If you can breathe, you can do yoga.”
For a personalized practice with me, reach out here.
Rodrigo Souza can be found online at allihopa.com.