Report on Inclusive Wellness Initiatives and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

This report analyzes the work of Abigail Atkinson and the PC Yoga Collective in Park City, Utah, focusing on specialized yoga teacher training programs. Following a personal health crisis, Atkinson developed a mission to make wellness practices accessible to all individuals, irrespective of physical ability. The resulting initiatives in Adaptive Yoga and Yin/Restorative Yoga directly address critical gaps in standard wellness education and practice. These programs demonstrate a strong alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Contribution to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The programs actively promote physical and mental health for all, a core target of SDG 3.

• Promoting Holistic Recovery: Yoga is presented as a foundational tool for physical, emotional, and mental recovery, as evidenced by Atkinson’s personal journey after a stroke.
• Addressing Mental Well-being: The Yin and Restorative Yoga training emphasizes the importance of rest as a “birthright” and a necessary component of a healthy life, combating the effects of chronic stress and promoting mental wellness.
• Ensuring Access to Health Services: A free weekly adaptive yoga class is offered in partnership with Wasatch Adaptive Sports, removing financial barriers and providing direct access to health-promoting activities for vulnerable populations.

Contribution to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

A primary focus of the initiative is to reduce inequalities by ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities, a key objective of SDG 10.

• Targeting Exclusion: The training was created to address the fact that over 12% of Americans with a disability often lack access to mainstream yoga. The program specifically teaches instructors how to adapt practices for individuals using wheelchairs, walkers, or canes.
• Fostering Inclusive Environments: The initiative’s success is measured by its ability to create “a welcoming, inclusive space” where individuals with disabilities feel comfortable participating, thereby promoting social inclusion.
• Empowering Individuals: The core philosophy is to create a safe space for people “to feel comfortable exploring what it’s like to live whole in their body, even if it works differently,” directly empowering individuals and affirming their right to participate fully in community life.

Contribution to SDG 4: Quality Education

The initiative enhances the quality of vocational training for yoga instructors, aligning with the goals of SDG 4.

• Addressing Educational Gaps: The program was founded on the observation that standard 200- and 300-hour yoga certifications fail to equip teachers with the skills needed to adapt postures for diverse physical abilities.
• Providing Specialized Vocational Training: The 20-hour Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training is a unique program in Utah that provides specialized, hands-on education, pairing instructors with volunteer students who have disabilities for practical experience.
• Elevating Professional Standards: By offering advanced modules in both adaptive and restorative practices, the PC Yoga Collective elevates the quality of instruction available, ensuring that more teachers are qualified to serve a wider and more diverse population safely and effectively.

Program Offerings and Implementation

The following programs are offered to advance these goals:

1. Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training (20 hours): A specialized certification that combines classroom instruction with hands-on practice to teach instructors how to adapt any yoga class for individuals with any physical ability.
2. Yin & Restorative Yoga Teacher Training (20 hours): A curriculum module focused on slow, supportive practices designed to promote deep rest and recovery, contributing to mental and physical well-being.
3. Free Weekly Adaptive Class: A community outreach initiative via Zoom that provides free, accessible yoga to all, ensuring that ability and income are not barriers to participation.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on Abigail Atkinson and her work with adaptive yoga at PC Yoga Collective touches upon several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on health, inclusive education, and reducing inequalities for people with disabilities.

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

  This goal is central to the article, which begins with Atkinson’s personal health crisis—a stroke. Her recovery journey through yoga and her subsequent mission to teach it highlight the practice’s role in promoting physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The article emphasizes “slowing down” and the “right to rest” as crucial for a healthy life.

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article directly addresses this goal by detailing the specialized teacher-training programs Atkinson developed. She identified a significant “gap in teacher education” where standard certifications “don’t teach you how to adapt yoga postures” for diverse bodies. Her 20-hour training modules are designed to provide yoga instructors with quality, specialized vocational skills.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  This goal is relevant through Atkinson’s career transition. After her stroke, she “traded her corporate job for a mission,” creating a new form of decent work for herself as a specialized yoga instructor and trainer. By equipping other teachers with unique skills, she also enhances their professional value and potential for employment.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  This is a primary theme of the article. Atkinson’s work is explicitly aimed at reducing the exclusion of people with disabilities. She notes there is a “big hole in the yoga community for people with different abilities” and works to create a “welcoming, inclusive space.” Her mission is to make yoga accessible to “any body, any ability,” directly tackling the social barriers faced by individuals with disabilities.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the issues discussed, several specific SDG targets can be identified:

1. Target 3.4: Reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.

   The article connects directly to this target. Atkinson’s experience with a stroke, a non-communicable disease, and her use of yoga as a “key foundational tool for my physical, emotional, and mental recovery” demonstrates the promotion of well-being. Her teachings on yin, restorative yoga, and the “right to rest” are aimed at preventing the negative health impacts of a “classic busy American life.”

2. Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

   Atkinson’s “Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training” and “Yin and Restorative Yoga Teacher Training” are vocational programs designed to give yoga instructors relevant, specialized skills. The article states these trainings fill a “gap in teacher education,” thereby increasing the number of adults with skills that make them more effective and employable in the wellness industry.

3. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

   This target is at the core of Atkinson’s mission. Her work is dedicated to the social inclusion of people with disabilities in yoga, a community where they have been underserved. By creating adaptive classes and training teachers, she works to ensure that individuals who “live in a wheelchair or use a walker or cane” can participate fully. Her goal is to create a “space safe enough for people to feel comfortable,” which is a direct act of promoting inclusion.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article provides several direct and implied indicators that can be used to measure progress:

• Indicators for Target 3.4 (Good Health and Well-being)

  An implied indicator is the availability of and participation in wellness programs tailored to specific health needs. The article explicitly mentions the “free adaptive-yoga session every Thursday at 4 p.m. Mountain Time via Wasatch Adaptive Sports.” The existence and accessibility of this free class serve as a measurable indicator of progress in promoting well-being for a vulnerable population.

• Indicators for Target 4.4 (Quality Education)

  The article provides concrete indicators for vocational training.

  • Number and type of specialized training programs: The article specifies the existence of the “Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training (20 hours)” and the “Yin & Restorative Yoga Teacher Training (20 hours).”
  • Uniqueness of programs: It is noted that Atkinson’s adaptive training is the “only program of its kind in Utah,” which is a qualitative indicator of the state of specialized education in the region.

• Indicators for Target 10.2 (Reduced Inequalities)

  Progress towards reducing inequality can be measured by several indicators mentioned in the text.

  • Proportion of population with disabilities: The article cites a statistic that “more than 12 percent of Americans identify as having a disability” to establish the scale of the issue. A reduction in the exclusion of this group would be a sign of progress.
  • Accessibility of public spaces and activities: The article implies this indicator when Atkinson states, “If somebody with a disability shows up at your yoga studio, it means you’ve created a welcoming, inclusive space.” The number of such inclusive studios or the participation rate of people with disabilities in these classes (such as the “amputee [who] joined class”) would be a key indicator.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: townlift.com