Yoga for the Blind
1950. Hanna Wroblewski
Hanna Wroblewski, from London, is a yoga and dance teacher who runs free classes designed for people with visual impairments.
Inspired by her father, who was diagnosed with a rare eye condition several years ago, Hanna was inspired to start classes specifically designed for people with visual impairments to make yoga more accessible and enable them to share in the therapeutic benefits it can bring to health and wellbeing. Hanna produces her ‘Yoga for the Blind’ classes as a podcast, which she started in April 2021 and is now being accessed for free by over 5,000 listeners. She has also recently developed virtual classes on Zoom to further reach out to wider audiences and help more people access yoga.
Hanna said:
“I am honoured and excited to be a recipient of the Points of Light Awards for HERU Yoga for the Blind.
Making movement, and specifically yoga, accessible to those with visual impairment is very close to my heart. Almost 15 years ago my father was diagnosed with a rare eye condition that leads to blindness and I witnessed what impact a life changing diagnosis like this can have on a person and their physical and mental wellbeing.
HERU Yoga for the Blind started during the pandemic as a response to the lack of accessible online yoga resources for the visually impaired community. The project started in the Podcast format, and since its inception it has grown to include free monthly live sessions via Zoom.
The response to both podcast and monthly classes has been phenomenal, as they offer a platform for people with visual impairments to connect with themselves and practice together with other people with visual impairments from all around the country.”