Cathy Madeo is a yoga expert and founder of Cathy Madeo Yoga, a global online yoga school educating and empowering thousands of yoga students and teachers worldwide.
Cathy creates high quality online courses and 200 & 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Trainings for all levels of yoga practitioners. Her school has graduated over 500 yoga teachers in 50+ countries. Cathy’s deep knowledge of alignment draws students who want a solid foundation of the asana practice, her passion for living a yoga life brings those seeking a spiritual connection through the yoga practice, and her dedication to developing yoga teachers into the best version of themselves, keeps students and teachers alike coming back for years.
Students from all over the world train with her to deepen their yoga journey and gain a mentor. Cathy Madeo Yoga’s mission is to transform lives through the practice of yoga.
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with Cathy Madeo, she is an exceptionally talented is a yoga expert and founder of Cathy Madeo Yoga, here she talks about her Yoga Teacher Training, and her success story.
Namita Nayyar:
You began your yoga journey in the 1990s and started teaching in 2004. Can you take us back to your very first yoga class? What was it that made you realize this practice would become your life’s work?
Cathy Madeo:
Since a young age, I was a spiritual seeker and looking for a “home” or place to fit in. I read books like Thích Nhất Hạnh’s The Miracle of Mindfulness in my teens. In 1994, at 19 years of age, I took my first yoga class. During class, the Iyengar instructor held us in postures for what felt like forever, but he would speak about yoga philosophy, and it made the discomfort of the postures feel more easeful. The spiritual lessons coupled with the physical practice made me feel finally at home. That’s when I knew I would practice yoga for life.
Namita Nayyar:
You’ve mentioned that early on, you were in “absolute awe” of people balancing on their hands and thought, “I could never do that.” Looking back, what shifted that belief for you?
Cathy Madeo:
I grew up in yoga in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s–early 2000s. LA, at the time, was the heartbeat of yoga in the west. Over the years, as my strength grew from practicing consistently, I was able to do many of the things I saw in class that inspired me. I realized it was my own limiting beliefs that had stopped me before. Once I realized that, it motivated me to keep practicing.
Namita Nayyar:
You hold degrees from Columbia University and the University of Virginia—a BA and an MA in socio-cultural anthropology. How did your academic background inform your approach to teaching yoga and understanding its place in modern culture?
Cathy Madeo:
Having an academic background gave me the skills to research and develops programs. I believe attending such rigorous institutions gave me the backbone to build out so many online programs and trainings and the confidence to do so.
Studying cultural anthropology, which is the study of the human condition, gave me a deep respect for the roots of yoga and also an appreciation that nothing in culture is static. As much as we’d like to believe there is one way to do yoga, yoga evolves as humans do. There is an underlying philosophy that is unchanging–we get this from our ancient texts like The Yoga Sutras–yet how humans interact with yoga ultimately shapes and continuously changes it.
Namita Nayyar:
You launched your online yoga school during the COVID-19 lockdown as a newly single mother with no capital. What was the tipping point that made you take such a significant risk? What gave you the courage?
Cathy Madeo:
I had two kids at home and no income coming in and had just lost $40,000 because I had started a retreats business just before COVID and then had to cancel them all and I refunded the money to customers. These rock-bottom moments show us what we’re made of. But if I didn’t have a strong reason to support my kids, I might not have had the courage to take the risk. So if you want to build something, make sure your why is strong enough to fuel you through the days when you don’t feel motivated.
Namita Nayyar:
You’ve been very vocal about the shortcomings you observed in online teacher trainings that simply moved the in-person model onto Zoom. What was your vision for a truly effective online training, and how did you completely reimagine the student experience?
Cathy Madeo:
During COVID, when I was thinking of putting a yoga teacher training online, I looked at what everyone else was doing. What I witnessed was yoga studios recording live 7-hour sessions in the studio. I had been making online content for some time, so I knew that you must adapt your teaching to the medium, or platform in order for it to be engaging. Students can’t stare at a screen for 7 hours and learn yoga.
I thought deeply about what the constraints were of online and what would people feel like they were missing if they trained online, such as community and peer-to-peer interaction and personalized feedback from me. So I solved those problems by filming high-quality top-tier education, creating small group practice sessions with peers, opportunities for personalized attention from me both in the lives and in submitting videos for review, capping my trainings so I can actually give everyone the attention they deserve, and setting up a big monitor so I can see everyone. In the end, I created a hybrid training; half the training is in weekly live training sessions with me and half of it is in pre-recorded videos that students can watch and learn at their own pace.
