Miranda McCarthy

She her
Founder and CEO
Adaptive Yoga LIVE

Award category:

Sports, Health and Wellbeing

My name is Miranda, and I started Adaptive Yoga LIVE during the first lockdown when millions lost access to care. I knew I needed to support my community. Within six weeks, I built a website, onboarded five volunteer teachers, and learned to livestream adaptive yoga classes online, free of charge for everyone shielding at home. Our initiative received an award from the Prime Minister and has been growing ever since.

We continue to offer free classes because I understand firsthand the powerful benefits of yoga for physical, mental, and social health. Before discovering adaptive yoga, I could never join a group exercise class or attend a gym. Finding an accessible activity that focuses on meditation, mindfulness, and breathing was a game changer. Yoga gave me tools to manage the stress of living with my disability daily, and I wanted to share this with as many Disabled people as possible.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. For example, Siby Boyd shared, “My weekly yoga session allows my body stillness. I am paraplegic and suffer from neuropathic pain. Adaptive yoga is my salvation, and no one should be without it.”

Our online classes provide an inclusive environment where Disabled yogis, facing similar challenges, can connect and exchange support. I found my tribe and it’s the support that keeps me coming back. As founder I attended every online class personally.

Over the past 12-18 months, I have achieved significant milestones. I was honored as a UN Women UK delegate, won the LuxeLife Most Inclusive Online Yoga Provider award, and served as a panelist at Disability Expo. Additionally, I partnered with London Southbank University to create the world’s most accessible yoga platform and participated in an accelerator program with the Mayor’s Office.

The best advice I received was to stay true to my mission. What motivates me is the transformative impact I see in those who practice adaptive yoga. I hope others recognize the importance of accessible wellness activities and the profound difference they can make in our community.

Success is going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm – Winston Churchill

Q&A

Miranda McCarthy
Don’t be afraid to pivot! The lack of fear around pivoting will empower you as an entrepreneur to navigate uncertainties, seize new opportunities, and continually evolve, increasing your chances of building successful and sustainable businesses! One aspect of pivoting that may be particularly relevant to your experience is the necessity to find alternative paths when faced with obstacles. Living with a disability often entails encountering barriers in various aspects of life. As a result, you may have developed a mindset of creativity and resourcefulness, enabling you to identify innovative solutions and pivot your approach when faced with challenges in your entrepreneurial endeavors. You may fail, but you will learn every time you do, and if you are able to pivot quickly and persevere then you will ultimately succeed!
The problem is, at the moment, 99% of images you see representing yoga are of hypermobile women contorting themselves into impossible shapes. Different body types and abilities are not represented in mainstream yoga studios, publications, or advertising. Yoga’s global popularity, as well as its proven benefits in terms of physical, mental, and social development, makes it a perfect tool for promoting the inclusion and well-being of people with disabilities. Our goal is to promote diversity in yoga, especially for people with disabilities, who often face inequality in sports and physical activities. By offering accessible yoga, we challenge stereotypes about disability, promote the capabilities of Disabled individuals, and advocate for greater accessibility and understanding in wellness activities and beyond. Our visibility and success have inspired others to consider the unique needs of Disabled individuals in various aspects of life, contributing to a more inclusive society.
As a digital accessibility expert and healthtech creator I’m very excited to explore how technology can help with accessibility and the delivery of our yoga programming. Working with London Southbank University and their team of accessibility experts is a truly exciting opportunity to use innovative assistive technology to help provide all Disabled people with access to yoga and other wellbeing interventions. Improving the quality of Disabled people’s lives feels like my destiny and I can’t wait to see where we can go together!
I love listening to audio books, I love fashion especially online shopping, drives in the countryside, and getting out and exploring on my new mobility scooter!
My family, they’re my favourite people on the planet…
It’s a tie!
Education around disability in schools
Education around disability in schools
Miranda wearing a red tank top supports Siby, a wheelchair user wearing a purple t-shirt, in a seated yoga pose.

Areas of expertise

Accessibility, Business, Charity, social enterprise, Disability Advocacy, Fashion, Gaming, Health and wellbeing, IT, Tech, Web design, Science

Disability Power 100 profile information is self-submitted by the profile subject. Shaw Trust understands and respects that disability and impairment descriptors and language use varies from person to person. Shaw Trust assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or discrepancies in the content of this, or any other, profile page.

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