Updated on July 22, 2026 at 09:22 AM
We live in a world that constantly draws our attention outward. There is always something to achieve, improve, fix, compare or scroll endlessly. Over time, many of us begin to lose touch with ourselves, moving through life disconnected from our bodies, our breath, and the quieter parts of ourselves, including our hearts.
Yoga asks us to return gently. Not to perfection. Not like we used to be. To the present moment. To self-love.
For me, this understanding was deepened after an incident that changed my life and completely changed my relationship with my body and with life itself. Suddenly, I could no longer approach my body with the same expectations or demands.
I had to learn a new way of listening, one grounded in patience, presence, and compassion. What I’ve discovered through yoga is that healing doesn’t always happen by fighting ourselves. Sometimes healing begins the moment we stop resisting what is and start meeting ourselves with love. Yoga taught me to stop grieving over the body I lost and to fall in love with the body that is still here. What I once believed was shattered, and I slowly began to see it as complete.
As a wheelchair user accessible yoga teacher, I am now honored to witness this journey on many other journeys. I see students arriving to class thinking yoga isn’t for them because their bodies move differently or because they carry trauma, pain, sadness, or limitations. However, the moment they are welcomed exactly as they are, something inside them begins to soften. They feel seen. They breathe more deeply. They reconnect with themselves again.
Yoga has taught me that self-love does not mean changing who we are. sometimes Back to love It looks very simple. It may be a conscious breath in the middle of a difficult day. It may be comfort rather than coercion. It may be choosing kindness toward ourselves when the world feels heavy. These little moments matter. Every time we encounter compassion, we begin to rebuild trust within us.
Yoga does not ask us to become someone else. It simply calls us home—to the body, to the breath, and to the self-love that has been waiting within us all along.
20 minutes of yoga for self love
Love is about creating enough space for everyone to belong, including ourselves. Accessible seated yoga classes for self-love help calm the mind so you can bridge the gap between mind and heart so you can return to that place of love.
Centering
I would love for you to find a comfortable seat. You may start to sway slightly from side to side, shifting your weight between your left and right bones, noticing how you feel and finding a comfortable place to sit.
Place your hands on your thighs, palms facing down, create a mudra with your hands, or do whatever feels right to you at the moment.
You can close your eyes or give a soft look. Start noticing what is in your body right now. Allow yourself to take a moment of introspection, and dive into your own world.
Notice if there are any sensations, physical or emotional, and visit them without any judgement. Visit them with compassion and empathy.
Every time your mind takes you somewhere, try to use the heart as an anchor. So it goes back to the heart. You can place one hand on your heart if you wish, and feel your heartbeat as an anchor.
You can raise the corners of your mouth a little too. Start to notice your sense of calm.
When you are ready, open your eyes if they are closed and let the light come back on.
Neck rolls
Start by sitting down Mountain pose Or Tadasana, that foundational pose in which you gently bring yourself back home, to your body. You can do this either by stabilizing yourself through your feet touching the floor or through your bones while sitting.
If possible, raise your heart center slightly, lengthen your spine, and feel the space between your ears and shoulders, as if you are growing taller and lengthening your spine. When you do this, you feel safe in your body, you feel like you are inhabiting your body.
FBy grounding him in the mountain, try to synchronize breathing and movement. Inhale through your nose, and look up at the ceiling as much as is comfortable for you. Try not to throw your head back too much. Hold it here, keep your neck muscles active, and enjoy a smooth look. Take a collective breath.
As you exhale, bring your chin toward your chest and look toward the floor to your extent. Inhale again and then exhale here.
Next, inhale as you bring your head back to center, and exhale into mountain pose. Satisfy yourself again.
Now inhale and turn to look over your right shoulder as much as is convenient for you. Feel the stretch in your neck. Exhale here and hold another breath. Inhale as you synchronize breathing and movement by returning your head to center and exhale. Repeat on the other side.
Then exhale and look towards the floor. Then inhale back to the center. Beautiful.
Then do the same thing with the other side. So take your right ear towards your right shoulder. Then while still tilting your head, stare slightly towards the ceiling, inhale here, then exhale as you look at the floor, and feel a nice stretch here. And then inhale back to center and return to your midline.