Full Interview is Continued on Next Page
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President of womenfitness.net, and should not be reproduced, copied, or hosted in part or in full anywhere without express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2026 Women Fitness
Namita Nayyar:
You set a “break-even” goal of just 8 students for your first 200 Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training and quickly surpassed 30. What advice would you give to other aspiring online educators who are waiting for the “perfect” product or the “right” time to launch?
Cathy Madeo:
Launch when it’s hot. People were reaching out to me practically begging me to put a training online together during COVID. If I had waited, they would have found someone else, the market would have been saturated, or I would have kept putting it off. I started with no money to invest in filming my training. That’s risky, but so is spending money on a product that no one is going to buy. Sell first and then produce your product. Just make sure you deliver an outstanding product or you’ll lose trust with your customers.
Namita Nayyar:
Your deep knowledge of alignment is a cornerstone of your teaching. How did your personal journey with spinal stenosis and emergency spine surgery transform your understanding of alignment and make you more compassionate toward students who are not naturally flexible?
Cathy Madeo:
It helped me understand that as teachers, we can cue alignment, but how it looks on everybody is different based on their own anatomy and history. That gave me more compassion. Rather than forcing yourself into a pose, it’s about adapting the pose to your body.
Namita Nayyar:
You developed your signature “Activate Your Core” method out of a need to heal your own back pain. Can you explain the philosophy behind this method and how you use it to help students build strength from the inside out?
Cathy Madeo:
This method educates you on all the different core muscles, how to engage them, and teaches you exercises and drills to build your core strength. After I had my second child, I was healing from back pain and returning to my yoga practice feeling stiff and weak. I discovered that when I applied a strength training approach to the drills I was doing by practicing them in reps and sets, I was increasing my strength both in my core and in my arms and shoulders. I turned this methodology into an 8-week yoga series and watched as students’ practices and bodies transformed. This grew eventually into my online series Activate Your Core.
Namita Nayyar:
You’ve said that people are moved not by perfection but by resilience. How has your own story of overcoming physical limitations shaped your identity as a teacher and the way you connect with your students?
Cathy Madeo:
I grew my Instagram account initially from posting challenging and sensational yoga poses. But when my spine began to limit me again in 2023, I shared it on social media. I was surprised by the reaction. The first video I posted sharing my regression got 65M views. Thousands of people shared their own stories of regression. That’s when I realized people don’t need perfection; they want to feel seen. I take that into every class I teach and interaction I have with students.
Namita Nayyar:
You emphasize that the best teachers are those who have had to overcome challenges. How do you help new teachers reframe their own limitations into assets rather than obstacles in their teaching?
Cathy Madeo:
So many teachers are worried if they don’t have the perfect yoga practice, yoga body, or look a certain way, they won’t be successful. I remind them that what they see as their weakness is actually what differentiates them from other yoga teachers. It’s also what makes them human and relatable, and those things build trust with your students.
Namita Nayyar:
In your teaching, you strive to make challenging poses accessible to students of all levels. What is your approach to breaking down a pose like an arm balance or inversion so that a beginner can feel they have a path forward?
Cathy Madeo:
Basic postures most people can do with clear instructions–think of a lunge pose. But when you have a pose like a split, handstands, or a deep backbend, most people can’t do that and won’t be able to do it with one class. So I teach these poses progressively. That means breaking down step by step how to build into the pose over time. If I am teaching a challenging pose in a class, I give step-by-step progressions so everyone can do something on the journey toward the pose.
Namita Nayyar:
You’ve mentioned that when you started your online school, you focused on programming and did not initially set out to build a community. When did you realize that community was becoming the heart of your school, and how did you intentionally foster it?
Cathy Madeo:
Putting together a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training was a heavy lift. There was writing the syllabus, developing the curriculum, filming, editing, and marketing. My main goal when I started wasn’t “I want to build a community”; it was “I want to deliver the highest quality yoga teacher training online and raise the standard of yoga education.”
Then the students started posting online about the training, meeting up in person, and practicing teaching together over Zoom. I remember watching a branding course with Jeffrey Perlman, and he said something like, “The brand doesn’t create the community, the customer does.” And I found that to be true. Once I recognized a community had formed, I wanted to ensure they felt supported and seen. So I started an alumni newsletter, gave them VIP access and discounts to new programs, launched in-person retreats so they could meet me and each other in person, and began an Annual Alumni Event in Miami, FL.
Namita Nayyar:
Your school has graduated nearly 600 yoga teacher training alumni representing more than 50 countries. What is it like to mentor students from such diverse backgrounds, and what common threads have you noticed among them?
