Cancer-Informed Yoga Teaching:
A Whole-Person Approach
An online CPD course for yoga teachers who want greater confidence supporting people affected by cancer in everyday yoga spaces.
More people affected by cancer are coming to yoga classes than ever before.
Yet most yoga teachers receive little or no training in how cancer treatment affects the body, nervous system, energy levels, mobility, confidence, or emotional wellbeing.
This self-paced online CPD course will help you understand what matters, how to adapt safely, and how to support students without fear, overwhelm or guesswork. Going beyond physical adaptations alone, you'll learn a whole-person approach that recognises the impact cancer can have on body, mind and emotional wellbeing. Your teacher, Morven Hamilton, is a senior yoga teacher trainer, trained mindfulness teacher and breast cancer survivor who has specialised in yoga for cancer since 2011.
Whether you teach group classes, gentle yoga, or restorative yoga, this training will give you practical tools and greater confidence in working with people living with and beyond cancer
The Cancer-Informed Yoga Teaching CPD is for you if...
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students affected by cancer are already attending your classes
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you worry about getting things wrong
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you avoid offering adaptations because you’re unsure what’s safe
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you want to support people more confidently and appropriately
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you’ve realised “just take it easy” isn’t enough guidance
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you want practical, grounded understanding rather than fear or overwhelm
Why do cancer-informed yoga teacher CPD?
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
✓ Welcome people affected by cancer into your classes with confidence
✓ Understand when to adapt, when to simplify and when to refer on
✓ Recognise common treatment-related challenges such as fatigue, lymphoedema and reduced mobility
✓ Modify movement, breathwork and relaxation practices appropriately
✓ Communicate sensitively and create psychologically safe spaces
✓ Support the whole person, not just the diagnosis
This is not about becoming a therapist or doing specialist training.
It is about becoming a more informed, responsive and compassionate yoga teacher in your existing work.
What you will learn on the yoga teachers' CPD course
Course Modules:
Module 1:
Understanding Cancer and the Cancer Journey
Module 2:
Adapting Yoga for Cancer
Module 3:
Teaching Mindfulness for Cancer
Module 4:
Supporting the Whole Person
Module 5:
Holding a Safe Space
Module 6:
Taking this Work into the World
Your teacher Morven
The course is led by Morven Hamilton, a senior yoga teacher, trainer and breast cancer survivor with two decades of teaching experience.
Morven specialises in yoga for cancer, restorative yoga, mindfulness and therapeutic approaches to practice. While working as a yoga teacher and facilitator within cancer-care settings, including at Penny Brohn Cancer Care, she developed the Healing the Whole Person approach, a framework that recognises the physical, emotional, psychological and relational impact of cancer and informs the way she teaches today.
Alongside extensive professional training, her work is also informed by lived experience of breast cancer and recovery. She has trained yoga teachers and wellbeing professionals internationally in how to support people affected by cancer safely and compassionately.
Cancer-Informed Yoga CPD Course Format
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Self-paced online learning
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Video, audio and written teaching materials
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Practical yoga sessions to follow along with
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Lifetime access
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Certificate on completion
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Approximate study time: 5 hours
A peek inside the Cancer-Informed Yoga Teaching CPD course
The Yoga for Cancer Foundations CPD is delivered through a rich mix of video, audio and written learning materials, designed to support different learning styles.
Most of the course is taught through video presentations and guided practice sessions, allowing you not only to learn the theory, but to experience the practices for yourself. You’ll be encouraged to practise alongside the videos, helping you embody the work rather than simply study it intellectually.
Further Yoga for Cancer Training Courses
Yoga for Breast Cancer 3 hr Live CPD
Skills-based live session
Course for cancer patients & teaching resource