Emily, The Motivating Yoga Teacher With An Extra Chromosome
Emily, Open Up Yoga Teacher
The moment Emily discovered yoga, she came back to herself. She felt inspired by how the practice made her feel and she found her voice again. Emily has chosen yoga as a career path and she also happens to have a chromosomal disorder called Down Syndrome. Emily has an extra chromosome, but guess what, she still loves yoga. Emily enrolled in Open Up’s Inclusive Yoga Teacher Training with the intention to become a yoga teacher.
As a cheerleader for 15 years, community building and interactive movement have always been a part of her life. Emily’s involvement with cheerleading ended as she approached high school graduation and Emily fell into a depression. Transition age is tough to navigate for a person living with a disability, in Emily’s case she was shifting from teenager to young adult. Emily wanted to honor her passion for education, movement, and people with the path right for her.
Emily and her mom Dori signed up for teacher training to go through the experience together. Open Up’s accredited training provides social-emotional support and education on how to lead and become a certificated yoga teacher. Emily has gained social and professional skills along her journey to expanding her practice. Dori shares, “Open Up has been amazing in modifying the curriculum to support Emily’s learning needs. Anytime I got overwhelmed our teachers were there to provide learning resources, give extensions, and work with our specific needs.”
Training alongside people in the disability culture, “Our teacher training cohort has truly become family” Dori continues, “we are a mix of people living with disabilities, as well as parents, caregivers, and professionals who work with people who have disabilities. I had no idea that Emily would have such a profound influence on our fellow trainees' teaching and life!”
While Emily’s mom Dori signed up for training as a way to support Emily’s learning, it turns out that Emily has been Dori’s biggest cheerleader! Through each training weekend, it’s become clear that Emily’s teaching style is to encourage, motivate, and help students find their strength to “Get Up, You Can Do It, Move!”
Open Up’s training is rooted in human acceptance and designs resources based on the person who has the desire to deepen their knowledge and practice of yoga. Emily found herself on the mat and will now have the opportunity to help motivate others to find themselves, their community, and the joys of yoga.