London-based Kat Farrants left her job as a lawyer to achieve her dream of building the online video yoga community Movement for Modern Life, an easy-to-navigate range of well-produced yoga videos that you take take at-home or on-the-go. A practicing yogi for over 18 years, Kat found that finding her teachers, the best teachers, really tricky to fit into her busy timetable. Kat left the daily grind and decided it was time to let the best studios and teachers come to her in the form of an online yoga community. She formed Movement for Modern Life out of a deep love and respect for her yoga teachers and the studios which have nurtured her practice throughout the years. Kat has found that yoga is an absolutely fundamental tool in her emotional and physical health toolbox which she has used to give her a great deal of happiness and health throughout the ups and downs in life. Here, we discover more on the woman behind the dream, getting some self-care and entrepreneur tips along the way.
SERENE: What gave you the idea of Movement for Modern Life (MFML) and how long did it take you to get it started and off the ground?
Kat: Before I started up MFML, I was a lawyer working in the city and always struggling to get to yoga class – yoga really kept me sane through those very stressed years. Then life happened – which in my case was a divorce, a car crash and my dog getting cancer – I was living in rural England working on my dog’s recovery and I couldn’t get my teachers! I really needed my yoga which had supported me so during my stressful job, recovering from the car crash and I couldn’t get to my teachers in the countryside!! So I started to call my teachers and ask them what they’d think about starting up the project with me… Well, it actually didn’t take long after I’d decided that I needed to help folks to get the very best yoga teachers to their own timescales – I found Clare Beagley, a really talented yoga teacher and documentary teacher through a teacher, and she started to film with me – so it only really took nine months to launch from first intention. It felt like doors were opening and the universe was conspiring to help me to make it happen.
Having given up your job as a lawyer to start this, can you explain the transition, any struggles and how you kept positive and on path?
So the thing which has really helped me make the transition is my yoga practice, and especially the practice of yoga nidra. The key to actually doing what I wanted to was to firmly have an idea of what I am about, what I was looking to do and always be authentic about this – so always following my heart. I knew my heart desires, the practice of yoga nidra helped that to happen. The only thing keeping me on the path and positive is a healthy knowledge that there is only one life and it has to be lived to be best of my ability right now. Yoga and living consciously has helped me with this – yoga and a real sense of self just gives me the tools in the toolkit for how to deal with the downs in life.
Any words of wisdom or courage for other women going through the same transition?
Just follow your heart and don’t stop.
What is your favorite thing about being an entrepreneur?
The fact that I get to try out amazing yoga classes with my favourite teachers. I truly love working with the yoga teachers, I find them so inspirational and beautiful. And also that I can walk my dogs for a break in the middle of the day and can work to my own timescales.
How do you maintain balance in your own life between building a business, taking care of yourself and your personal life?
It’s not very easy really! I just breathe through it all and always try to remember that it’s all about the journey, it’s all a process.
Any all-natural tips, tricks or remedies to share?
I’m a big fan of Coconut Oil – I use it for everything from cooking to oil pulling to body cream to taking care of skin problems in my dogs. I try to steer clear of non-organic products and always steer clear of animal products, I am a lover of the earth and the environment.
What are your three favorite yoga poses?
Certainly the savasana at the end of a practice! I also am a big fan of twists and backbends– they are great for energising, opening the heart to possibility and opportunity and are fantastic for my shoulder and back injuries which I’ve suffered after my car crash.
What advice would you give someone who has a hard time making their home/on-the-go space their yoga practice space?
I’d say that the trick to making practice regular is to do exactly what already fits in your life and suits your personality – if that’s having your coffee, or not creating the tranquil space you’ve always meant to, or not waiting for the fancy outfit, or waiting til you have an hour’s pause in the day – these things don’t happen! – just get on any old floor, who even cares about the mat, even if just for 5 minutes a day and start to move and do what your body needs to do. And if you need some inspiration for different ways of moving to help you to to breathe, live and feel a bit better, well, that’s what we’re here for!!
What are some of your favorite videos that your site features?
Aw – that’s too tricky! I have practiced to each and every video on the site – even the pregnancy/menopausal ones – and I can absolutely categorically say that each video brings something I love. I love the ‘buffet’ view of yoga – sometimes I take a pretty kick-ass Vinyasa class, but often it’s lots of Core work in the Forrest classes, and I seriously love Yin yoga and yoga nidra. I also do actually do the meditation videos with Alex as a regular practice. I think he’s such a talented meditation teacher.
Can you tell us some future plans for Movement for Modern Life?
Yes! The site is going to be re-designed and improved to really help users to find their way around easily and help them to find the perfect video for them. My passion is for showing people how amazing yoga can be as a regular part of your life – people have so many pre-conceptions about a yoga person, it’s not like that, it’s just a tool for dealing with the stuff which crops up in life and I’d love to really bring this message to the fore in the site.
Editor’s Note: We love the fluidity of the site and their selection/aesthetic of video. Click here to get started at Movement for Modern Life! SERENE Network members enjoy 20% off of a MFML membership. To get your code to activate your membership please email [email protected].
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