The Teaching on Yoga for Mental Health with ML Maitreyi

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of mental health challenges and suicidal ideation. Please practice self-care when deciding whether to listen.

In this episode, Jivana Heyman sits down with longtime friend and colleague ML Maitreyi to discuss her journey as a yoga teacher living openly with bipolar disorder. Maitreyi shares candidly about how yoga became a lifeline in managing her mental health and the importance of community and discusses the particular challenges of being open about mental health in a yoga world.

Maitreyi also celebrates the release of her new chair yoga book, explaining why she wrote it as an "encourager and friend" rather than an instruction manual. Together, Jivana and Maitreyi discuss the significance of the teacher-student relationship and the importance of mutual respect and collaboration.

In the second part of the episode, Jivana and co-host, Deanna Michalopoulos reflect on the importance of addressing mental health in the yoga community and why chair yoga represents the distilled essence of yoga. Jivana also introduces his new course, "The Art of Teaching Chair Yoga," designed for yoga teachers. He explains the course's focus on teaching skills and the importance of creating a holistic and engaging class experience

Topics include:

• Breaking the silence around mental health in the yoga community
• Challenging the pervasive myth that yoga should "fix" or cure mental health conditions
• Alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) as a nervous system regulation tool
• Teaching as invitation rather than instruction
• The art of distilling complex yoga teachings into simple, accessible practices

Check out ML Maitreyi's book, Chair Yoga for Strength and Balance: Accessible Exercises to Improve Mobility and Relieve Pain on sale now! 

 

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Connect with ML Maitreyi:

ML Maitreyi is the Founder, Director and Teacher Mentor for Accessible Yoga Sacramento/Tahoe which has offered a free weekly class for the past decade. ML brings with her 30 years as a practitioner and 20 years of experience sharing yoga in diverse community spaces. In December 2025, her first book, Chair Yoga for Strength & Balance: Accessible Exercises to Improve Mobility & Relieve Pain, was released in partnership with Harper Collins Focus and Cider Mill Press. Her Sanskrit name, Maitreyi, means "friendly". She has relocated from California and now permanently resides in San Felipe, Baja Mexico.  

IG: @accessibleyogaml, @accessibleyogasacramento

 

Connect with Jivana:

Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org

www.jivanaheyman.com | @jivanaheyman | facebook.com/jivanaheyman

 

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Credit: Mikus Dharma (they/them), AY Podcast Sound Engineer