YogaBellies School

"I'm Cheryl, founder of YogaBellies and I'd love to tell you about me, my training and why YogaBellies is so unique and what you can expect from our women's yoga teacher training and personal empowerment programme: EMPOWER.

 If you've known about YogaBellies for a while, then you know we've been around for quite some time - 15 years in fact! We are the UK's premier women's yoga school. Over that time we've taught over 100,000 women in the UK alone and trained hundreds of YogaBellies teachers across the globe.

Let me tell you what YogaBellies is all about...

I created YogaBellies, a yoga style especially for women, to help all of us - throughout life. 

In my teens and early 20's twenties,  I practiced a demanding, masculine yoga style with lots of handstands and arm balances, and as a result, I was extremely ripped and looked incredible (to be honest lol.)  

However, as a result of this, my menstrual periods stopped altogether around age 21. My hormones and mind were out of whack, and I was a complete mess. I was practicing yoga six days a week for over an hour - sometimes two hours. Why wasn’t I serene and tranquil, as well as all of the other stuff I was anticipating from my grueling yoga practice?? 

So I then embarked on a long journey to find the ideal yoga practice for me… only to find that when I thought I had it nailed, I discovered that what I had wanted from yoga... had changed yet again! Wtf!?

What I discovered, is that this is because we live in cycles. 

Women are cyclical beings. 

Whether we menstruate or not (lunar cycles are also in play here), we undergo huge hormone alterations during menstruation, postpartum, menopause, and other phases of our female life cycle. The hormonal fluctuations that accompany these changes in our lives cause significant alterations in our emotions, our mindset, our energy levels, and our physical bodies. We also have many unique female physical issues (hello pelvic floor!). 

With all of this in mind, YogaBellies was created for women alone. In order to respect our cycles and life transitions, we must align ourselves with them instead of fighting against them! I want all of us to be embracing each life stage with a positive mindset, not working against our natural feminine instincts and abilities, as society often tells us to. 

YogaBellies will accompany you through every stage of your yoga journey: in class and in life. And it’s not just about pulling some shapes on a yoga mat. Yoga can be a lifestyle choice that means you’ve got tons of energy; feel positive; have your hormones under control and look great all month long. I’m talking about real yoga that works for women."