You’ve been thinking about yoga teacher training for a while now. Maybe a long while. But every time you get close to doing something about it, life reminds you that you are a mum first and everything else second. The timing is never right. The guilt kicks in before you’ve even looked at the course details. And somewhere underneath all of that is a quiet voice asking — is this even for someone like me?

I want to answer that question honestly. Because being a mum is the most all-consuming thing I have ever done — and it is also the thing that has made me a better yoga teacher than any course or qualification ever could. This post is for every mum who has been thinking about yoga teacher training and wondering whether this is her time.

It is.

Feeling guilty?

This is the one that comes up most. Not always out loud — but it’s there. The feeling that wanting something for yourself, something that takes time and energy and money, is somehow taking something away from your children or your family.

I want to talk about this one first because I think it’s the most important.

I grew up watching my own mum. She has three children, she works, she is always there for us — and she never stops learning! She did three master’s degrees while we were growing up. The living room is her art studio. She goes to writing groups, poetry meetings, takes courses in all kinds of things. She is still looking to get her first book published in her 70s!

At the time I didn’t think much of it. It was just what she did. But looking back now as a mum myself, I understand exactly what she was doing — and what she was showing us. That learning doesn’t stop when you become a mother. That growing and developing yourself is not selfish.

Yoga philosophy even has a name for it. It’s called Svadhyaya — self study, lifelong learning, the ongoing inquiry into who you are. One of the Niyamas from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. My mum was living it long before I ever stepped on a mat.

When you do this course you are not just doing it for yourself. You are showing your children what it looks like to go after something that matters to you. To keep growing. To take yourself seriously. That is one of the most powerful things you can model for them — and it is a gift that will stay with them long after the course is done.

Filling your cup is not selfish. It is necessary. And a mum who is lit up, growing and doing something she loves has more to give — to her children, her family and eventually her yoga students — than one who is running on empty.

“I don’t have the time”

I hear this one a lot too. And I understand it completely — because I live it.

My practice happens on the living room floor while my little boy watches CBeebies. I get jumped on. I chant with my harmonium while he has his bath, really getting into it, finding that deep and meaningful place — only for the silence at the end to be broken by the sound of farty raspberries being blown in the bath! None of it is perfect. All of it is real.

And here is what I have learned from living it: you do not need perfect conditions. You need a little bit of time, used consistently. Moments throughout the day, short pockets of time, early mornings, lunch breaks, evenings after everyone is in bed. It is doable. Not always easy. But doable.

And the women who have trained with me will tell you the same. Women who have joined my courses over the years include a Mum of nine children, a mum of twins with special educational needs navigating the school system while showing up every month to train and several single mums. The women who attend my courses often work full time and carry most of the mental load at home (which is really the norm these days). I have had students get pregnant during the course, have their babies and go on to complete the training successfully. They all found a way.

Take Lana as an example, she is a single mum and joined the course whilst working full time. Here is a little bit of what she experienced:

“This course changed my life and allowed me to grow. It has been a wonderful and awesome experience. It has been one of the best things I have done in a very long time. I have been able to challenge myself, it has given me confidence and it has been just an amazing opportunity. I am a single parent and I work full time. Hana was very good at being flexible and assisting me throughout the course. I am so glad that I did it! I highly recommend it.”

Lana now teaches three yoga classes a week and has changed to working part time in her job with NHS. She has built her own community of yoga students in London and is loving Yoga teaching! You can watch her full story HERE

“What if I fall behind?”

Life happens. Children get sick. Weeks disappear. Things don’t go to plan — and as a mum you know better than anyone that the best laid plans often go out of the window before breakfast.

I give extensions whenever they are needed and I am always available for extra support. That is reflected in every part of how I run this training.

“Teacher training doesn’t have to be this big scary thing! Hana was so good at providing the support we all needed. I would definitely recommend teacher training with Hana. Her style is very nurturing and she makes sure you are built up in the right way. Since completing the course I have managed to fit yoga teaching into the rest of my life, which has worked out really well.”

Mamie is a mum of three who runs her own business and now teaches yoga part time. You can watch her full story and find her classes HERE

“Is this the right time? Maybe I should wait until they’re older”

From my own experience I know the right time to do things rarely arrives on its own. There will always be something — a busy season at work, a tricky patch with the kids, a reason to wait just a little longer.

