{"id":32175,"date":"2016-11-07T16:56:31","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T16:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=32175"},"modified":"2016-11-07T16:56:31","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T16:56:31","slug":"cardiff-character-kat-pither","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2016\/11\/07\/cardiff-character-kat-pither\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Kat Pither"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kat talks all things yoga and how it helped to combat her anxiety in her early twenties<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mental health disorders affect 25% of people in the UK in any given year and this is just one of their stories. Suffering with acute anxiety for a decade and a half, Kat Pither found inner calm when she took up yoga a few years ago. \u00a0This yoga hobby quickly became Kat\u2019s day job which she\u2019s spent the last 18 months defining.<\/p>\n

Kat aimed to teach yoga differently, quirky like her personality. Originally from London, Kat migrated capitals after falling in love with a Welsh boy. Giggling, she knows she can\u2019t leave now, her fox red Labrador \u2013 \u00adWoody \u2013 would have something to say about that.<\/p>\n

\"Cardiff

Yogi Bare, Kat\u2019s brand, was inspired in the face of elitist yoga groups which she attended during her recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a stretch,\u201d she exclaims. <\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In her yoga room, whether that be a studio or coffee shop, Kat wants her clients to feel comfortable and relaxed. Hence the hip hop and reggae playlists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a backlash for doing yoga to hip hop,\u201d Kat confesses. “Hip hop and rap have the same motivation as yoga, to express ourselves,” she explained. Her reggae playlist, however, is all about a healthy body feeling. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason behind everything I do,\u201d Kat gushes.<\/p>\n

Anxiety recovery
\n<\/strong>At just 11 years old Kat started to experience feelings of anxiety. To start with it was just a strange feeling that something bad may happen. \u201cI never fully understood,\u201d she says with honesty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds all doom and gloom,\u201d she laughs \u201cit\u2019s just at 11 I didn\u2019t think good things could happen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

This fear developed into an eating disorder which lasted for 12 years. Both worked in conjunction to create a vicious circle. \u201cThe two are very much linked,\u201d she states matter-of-factly.<\/p>\n

Doctors were consulted and sessions of therapy were undertaken to combat these mental health problems, but medicinal treatments just did not work for her.<\/p>\n

Then Kat stumbled across yoga. In Tommy Rosen\u2019s book, Recovery 2.0, yoga is recommended as a way of combating addictions, like Kat\u2019s eating disorder. From here, her anxiety waned.<\/p>\n

\"cc

The yoga years
\n<\/strong>Kat\u2019s had many privileges in her career but working with Manju jois was “a real honour.\u201d Manju\u2019s father brought Ashtanga yoga to the west. This type of yoga embodies the principle that yoga is just a stretch.<\/p>\n

That is just one of Kat\u2019s mantras. Clients are also reminded that, \u201cThe body is like a naughty teenager,\u201d and like a teenager yoga shouldn\u2019t be forced. Kat advocates this freedom, \u201cYou can just rock up.\u201d Her classes aren\u2019t restricted to a pre-booking system.<\/p>\n

Kat\u2019s now looking towards the future with some super-secret announcements, but here are some we can share. Kat will be making an appearance on the 4 and 5 of November at Brickstock where she will launch Yogi Bare Cubs which aims to build a generation of confident young people.<\/p>\n