About
YogaBellies® is here for women at every life stage
Whether you're menstruating, expectant, postpartum, or in excess of menopause, YogaBellies works. You'll discover how to practice yoga in a way that suits your natural instincts and really benefits your female body and mind.
You'll feel alive, vibrant, and aligned with your true self.
NEWSFLASH: Yoga Was Created for Men.
Hatha yoga as we know it has been taught in the West for over a hundred years, and it wasn't created for women!! Actually, at that time, women would not even have been allowed in a yoga class... because it wasn’t created or beneficial for them.
99.9999% of yoga classes you attend were created for men. Their physical capabilities, emotions and psyche, in addition to a whole load more male-focused aspects.
A typical hatha yoga style doesn’t take into account things like our breasts, hips, and hormones. We throw ourselves into a male-designed yoga… and wonder why we don't feel awesome!? It’s because your average style of yoga doesn’t support women.
I created YogaBellies specifically for women. It's a style of yoga that respects our natural cycles, hormonal fluctuations, and key life events - the big things that make us distinct as women.
What is the YogaBellies® Sadhana?
At YogaBellies, you’ll meet like-minded women, whether you’re coming to class or training to become a teacher.
Our global community is filled with women like you: Women that want to feel better; have more energy; reach their goals; love themselves and enjoy life – with a little bit of fun along the way.
The YogaBellies Sadhana (meaning practice) is based on 5 elements that all women need for the best possible yoga practice - no matter where we are in our menstrual cycle or throughout life.
Sense, Breathe, Move, Sleep and Circle are the essential elements to a complete feminine yoga practice.
Let me talk you through it...
Sense is about becoming mindful: Where are we at right now? What’s going on for us internally and in the environment around us? Becoming aware in all aspects of life.
Breathe is when we bring our attention to the breath and our yogic breathing (pranayama) practices. Not just during class, but learning to use the breath to find calm in everyday life too.
Move is our Asana (posture) practice or what happens on the yoga mat. This is the mindful use of 29 specifically chosen female-centric yoga postures to help you de-stress; tone and balance all aspects of your life, adapted for your life stage.
Sleep is where we learn to relax deeply and completely, often during Savasana (where you get to sleep) at the end of class. We combine yoga nidra and self-hypnosis to induce the deepest levels.
Circle is the part of yoga that’s often forgotten: The community. We believe that Sangha (community) is absolutely for essential at every life stage: Women need a safe space to share, support each other and embrace the physical and emotional transitions they’re experiencing.
The Sadhana is the foundation of all things YogaBellies.
That’s what YogaBellies® is all about.
YogaBellies® is for everyone.
Hang on a minute didn’t I see YogaBellies® on Dragon’s Den?
You sure did! You can Take a peek at us on BBC’s Dragons’ Den or on ITV’s This Morning with Holly Willoughby right here. But our appearance on Dragon’s Den was just the beginning of our journey.
The YogaBellies® brand is now global with retreats and teacher training happening in every corner of the world. We’ve won The Scottish Edge Award, three What’s on 4 Little One’s Awards as well as being finalist in Woman of the Year, Working Mum’s Best Employer and What’s on 4 Junior’s Awards. We also have quite a few celebrity fans such as Kimberley Walsh (of Girls Aloud fame), Fearne Cotton and Catherine Tyldsley (Coronation Street) in birth preparation and on their yoga practice too.
Perfection is a myth
so let’s just kick off our shoes, leave our egos at the door and move our beautiful bodies.
A note from Founder, Cheryl MacDonald.
Hi there!
I think it's important you know this little thing about yoga...
Nobody comes to yoga with their sh*t together.
If your life was perfect and you knew all of the answers... you may not be practising yoga. Yogis are Seekers: We come to the yoga mat looking for answers! To improve ourselves and our lives.
Yoga isn’t just for the zen supermodels who can tie themselves up like pretzels and have super-ripped bodies.
Yoga is for YOU.
Don't wait until you 'lose 6 pounds' or 'practice a bit alone first.' Just come along. There's no judgment in our classes, just a whole lot of love.
You can read more about my story and what makes me tick here:
Meet the YogaBellies® Team
Meet the Women, just like you, who make up the YogaBellies® Team.
Meet the team! This beautiful crew makes up the YogaBellies® Tribe. Some of them work directly for YogaBellies® and others have their own YogaBellies® studios they run themselves (sound like something you’d be interested in? )
This is tara.
Tara is a Mum of 3 and loves all things Pregnancy, Birth & Baby. She became a fully certified YogaBellies Teacher in 2013 and continues to offer Fertility, Pregnancy, Mum & Baby, Kids and Ladies classes in her studio The Little Yoga House in Belfast.
Constantly inspired by the women attending her classes, her thirst for knowledge grew leading her to train in 2017 as a Birth & Postnatal Doula. As well as teaching Yoga and being a Doula, she is a HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator and 3 Step Rewind Practitioner.
