Kat's Interview with Sweaty Betty London

Kat's Interview with Sweaty Betty London

Our collaboration with Sweaty Betty 

If you didn't know - we are now stocked at Sweaty Betty! This exciting venture has been long in the making and is something we are really excited to share with you - we love championing female-led businesses. Sometimes beautiful relationships are born out of tough times. Here is Kat, our founder's interview with the Sweaty betty team....

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m Kat the founder of Yogi Bare. I left my old job as a film scriptwriter to train as a Yoga teacher to help others discover the magic I had found so healing and instrumental to my recovery. Studying yoga, Ayurveda and movement has taken me all over the world and every student, country and learning has left an imprint for the better on me.

Why did you start Yogi Bare?

Yogi Bare is the physical manifestation of the concept of yoga being for everybody and every body. I wanted to develop a range of eco-sensitive products with accessible price points. I wanted to inject personality to a world that can sometimes seem alien or difficult to access. The name isn’t just a fun play on words but the Bare is symbolic of the eco credentials and a sense of stripping back.

What makes Yogi Bare mats so special?

They are mats that stand for something. To me that’s not just the charity work we do to support the environment but our community. I always wanted the brand to feel like a best friend and my inbox like an open house with the kettle on.

How does sustainability play into your business?

Yogi Bare mats are crafted from sustainable and biodegradable materials and non toxic, water based inks. Most importantly, we’ve spent time visiting our factory to see the actual process of manufacture first hand and most importantly how the people creating our products work day to day. For every Wild Paws mat sold, we plant a tree with Matt Smith and HomeTree Ireland and our latest mat, Luna Paws, donates to the ocean by supporting the work of Sea Shepherd.

How do you switch off?

Well I can’t not really say yoga can I! Movement is my medicine. Whether that is a juicy flow, a deep delicious stretch or something more playful. The more time I spend doing what I love and following what I feel, the more I seem to surround myself with new like-minded people who bloom into friendships. I also love being outdoors in nature, it is my greatest source of inspiration and peace. The connection and perspective you find by the ocean or woods is like nothing else.

How are you surviving lockdown?

Treating small morning rituals like something sacred and precious. Slow coffee and window gazing. Ayurvedic beauty routines like dry body brushing and self massage. To say we are apart, in many ways I have never felt so together. Underneath life pulling you in a million different directions you can reconnect with friends on a deeper level. When my friendsand I are down my favorite thing to do is to make a playlist, like I’m making a mixtape in an 80s Romcom. It never fails to cheer me up.