Take a moment here to notice how you feel. Return to yourself. Back to love. Return to your heart. Notice your heartbeat. Life happens here, guys.
Shrug shoulders
Release your arms alongside your body and steady yourself as you return to Mountain Pose.
Inhale, raise your shoulders as high as comfortable, and hold here. He exhaled, then released. Repeat. Raise the inhale, and release the exhale. Do this several times.
Give your arms a little shake.
Strengthen the arm and shoulder
Return to Mountain Pose and prove yourself here. Inhale and raise your arms as high as is comfortable for you. Exhale and extend your arms straight, palms facing down, and hold here. Soften your shoulders.
Now the fun begins. Inhale and press your feet into the floor while turning your palms upward. Exhale while turning them to face down. Inhale and turn your palms upwards. Feel the energy or prana throughout your body. Exhale as you turn your palms downward. Do it again.
Release and shake your arms slightly. Notice how you feel.
Goddess pose or cactus flow
Return to Mountain Pose and sit up straight and tall. Inhale and raise your arms by any amount. Exhale and align your elbows with your shoulders into cactus arms as if you were in a seated goddess pose.
Inhale as you try to bring your arms together in front of your chest. Exhale as you spread your arms wide and extend across your chest.
Continue several times, moving with your breath. Then release. Notice how you feel. Maybe your arms shake a little.
Dynamic cobra pose
What is the dynamic way to do Snake pose (Bhujangasana)? Basically, you’ll grab the frame of your chair or your knees, whatever works best for you. Then inhale and move your shoulder blades toward each other as you look toward the ceiling and arch your back.
Then exhale, long and soft, as you sink forward and bend your spine as far as you can, exhaling through the mouth.
Inhale through your nose, raise your body again and expand your chest into a cobra. Beautiful. Exhale while diving back all the way forward.
Repeat several times, inhaling and exhaling.
Centering
As you release, take some time here to notice how you feel. You can place one hand on your stomach and the other on your heart center. Invite silence again and return to love, return to presence, return to the place of eternal awareness within you. Always try to be curious, compassionate and non-judgmental about how you feel.
Lateral bending flow
You’ll get into a simple flow of side bend or lateral bend on each side. Let’s synchronize the breathing and movement again, focusing especially on the long exhale. Try pressing your lips together and blowing as if you were blowing through a straw. Imagine that you are 80 years old and it is your birthday and there is a cake with 80 candles. How will you blow out all the candles? You’re going to use nice, long, soft breaths, right?
Well, sit up straight and tall in Mountain Pose with your arms at your sides. Let’s move dynamically without stopping. Inhale as you raise your right arm in a side bend toward your right side. Feel the stretch here. Exhale for a long time and salt through the mouth during your stay here.
Inhale as you reach your right arm toward the other side. Exhale here. Synchronize breathing and movement. And repeat. Inhale, reach. Exhale, stay. Do this several times.
Thread the needle
This development is a different wheelchair and chair from Thread the Needle. We all have different abilities, so adapt it to your body. You won’t actually thread the needle. But you will focus on taking your body in that direction.
Grab the chair frame and try to focus on bringing your left elbow outside your knee, as much as is comfortable. You will sit up straight and tall, expand your chest, and raise your right arm. Direct your gaze towards the palm of your right hand. Inhale through the nose and then exhale through the mouth, long and slow. Let’s do it again.
Then return to the center and do the same thing on the other side with a gentle movement,
closing
As you release, return to that place where you started this practice, that safe place in your body, where you can release any tension and return to being. Start by opening your jaw, softening your shoulders and giving a soft look. You can also close your eyes or find a soft look.
Get back to your heartbeat. Notice your heartbeat. Return to the heart center. Fall in love.
You can repeat to yourself:
I am loved.
I am enough.
I am safe.
When you are ready, open your eyes, let the light in, and notice what you feel. Release your arms one last time, perhaps inhaling as you raise your arms by any amount and exhaling long and soft as you return your hands to Anjali Mudra, and back to your prayer hands, in front of your chest.
From there, close the practice. Always remember that this feeling of calm and gratitude towards life that you have just nurtured is already within you.
