There’s a persistent misconception in the world of yoga: that teacher training is reserved for young people, flexible individuals, and acrobats in leggings. That once you’re over 40, 50, or 60, it’s too late to get started—that you’ll lack the energy, the time, or simply the credibility.
But I’m convinced the opposite is true. After 12 years of training yoga teachers and 26 years of teaching yoga, I can say that it’s often between the ages of 40 and 60 that the most profound transformations take place. It’s at this age that students arrive with the most valuable life experience—and that’s when the training truly comes into its own.
What you bring that others don’t yet have
At 50 or 60, you don’t arrive empty-handed. You arrive with decades of life experience: hardships you’ve overcome, bodies that have carried children or endured countless challenges, burnouts you’ve surmounted, careers pursued with passion, and relationships built over time.
All of this is pure gold when it comes to teaching yoga.
Teaching yoga isn’t about performing perfect poses. It’s about connecting with others, observing, listening, and adjusting. It’s about creating a space safe enough for someone to let down their guard and truly breathe. You’ve honed this relational intelligence over the years. It can’t be learned from a book but emerges from a life rich in experiences.
Your relationship with your body: a strength, not an obstacle
Many people over 50 hesitate to get started, thinking their bodies aren’t “yoga-ready.” Too stiff. Not flexible enough. Weak knees. A finicky back.
But it’s precisely this embodied experience that will make you an excellent teacher.
You know what it’s like to work with a body that resists, not against it. You instinctively understand your future students who arrive stiff, in pain, or disconnected from their bodies—because you’ve been there yourself. You can offer them adaptations, modifications, and a teaching approach rooted in reality—not in the ideal of a 25-year-old’s body.
The yoga you’ll teach will be accessible, human, and grounded—and that’s exactly what many people need today.
Training as a Space for Rebirth
Training at age 50 or 60 is often a response to a deep calling. It’s the call of a career change long put off. Of a dream set on hold while raising children or building a career. Of a visceral need to find meaning in what you do.
This isn’t a midlife whim. It’s a process of maturation.
People who enroll in training at this age are generally more motivated, more committed, and more consistent than their younger counterparts. They know why they’re there. They make conscious choices. They don’t drag their feet on Sunday mornings—they’ve carefully planned their weekend so they can be fully present.
What You’ll Find in the Explore Training Program
Over the past twelve years, Élise has guided hundreds of students, each very different from the next—from elite athletes to people who had never done yoga before, from therapists changing careers to retirees seeking meaning, from people in their thirties to those in their sixties.
This diversity isn’t a limitation in the training program. It’s a strength.
A teaching approach that adapts to you
The training program isn’t a mold you have to force yourself into at all costs. Over the years, Élise has developed a teaching approach that starts with the student, not a rigid model. She observes. She adapts. She supports each person at their own pace of progress, taking into account their background, their body, and their goals.
You won’t have to “pretend” to be someone else. You won’t have to put on a show. You’ll learn to teach from who you are—and that’s the most valuable thing any training program can offer you.
A teacher who builds confidence
After 25 years of practicing and teaching yoga, Élise has the rare ability to make the complex simple and the challenging accessible. Her approach is both rigorous in substance—anatomy, physiology, and the philosophy of yoga—and deeply human in its delivery.
She doesn’t judge. She doesn’t compare. She guides.
Many students arrive at the training with doubts about their legitimacy—“Am I really cut out for this? Will I be able to do it?”—and leave with the quiet certainty that they have found their path.
A Safe Space for Transformation
The training takes place in an environment that fosters introspection as much as learning. Between in-person weekends and personal practice, you’ll have time to absorb, reflect, and experiment. No rush. No unnecessary pressure.
Élise ensures that every trainee has the support they need to succeed in the program—the certification rate is 100%, not because the training is easy, but because no one is left to face their challenges alone.
Some questions you might be asking yourself
“I’m not at the right level.” There are no prerequisites regarding your level of practice to join the training. What matters is your intention and your commitment. Élise will meet you where you are.
“I’m not flexible enough.” Physical flexibility has nothing to do with the quality of a yoga teacher. You already have what you need—or you’ll develop it as the training progresses.
“I’m too old to start over.” At 50, you potentially have 30 to 40 years ahead of you. A life as a teacher is a long one. And it’s wonderful.
“What if I don’t teach afterward?” Many people take this training without any immediate plans to teach—simply to deepen their personal practice, understand their bodies, navigate a period of transition, or reconnect with themselves. That’s just as valid. The training is yours.
They did it—and their lives changed
Among the trainees I’ve taught over the past two years, many were over 50 when they took the course. Exhausted nurses found a gentler way to practice. Executives looking for a career change have opened their own studios. Moms whose children had just left home have rediscovered themselves. Retirees now volunteer as teachers.
What do they have in common? None of them regrets waiting so long—and none of them regrets finally taking the plunge.
So what now?
If you’ve read this far, there might be a little voice inside you saying, “What if this is for me?”
Listen to it.
The next session of the 200-hour Explore Training Yoga Teacher Training program awaits you; the schedule will be published in mid-April for a start in September 2026. With over 25 years of experience and a proven teaching method, I’m passionate and supportive—and you’ll be backed by a community of fellow students who may be more like you than you realize.
Get in touch, ask your questions, and come meet me. The first step is often the hardest. After that, anything is possible.