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EnglishWhat Is specialyoga.com and Who Is It For?
Updated
specialyoga.com is the home of The Sonia Sumar Method — Yoga for All Abilities, a teaching and training resource built around adaptive yoga for people with disabilities, additional needs, and different ways of moving, learning, and communicating. It is aimed primarily at the adults who care for and teach these students: teachers, therapists, caregivers, and families who want to bring yoga to children, young adults, and adults. If you are looking for a drop-in general yoga studio, this is not that; if you want a method and a training path for adaptive practice, it is.
What the site is built around
The whole site centers on one approach rather than a catalogue of unrelated classes. According to the site, the method grew out of Sonia Sumar's work with her daughter Roberta and has developed over nearly 50 years of teaching children and adults with additional needs.
Its stated focus is the whole person, supported through:
- breath
- movement
- sound
- relaxation
- attention
- relationship
- respect for each student's own rhythm
That list matters more than it looks. It signals that the method is not goal-driven in the usual fitness sense — the site's framing is "a practical, loving method for real bodies and real lives," and its guiding line is "Love is always the answer."
Who it is for
The site addresses two broad groups.
People who want to practice or arrange sessions. This includes families and caregivers seeking individualized yoga for children, young adults, and adults with disabilities or additional needs.
People who want to teach or deepen their work. The site describes training for "the people who care" — those who want to bring adaptive yoga into their own teaching or professional practice.
A useful distinction the site makes: its Teaching Team includes teacher trainers approved to train adults, while Licensed Practitioners are certified to offer sessions directly to children and students with additional needs. If your goal is to work directly with students, that licensing distinction is the one to check first.
The main paths through the site
The site deliberately organizes itself as "doors" depending on what you need:
| If your question is… | Go to |
|---|---|
| "I don't know where to start" | Start Here — a guide to the main paths |
| "I want to train or get certified" | Training Path — certificates, CPDs, Hatha training, credit hours, and the 500H pathway |
| "I want to join a class" | Classes & Events — weekly live online classes and current registrations |
| "I want one-to-one support" | Private Lessons — private lessons and mentoring |
Current programming mentioned on the site includes weekly online classes, 2026 programs, Hatha Yoga with Renata, Special Yoga with Sonia, CPDs, and certification programs.
What it is not
The site does not present itself as a general-purpose yoga platform, and the available material does not list prices, payment options, or free-access terms. Treat class and training costs, schedules, and eligibility as things to confirm directly through the Classes & Events or Training Path pages rather than assuming.
A note on the method's tone
The site includes a testimonial from Maria de Lourdes Ramos de Souza in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, describing how Sonia Sumar was "the first person to teach me to believe in my child." Whatever your view of testimonials, it illustrates the audience the site is written for: parents and practitioners who are often navigating systems that have not served their children well, and who are looking for a method that starts from respect for the student rather than from a standard of performance.
Bottom line: specialyoga.com is worth your time if you are a teacher, therapist, caregiver, or family member who wants structured training or live classes in adaptive yoga for people with disabilities and additional needs. Start with "Start Here" if you are unsure which path fits, and go straight to Training Path or Classes & Events if you already know.