Amelia Wood Yoga (2026)

07/10/2025

Do you use trigger warnings, content warnings, or content notes?

Why would one even need to use a content warning when talking about yoga?

Well, there have been many cases of abuse in yoga contexts - sexual and financial abuse, coercion, manipulation, spiritual abuse, and child abuse. Every modern lineage and tradition has experienced a case of abuse.

It's a difficult topic to talk about and it's important to think about how and why we want to talk about abuse, deeply. How do you open the conversation? Is it your duty to talk about it, as yoga teacher?

I don't often use the term 'trigger warning'. It feels like hierarchical top-down language. I prefer 'content warning' or 'content note'. I can't presume what will or won't trigger someone.

I've written more about this in my latest Substack and this is one of the things we will discuss in my online course ~ I'd love you to join me. More info below and on my website.

- amelialwood.com -

Substack post:
https://open.substack.com/pub/amelialwood/p/do-you-use-trigger-warnings-content?r=1yikt0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Course:
Power & Community in Modern Yoga

A hybrid online course that examines abuses of power in modern yoga, and how yoga communities have responded to injustice.

How can we play our part in safe community building?

Pre-recorded lectures and group discussions online, live and interactive.

This course is a collaboration with the SOAS Yoga Studies Online programme

Part 1: Spiritual Abuse in Modern Yoga

Learn through the SOAS Yoga Studies Online portal anytime

Part 2: Community Connections

Live discussion online in January 2026

02/09/2025

Lie down, you deserve it.

Join me for yin yoga this Friday evening.

Summer can be a busy time especially if you're juggling work, holidays, festivals, caring responsibilities, trying to appreciate the good weather... the list goes on! And now we're coming to the end of the summer and the seasons are changing. How can we take care of ourselves during this shift? Come to yoga to give yourself a bit of time to wind down, re-resource your energy and breeeeathe.

Friday 5th September 6-7.15pm at Calderdale Yoga Centre (central Hebden).

Yin yoga is slow yoga. The class starts with mindful, embodied movement. Throughout, we will connect to the breath, turn attention inwards, and move towards a place of stillness – yin poses are held for a few minutes at a time.

The practice is mostly floor based and done sitting, lying and kneeling, with the occasional standing pose. We will end with a few minutes of relaxation (savasana).

The use of props to support the body is very much encouraged.

In all my yoga classes I aim to be inclusive - people of all body types and identities are welcome. As this is not a chair based class - the pre-requisite is being able to get on and off the floor without help.

Concession price available. Book via the l i n k in my b i o or my website:
amelialwood.com

~

07/08/2025

~ Power and Community ~

Throughout my research I've noticed there are very few spaces to learn about abuses of power that have taken place in the yoga world, and little opportunity to talk about them.

And I believe this is not something we should NOT do alone.

I've created a three-part course to give us, as yoga teachers and practitioners, to do both, together.

It's a hybrid online course that examines abuses of power in modern yoga and how yoga communities have responded to injustice. Can we do better? How can we play our part in safe community building?

This course has 2 parts.

Part 1 - Spiritual Abuse in Modern Yoga.

~ 12 hours of self-paced study including 3 x 1 hour pre-recorded lectures completed through the SOAS Yoga Studies Online portal.

Part 2 - Community Connections

~ 3 x 75 minute live sessions (an hour didn't seem long enough!) via Zoom hosted by me, Amelia. In this space we can connect with other like-minded people in the yoga world through discussions in a held space.

Dates:
Wednesdays 1st, 8th, 15th October

7-8.15pm UK time, 8-9.15pm European, 11am-12.15pm Pacific, 2-3.15pm Eastern.

You know where look for more information! And if you don't, comment or message me and I'll send it to you directly.

I hope you can join me. Spaces are limited.

~

01/07/2025

From my latest Substack post - read in full and/or subscribe via the link in my bio.

Friends, a few months has passed and I haven’t been in touch.

I’ve spent much of this year interviewing and gathering data for my research, following my call out for participants at the end of last year. If you responded to this call out, thank you. I plan on writing about some general findings soon.

I’ve also somewhat struggled to know what to write. In the UK support for disabled people and trans rights are being pushed back by the government. How do we engage with these issues as yoga teachers? I have some ideas but they’ve not yet come to fruition. This post is slightly more escapist in nature.

Recently it was solstice, which means half the year is behind us. What are you planning for the second half?

I find, if I don’t make plans or, at least, have some intentions, the time drifts away. I have, of course, no control over the movement of time but I do have a small amount of control with what I do within it. You do too, and if you’re not sure what to do or where to go then read on as, today, I’m bringing you some ideas - either a self-made retreat in Yorkshire or a ready-made retreat in Wales.

~
Read on for yoga retreat ideas with me in Hebden or in North Wales in my Substack post.

03/04/2025

Spring is finally here up north and the time has come round for my monthly yin yoga class at the Calderdale Yoga Centre, Hebden Bridge, 6-7.15pm.

Yin Yoga is slow yoga. This Friday evening class is a space in which you can wind down for the weekend.

