A course with Charli Van Ness
Starts Sat 3 Jul 2027
Studio
One in five people are neurodivergent.
This weekend is about learning to teach in a way that truly meets them - with understanding, accurate language, and tools that work.
For teachers (and interested students).
Sat 3rd Jul 2027 ~ 10am to 6pm
(8hrs)
Sun 4th Jul 2027 ~ 10am to 6pm
(8hrs)
- £325 -
You can pay by instalments if it's easier - £50 deposit + 11 payments of £25.
Led by Charli Van Ness + Guest Psychotherapist Natalie Wilkie (2hrs Lecture).
For yoga teachers, facilitators and wellness professionals
An invitation to teach with deeper care for the one in five students whose experience of a yoga class will be profoundly different. Over two days, Charli Van Ness opens a way of teaching that meets neurodivergent students with inclusive language, sensory awareness and nervous–system literacy. Rooted in Charli’s lived experience, this Yoga Alliance accredited course also includes a guest psychotherapist.
This training is for yoga teachers, facilitators and wellness professionals who want to teach in a way that truly meets neurodivergent students, with understanding, accurate language, and tools that work. Did you know that one in five people are neurodivergent, and many neurodivergent students experience classes differently? Lighting, sound, movement cues and language all impact their ability to focus and feel safe. Whether you’ve noticed neurodivergent students in your classes, are neurodivergent yourself, or simply want your teaching to be more accessible, the course offers the framework to do this with confidence and compassion.
Over two days, Charli weaves practical teaching exercises with expert input from a guest psychotherapist specialising in neurodivergence. The course will cover sensory processing, emotional regulation, adaptive cueing, and nervous–system literacy. You’ll learn how to recognise sensory and emotional needs, adapt cues and sequencing, and create yoga experiences that support regulation, autonomy and belonging for every student. The course speaks to teaching both children and adults.
'we need to cultivate a space for students to truly be as they are without apology, allowing them the opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, that they are safe and deserve to be here and they are welcome...always.'
A teacher equipped to recognise sensory and emotional needs in your classes, and to know how to respond with language, pacing and presence that meets each student where they are.
Fluent in adaptive cueing, sensory–safe sequencing, and the use of breath, asana and meditation as tools for regulation rather than performance.
Grounded in nervous–system literacy and polyvagal–informed teaching, with practical tools for grounding, co–regulation and sensory reset you can bring into any class.
A Yoga Alliance–accredited teacher (YACEP), with a teaching practice that honours difference at its centre – inclusive, neurodiversity–affirming and held with care.
The neurodiversity paradigm vs. deficit models
Overview of key neurotypes – ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Auditory Processing Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder
How social and sensory environments shape experience
Reflection on assumptions and unconscious bias
Sensory processing, interoception and proprioception
Movement variability and embodied empathy
Somatic exploration – ‘listening through sensation’
Executive functioning, anxiety and emotional regulation
How masking, burnout and rejection sensitivity show up in body and mind
Therapeutic principles teachers can apply ethically – without ‘therapy–ing’
Building safety, trust and agency in class settings
Q&A and a short grounding integration
Asana – choice, pacing, proprioceptive feedback
Breath – regulation versus overstimulation
Meditation – offering options for focus and stillness
Language and cueing for diverse cognition
Polyvagal–informed teaching in accessible language
Tools for grounding, sensory reset and stimulation
Mini–practice – co–regulation through presence
Designing sensory–safe class frameworks
Building adaptive class plans for mixed–experience rooms
Communication strategies and adaptive cueing in practice
Sensory–safe environment checklist
Small–group analysis of neurodivergent student profiles
Creating adaptive class plans and communication strategies
Sharing insights and feedback in the main group
Neurodiversity–affirming teaching as ethical practice
Holding space for autonomy, agency and belonging
The teacher’s scope of practice – supporting without ‘therapy–ing’
Welcoming neurodivergent teachers and practitioners as part of collective learning
Each participant teaches a 5–7–minute neuro–inclusive segment
Peer feedback and facilitator support
Live, real–time integration of the weekend’s teaching
** PRACTICAL BITS **
Due to the nature of the Crescent Bakery building, it's ideal to wear layers of clothing for cooler / warmer fluctuations.
If you're looking for somewhere to stay near the studio, click here for info.
Please note workshops will be refunded only if we can find someone to take your place. Obviously, we will take account of exceptional circumstances. If you have chosen to pay in instalments, payments to completion will still be due.
Please contact studio@orangeyoga.co.uk and we'll be happy to help.