The mums who have trained with me did not wait for the perfect moment. They decided that this mattered enough to make it work — and then they found a way. And almost every single one of them has said the same thing at the end: I wish I had done this sooner.

“I had in my dreams that I would become a yoga teacher after retiring. This course made it possible for me to become a yoga teacher earlier than retirement. I never thought it would be possible with a full time job — I thought it would have been impossible. But actually the course was very digestible. I felt super supported by Hana and the group of people studying with me. The journey has been one of discovery of my own power, my own internal authenticity and becoming the yoga teacher I want to be.”

Rachele had a demanding full time job and a young family when she joined the course. She is now a qualified yoga teacher. You can watch her full story HERE

What being a mum actually brings to your teaching

Here is something I want you to sit with for a moment. Being a mum is not a disadvantage when it comes to yoga teaching. It is one of your greatest assets.

Becoming a mum changed me as a teacher in ways I could never have anticipated. It brought a depth of understanding and compassion that I simply did not have before. I struggled through the postnatal period as most women do. My body felt completely different. Things that had been easy weren’t easy anymore. And going through that — really living it — gave me something no training ever could. A bone-deep understanding of how yoga can be a support, not another impossible goal on the list when you are already holding everything else.

When a student comes to class exhausted, overwhelmed, holding more than anyone can see — I know that feeling. And that knowing changes everything about how I teach.

Motherhood does that. So does being a carer for a parent or a loved one. So does facing a serious health challenge. Whatever you have been through — it brings something to the table. Something that simply cannot be taught.

This course was built with women in mind

I believe yoga should be inclusive — and that inclusivity extends to mothers. Because the truth is that the world was not built with mothers in mind. The impossible juggle of motherhood and work, the mental load, the way so many of these realities get brushed under the carpet alongside so many other women’s issues — I see it, I live it and I refuse to pretend it doesn’t exist.

You should not have to pretend that having children has no impact on your capacity. You should not have to fit yourself into a system that was never designed for you in the first place.

My course understands and supports women in all their reality. I have a specific focus on women’s health throughout the training. And when life gets in the way — because it will — you will never be made to feel that your circumstances are an inconvenience. They are not. They are part of who you are. And they are welcome here.

What the course actually looks like

My BWY Level 4 yoga teacher training runs over 14 months. Here is what it looks like in practice:

The sessions are held once a month in person and generally once a month online via zoom. All sessions both in person and online are Saturdays 1.30-7.30pm. The online element means no extra travel time, and some flexibility to fit your studying around your life and location rather than the other way around.

Realistically you need around four hours a week for coursework — but spread sensibly across the week, that has been achievable for most people, even those with very full lives.

On the question of cost — I know that as a mum, budget matters. Payment plans are available to spread the cost across the 14 months of the course, so you are not faced with one large upfront payment.

Regardless of this extra flexibility and time the course gives you the certification you receive is amongst the highest available in the UK being a 300hr Level 4 Certificate from the British Wheel of Yoga.

What it gives you back

It can be so easy to lose yourself as a mum. To put everything and everyone else first until you can barely remember what you actually want for yourself.

This course gives you something that is completely yours. A space to grow, to learn, to discover this other part of yourself that has always been there. The skill of teaching yoga is yours to keep and grow for the rest of your life — nobody can take it away from you.

And your children will grow up watching you do it. Learning — just by seeing you — that growth doesn’t stop, that dreams are worth pursuing and that the women in their lives take themselves seriously. That is its own kind of teaching. And it starts the moment you say yes.

Whether you are a mum, a carer, or simply someone carrying more than most people can see — you are welcome here exactly as you are. Your life experience is not an obstacle to becoming a yoga teacher.

Ready to find out more?

If you have been wondering whether yoga teacher training is possible for you right now, I would love to have a chat. My BWY Level 4 yoga teacher training runs in London and online over 14 months, designed for people with full lives who need a flexible, part-time pace. You can find out more HERE

Hana Saotome has been teaching yoga for over 18 years and runs a BWY Level 4 yoga teacher training in London and online, as well as a yoga teacher mentorship programme for qualified teachers.