Mais Imran teaches the world to slow down, and raises her son while she does it
A Palestinian yoga teacher in Dubai on the part of her life that is not on the grid.
Mais Imran teaches yoga in Dubai and is a forever student of the practice herself. She creates retreats and spaces across Sri Lanka, Bali and the UAE, while building a community around feeling safe enough to fully be: to move, question, connect, and come home to yourself.
What her feed shows less of is everything happening underneath it: she is a full-time working mother, navigating womanhood, motherhood and the constant evolution that comes with both, while building every bit of this alongside raising her son.
Texting Parents is the app behind these stories. Messages, photos, videos, calls and a shared calendar, free for both parents.
People know you for the mat. What do they not know about the parenting part?
People don’t see the constant work I do to regulate myself, learning the tools, practicing them in my body and mind so I can show my son what regulation actually looks like. They don’t see the days I can’t do it perfectly, and I have to parent from that honest place too. That invisible labor of managing my own nervous system to teach his, that’s what’s underneath everything.
What was the hardest part of the first year?
Accepting that I would never be the same woman again. The fourth trimester was brutal, hormones all over the place, breastfeeding constantly, sleep-deprived, and terrified because I didn’t bond instantly. The anxiety and depression made me question if I was maternal enough at all. It wasn’t just the exhaustion; it was grieving who I was while trying to become who I needed to be. And somehow doing all that while keeping my job, my relationships, myself intact.
What makes it work now, that you wish you had started sooner?
Patience with myself. Real kindness toward myself. Slowing down and letting myself make mistakes without judgment. Allowing myself to be vulnerable in the maternal part without fear. Those four things would have changed everything in that first year.
What has parenting taught you that shows up when you are teaching?
Deep compassion. I now approach every student, especially when they’re stuck or struggling, from their inner child first. Kids develop trust, safety, regulation, and healthy brains through recognition and validation. So when a student hesitates in a pose or ego gets in the way, I meet that younger part of them before anything else. That shift from teaching the current version to honoring the child within, that’s parenting showing up in every class.
Mais Imran
Mais Imran is a Palestinian yogini, mother, director and forever student of movement.
An internationally recognised, YACEP-certified yoga teacher, she teaches Vinyasa, Hatha, Restorative Yin and Alignment, alongside Pilates and Barre. Beyond teaching, she plans and advises on retreats across the world, creating spaces where people can take off the armour, reconnect with themselves and fully be.
For Mais, movement has never been just about the shapes. It’s about presence, curiosity, connection, strength and everything that unfolds beyond the mat.