Cathy Madeo:
It reminds me that no matter how different we all are, yoga can bring people together. It’s that shared love that creates such a powerful group experience. I love that the students also are exposed to people of different backgrounds, and each one brings such a unique perspective to the class, which gives us meaningful discussions.
Namita Nayyar:
Student testimonials frequently mention the supportiveness and positivity of your community. How do you cultivate an environment where students feel energized to grow but safe to be who they are?
Cathy Madeo:
It’s so true, thank you! I lead from a place of compassion and a genuine love for helping people be the best version of themselves. I think it sets the tone for a safe environment. I also don’t teach in a dogmatic style. It’s not, “my way is the right way”; it’s “what are the benefits of doing it this way, what are the benefits of doing it that way?” and allowing students to decide for themselves. I believe this nondogmatic approach lends itself to inclusivity.
Namita Nayyar:
You’ve built a massive audience across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. What is your content creation strategy, and how do you balance the need to show up consistently on social media with the deep work of being a teacher and mentor?
Cathy Madeo:
I remind myself that the heart of what I do is train yoga teachers, but I wouldn’t be able to do that to the scale or degree I do if I didn’t post on social media. So they each have equal weight; they are both essential parts of my business. Planning content in advance and batching the filming and editing has helped me manage my time.
Namita Nayyar:
You’ve written about being hesitant to post about being less flexible on social media. What changed your mind, and what have you learned about what your audience truly wants to see from you?
Cathy Madeo:
I have lived my entire adult life with chronic back pain and had several times where I’ve been immobile and had to start over with my yoga practice. Each time, I came back to practice curious to see if I could get my strength and flexibility back, and each time I surpassed where I was before. But the most recent time I had a spine episode in 2023 was so severe that I was unable to practice and was losing function of my right leg. It felt like there was a real possibility I might become paralyzed. That’s when I realized I didn’t want to work to “get back my strength and flexibility” like I had in the past. It was time to approach my practice differently. The first step for me after admitting it to myself was admitting it to my community, and that’s when I started to share. They showed me they followed me for more than yoga poses, and that gave me the motivation to allow my yoga practice and content to evolve.
Namita Nayyar:
Transitioning from a physical studio to an entirely online business can be bittersweet. What was the most challenging part of that transition, and what has been the most unexpected reward?
Cathy Madeo:
Leaving a studio I built from demo to thriving and the members who built the community was definitely hard, but in my heart I knew my future was online. Being able to have an impact across the globe and reach so many students beyond what a physical space can contain is an indescribable feeling.
Namita Nayyar:
You’ve shared some funny classroom moments on podcasts. How do you maintain your sense of humor and humanity amidst the demands of running a global business?
Cathy Madeo:
Teaching and practicing yoga for decades has brought lightness to it and taught me not to take myself so seriously. I love to laugh and find humor in the small moments. It’s the one thing people say they are the most surprised by when they meet me.
Namita Nayyar:
Cathy Madeo Yoga’s mission is to “transform lives through the practice of yoga.” What does that transformation look like for your students, and how do you measure success beyond the business metrics?
Cathy Madeo:
Students share, both during the training and beyond, how much the training has impacted not just their practice and/or teaching but their day-to-day lives and interactions with others. They’ve told me things like, “My daughter told me I seemed more calm”, or “I finally felt like I was listening to my partner”, or “this gave me the confidence to leave my job I feel stuck in.” Teachers gain confidence and skills to open yoga studios, or build a brand online. I measure success beyond metrics in the emails, DMs, and voice notes I receive from alumni who share their wins with me. The fact that they reach out to update me tells me they attribute the training to a part of their success.
Namita Nayyar:
Looking ahead, what’s next for Cathy Madeo Yoga? Are there new courses, directions, or dreams you are excited to pursue, and how do you see the online yoga space evolving?
Cathy Madeo:
This year, I launched the Cathy Madeo Yoga Lead Trainer Program, where 6 of my alumni are apprenticing with me for a year and then leading their own 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2027 under my brand. This is a huge step for my business and will allow me to scale my yoga teacher training, so I am so excited about that. I’ve also signed my first book deal with Human Kinetics; 100 Best Yoga Sequences will be available in stores and online in 2028.
The online yoga space is here to stay. I think more yoga teachers will opt to create their own brand, just like I did. I hope to continue to show them what’s possible on their own journey.
Learn more www.cathymadeoyoga.com and on Instagram @cathymadeoyoga
Photo Credits:
Photographer: Irving Martinez https://lookitsirving.com/
wardrobe credit: Vix Paula Hermanny https://www.vixpaulahermanny.com/