What’s in a Name?

What’s in a Name?

Someone asked me the other day why I call myself Tiger Mama Yoga—and it got me thinking.

I wish I could say the name came from hours of brainstorming, research, and strategic branding. But like so many things in life—and especially in this kind of work—it came to me in a flash. A moment of intuition. A deep, inner knowing. And ever since, its meaning has been slowly unfolding.

Because the truth is, Tiger Mama Yoga holds many layers.

It all began nine years ago, after the birth of my daughter. Becoming a mother was a seismic shift—one I was completely unprepared for. Everything I thought I knew about myself, my identity, my purpose… it all crumbled. The coping mechanisms I’d relied on for years no longer served me. I felt lost.

That’s when Yoga found me. I began practicing regularly with a gifted, intuitive teacher. And through that, I began to reconnect with myself—piece by piece. Yoga didn’t just help me cope. It saved me. It sparked the beginning of a new chapter, one I never imagined: not just practicing Yoga, but eventually teaching it. Not just teaching it, but holding space for other women navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and the wild, sacred transformation of matrescence.

Becoming a mother reshaped everything. It taught me more about myself, our bodies, our culture, the divine feminine, and our place on this Earth than any other experience in my life. All of this—the rawness, the learning, the deep remembering—flows into my own practice and everything I now share with others.

When I first chose the name Tiger Mama Yoga, I had just qualified as a Yoga teacher. I had no idea that my path would lead me to specialise in pre and postnatal Yoga, baby massage, baby Yoga, and women’s circles. That came later, but the name still fit. In fact, it keeps growing with me.

The Tigress Within

Another layer of meaning lies in the image of the tiger—more specifically, the tigress. I’ve always felt drawn to her. Her strength. Her presence. Her power. But also her playfulness, her protectiveness, her grace.

To me, she represents the duality of womanhood and motherhood: fierce and gentle, wild and nurturing, strong and soft. Always flowing between extremes. That duality mirrors the journey of Yoga itself—and my own life. The path of learning to dance between control and surrender, between darkness and light, between holding on and letting go.

In my first teacher training, I remember being guided through a fluid, water-based practice. At that time, I was deeply entrenched in masculine energy—structure, control, corporate rigidity. The idea of flow felt foreign, even threatening. But slowly, Yoga invited me to soften. To open. To feel. And to accept the inevitable truth that the only constant in life is change.

Embracing the Shadow

Yoga doesn’t just help us connect to our breath or stretch our bodies—it calls us inward. It asks us to sit with the full spectrum of who we are: the radiant parts and the messy, hidden, shadowy ones. It asks us to understand them. Accept them. Maybe even love them.

This is a practice I return to again and again. It never gets easier—but it does get deeper, more natural, and infinitely more rewarding.

A Sacred Symbol

Finally, the tiger holds powerful symbolism in Yoga and Hindu traditions. One of the most iconic images is that of Goddess Durga riding a tiger (or lion), her ten arms wielding weapons, her presence fierce and unstoppable. Durga means ‘invincible’. She is the warrior goddess, but she is also the mother—a divine embodiment of feminine power, strength, and protection.

Durga was born from the combined energy of the trimurti, the triple deity, created to defeat a powerful demon who preyed on the innocent—especially women. Riding her tiger, she represents mastery over will, courage, and raw power. She reminds us that feminine strength is not just softness or support—it is fire. It is fight. It is freedom.

So… what’s in a name?

In this one… A lot.

Each layer of Tiger Mama Yoga—from my own journey through motherhood, to the symbolism of the tigress, to the ancient stories of Durga—is infused in everything I do, everything I offer, and everything I am.

If any of this speaks to you, I’d love to welcome you to a class, a workshop, or simply into the community building here online, back in the Midlands, or at my new home in South Devon.

With love and light, Laura x