Yoga for Mental Health
Thanks for being here and being part of the movement towards more inclusive and accessible yoga.
For me, yoga is all about grounding because my practice helps me every day living with bipolar disorder.
Yoga and mental health also can’t be separated from my lived experiences as a queer, trans non-binary person. To my mind, yoga is all about living more authentically, as is queerness.
I started practicing yoga more than ten years ago, when I lived in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand.
Now my home is in Middlesbrough, in the North East of England. When I’m not on the yoga mat or chair, I love to get out hiking around North Yorkshire.
Accessible Yoga
I’m a proud member of the Accessible Yoga School Mentorship and Ambassador programme, which involves regular CPD sessions with Rodrigo Souza.
I studied on Rodrigo’s Adaptive Yoga course online, and it transformed my relationship with yoga.
My yoga teacher training journey began with a 200 hours course run by YogaCampus in York, England. I later studied Yin Yoga, before moving into the world of accessible yoga.
I also completed Gentle Years Yoga training with the British Wheel of Yoga, which is aimed at teaching chair yoga to older adults, including in care home settings and people with dementia.
It was the teachings of Jessamyn Stanley, through her books and online offerings, which helped me to feel more seen and accepted as a queer yogi. I’m a member of Jessamyn’s virtual studio, called The Underbelly, which focuses on inclusive yoga.
I returned to live in the UK in 2020, and founded a non-profit / social enterprise, called Queer Yoga North C.I.C. This organisation was set up to offer free yoga for LGBTQIA+ people in and around Middlesbrough, in the North East of England.
Queer Yoga North closed its doors in 2024 but the learning from our community lives on within the pages of Queer Yoga, my first book due out in April 2026.
Other LGBTQIA+ work
I’m currently working as an LGBTQIA+ inclusion trainer for Proud Allies, which is a collaboration between Curious Arts and Northern Pride.
Here are some of the brilliant LGBTQIA+ organisations I’ve been lucky to work with in recent years:
- Rainbow Dance facilitator for Queer Arts.
- Queer Yoga commissioned by Not (Forever) Yone, which is a Yorkshire-based LGBTQIA+ theatre organisation.
- Online yoga session recorded for Queer Clinic, and freely available through their site.
- Outdoor yoga for Hart Gables LGBT+ in Middlesbrough.
- Yoga at various Pride events.
Interested in working together?
I’d love to hear about your project(s) – and maybe we could collaborate? Get in touch via the form below or email info@mookaitejasper.com
