How This Entrepreneur Is Making Yoga More Inclusive—One Practice at a Time

Meet Wellness Collective, our immersive curriculum with Athleta that hooks you up with actionable advice from the smartest experts and brand founders in wellness right now. Get the goods at our monthly event series in New York City, plus our online one-month wellness plans. 

When you enter a yoga or meditation session, you're generally focused on you and trying to ignite that inner balance through movement or intention-setting.

But for Nicole Cardoza, founder of Yoga Foster—a nonprofit that empowers school teachers with yoga resources for the classroom—she's not on the mat for just a clear head or better balance. "My work is really rooted in understanding where the gaps are in wellness and how we can make it more accessible," she says.

And to do that, Cardoza immerses herself in underserved communities to understand what they really need out of a well-rounded education experience. "I don’t think it’s enough to practice yoga or mindfulness or wellness for the sake of ourselves," she says. "What I always recommend is to be paying attention to who’s not in the room."

While you don't need to go out and earn your own yoga-teaching license to encourage and propel this mindset (unless that's what you desire), Cardoza suggests asking yourself, "Who is missing and how can you advocate for them in a really honest and authentic way?" The real lesson here? Inclusivity—and using your voice to be a change-maker within the conversation.

Watch the video above to get an inside look at how Cardoza promotes inclusivity in wellness through yoga.

Sponsored by Athleta