The class starts with mindful, embodied movement. Throughout, we will connect to the breath, turn attention inwards, and move towards a place of stillness – yin poses are held for a few minutes at a time. The practice is mostly floor based and done sitting, lying and kneeling, with the occasional standing pose. We will end with a few minutes of relaxation (savasana).

The use of props to support the body is very much encouraged.

In all my yoga classes I aim to be inclusive - people of all body types and identities are welcome. As this is not a chair based class - the pre-requisite is being able to get on and off the floor without help.

Concession price available.

Book: amelialwood.com

17/03/2025

Tomorrow my online course begins! This is the fifth time I’ve run the full length course on the history of women in yoga.

If you’re unsure about signing up to a course with someone you don’t really know, have read of some of these lovely testimonials from previous students. As well a providing in depth content about the roles women have played in yoga, I offer an overview of yoga history, as well as space to discuss everything you learn.

It begins Tuesday 18th March 7-9pm UK time. If you cant make it live there will be recordings available.

If you have any questions get in touch either via here (Instagram) or via my website.

To book go to the link in my bio or amelialwood.com

~

11/03/2025

Early bird ends tomorrow for my online course Women in Yoga: an exploration so book your spot asap!

~

2025 course: Tuesdays 7-9pm (UK time)

Session 1 - 18th March

I will introduce the course and put our search for women in context - what framework and definitions do we need on this journey?

I will talk about pre-modern hatha yoga texts. Where are the women? What can we find out?

Session 2 - 25th March

I will widen our search for women in yoga and look beyond the hatha sources towards divine representations of women. What can representations of yoginis in ta***ic and Buddhist texts tell us about the spiritual lives of real women?

Session 3 - 1st April

I will introduce the theme of women in modern yoga - what social movements and which powerful women impacted yoga as we know it today? And is there room for women in the living lineage of hatha yogis today?

Session 4 - 8th April

I will continue talking about social movements and powerful women in modern yoga and move the discussion to more contemporary times to consider yoga in relation to feminism and differing ideas of liberation, modern beauty standards, the movement and moving beyond traditional lineages.

Early Bird price until Wednesday 12th March 2025:

£210

Full price £260

Get in touch if you have any questions about the course.

~

06/03/2025

Happy World Book Day! And almost International Women’s Day! What a great combo ~ 2 of my top things.

Here are 4 books I mentioned in my talk for the British Wheel of Yoga about the international and influential women who shaped modern yoga.

The Goddess Pose by Michelle Goldberg, a biography of Indra Devi - I really recommend!

Madame Blavatsky: a biography by Gary Lachman - the mother of modern spirituality some say.

Yoga in Britain by Suzanne Newcombe & Yoga Body by Mark Singleton - both are slightly more academic text but well a read for the studios yoga teacher or practitioner.

I am writing more about them on my substack - out soon! To read it and previous Substacks follow me via the link in my bio.

~

04/03/2025

Is it important to study the role women have played in yoga? TLDR: yes, it is. (1/8)

It’s clear that the majority of yoga practitioners now are (white, thin) women but, historically, this was not always the case. (2/8). (by this I mean anglophone yoga, in the west)

This significant shift - alone - makes it worth studying the role women played in yoga (imho). What changed? How did it change? Why! (3/8)

Other academics make it clear that the textual sources do not offer as much insight as we might hope.

Shaman Hatley, writing about women in ta**ra, says: ‘The prospects for meaningful recovery of women’s own voices seem particularly discouraging’ (2015: 1). (4/8)

In Roots of Yoga, James Mallinson and Mark Singleton write: ‘Texts on yoga are written from the point of view of male practitioners. It can, therefore, be difficult to assess to what extent women have practised yoga in traditional contexts’ (2017: 53). (5/8)

don’t have access to other sources or secret knowledge (sadly) but I am prepared to shine a light on the little information we do have, to reframe and redress the balance by asking questions like... (6/8)

What implications do textual representations have on the lived experiences of women? Did women have agency in their ritual lives, or did they exist in servitude? (7/8)

And what is the purpose of collapsing the boundary between the divine and the mortal? Does the presence of a Goddess or yogini imply liberation, for women? (8/8)

~

In my course - Women in Yoga: an exploration - I will present the evidence, in detail, and make space for us to consider these questions.

~ Women in Yoga: an exploration ~

🔸Course dates: Tuesday 18th & 25th March, 1st & 8th April
🔸7-9pm UK time, live online
Replays available.

🔹Early bird booking closes Wednesday 12th March🔹
EB £210 / FP £260
BURSAY £110

~ I’ve also written a blog about this - to read more click the link in my bio. ~

~

04/03/2025

Why are so many women teaching yoga?

This International Women’s Day, we’re diving into the fascinating history of the women who have shaped modern yoga—how did we get here, and why do women now dominate the yoga teaching world?

✨ From trailblazers to rebels, their stories will inspire you—whatever your gender.

Join us live or catch the recording
£25 for non-members or become a member for just £46 (includes six sessions a year and loads of perks)

Thursday 6 March | 1-2.30pm | Online

Tickets: https://portal.bwy.org.uk/user/events/924
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Amelia Wood Yoga

Amelia Wood Yoga

07/10/2025

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