Passionately informing and empowering women through nurturing yoga and wellness practices is such and honour and I feel very blessed to be able to share my passion with such a supportive community in Belfast.
This is Ellie.
My name is Ellie and I am a senior Yogabellies teacher based in the sunshine in Dubai. I started my yogabellies journey in Scotland where I built up a successful yoga company in the Southside of Glasgow teaching everything from bump to birth and beyond. I started to bring about a sense of community to our local area. Everyone now has their ‘Yogabellies group of friends’ there. This company is still running and I have a small team of certified Yogabellies teachers with me and we are growing! I moved back to Dubai after 6 years in Scotland and took my classes with me and now I teach them in the sun. I love teaching classes to women and not just to perfect their yoga moves but to educate them about birth, assist them on their motherhood journey and to help them see other sides of yoga and how it can help them not just physically but mentally too.
I have a love of yoga nidra to keep in the calm and I teach Hypnobirthing and meditation too. I own and run a company in Dubai called The Om Moms Club and my classes are full of yogabellies, chat, awesome soundtracks and aromatherapy. It is the full package! A little about me, I am a mum to a little yogi, skateboarding boy. A wife to a sometimes busy husband who supports me on my dream of teaching yoga and achieving the work life balance for our family.
I absolutely love marmite, olives and Asian food and sometimes mixed together! I have an addiction to travel (I spent almost 3 years exploring the world and then 12 years as a flight attendant) and am excited to explore even more. I love swimming pools, sandy beaches, palm trees and the sea. I tend to be outdoors as much as possible and also take my yoga practice outside whenever I can as yoga under the sun or the stars is the best.
This is Mike.
Dr. MacDonald moved to Singapore with his family in 2015. He was originally brought over from the UK by Changi General Hospital to help develop the department's cardiac imaging capabilities and their heart failure program. In 2019 he entered into private practice, joining the renowned Harley Street Heart & Vascular Centre. He is passionate about health and fitness, and healthy weight management.
This is Nicola.
Nicola has been a birth rocks mentor for 7 years, is a registered midwife, nurse and healthcare lecturer. She has worked with couples over the years during their pregnancy and into the postnatal period supporting informed choices.
This is Siobhan.
Siobhan is a chilled-out mummy to seven children, a yoga teacher, holistic therapist and wellbeing coach. Originally from Glasgow, Siobhan lives in Stirling, Central Scotland with her husband, their 5 teenage boys and 2 little girls. As a former gymnast & acrobat, Siobhan began studying & practicing holistic therapies over 25 years ago, running therapy rooms in Glasgow’s West End and teaching Energy Therapy & Reiki to others. Soon after, her love of wellbeing and exercise lead to regular yoga practice (ashtanga) and her first yoga teaching qualification in 2002 whilst pregnant with her eldest. Since then Siobhan has trained in Hatha Raja yoga & children’s yoga teaching all ages in the community in West & Central Scotland. In 2012 she trained as a specialist women’s yoga teacher with Yogabellies and has supported more than 500 women on their pre & postnatal journeys or helped them to balance body & mind through our women’s Luna & Coreplay classes. Siobhan has also been a YogaBellies Teacher Trainer for the last 5 years and has a real passion for assisting others on their yoga journey.
In addition to running YogaBellies Central Scotland, Siobhan is an Angelic Reiki Master Teacher running regular training courses and is founding Director of Community Interest Company; The Wellbeing Circle, a social enterprise striving to make yoga & complementary therapies accessible to all, particularly those struggling with their mental health.
Siobhan says “I feel so blessed that I’ve been able to strike the perfect work/life balance, allowing me to be there for my growing family whilst doing a job that helps keep me calm & sane”
This is Joanne.
Joanne is a passionate dynamic therapist with extensive experience in healthcare for over 20 years. Joanne strives to identify the root cause of any limitations and uses an evidence-based approach to optimise health and prevent further injury.
A passionate advocate of activity and it’s health benefits with published work on resistance exercise, skills in clinical Pilates and a qualified Postural Stability Instructor with advanced skills in balance rehabilitation.
Passion lies in empowering others to live a long and healthy life! She enjoys working with clients to identify and overcome their mental and physical barriers, enabling them to reap the health benefits of exercise and activity so they can feel their best and live life optimally.
‘Joanne is an absolute expert in the field…..absolute commitment to her clients well being’
‘Joannes approach together with her medical knowledge has helped my wife take back control of her body and her life again’
‘….significantly impaired my mobility. This has a detrimental effect on my quality of life and my mental health. Simply put Joanne changed my life…’
Join the YogaBellies Empower Women's Yoga Teacher Training and Personal Empowerment Programme and ignite your potential. It's more than a yoga training course - it's a transformative journey, crafted to empower you personally and professionally.
You'll gain the skills to guide others through their yoga journey while deepening your own practice. Whether you're a yoga enthusiast aspiring to teach, or seeking personal growth and self-discovery, this programme is for you. It's time to harness the power of yoga, uplift yourself, and empower women around you. Join us and become part of the YogaBellies sisterhood!