The inspiration for the Red Hat Yoga name 

People often ask me why I named my yoga business 'Red Hat Yoga & Wellbeing'.

I chose it for two reasons: Firstly, as a tribute to the poem 'Warning' by Jenny Joseph.  If you don't know it, then it's worth listening to Jenny's recital. The second line of this poem inspired the formation of America's Red Hat Society, the largest women's social group in the world - more some 70,000 members. The society, through local 'chapters' encourage fun, friendship, freedom and fulfilment.

Living longer

We are all living longer than previous generations. The quality of your future will be shaped by how you spend your time now - your thoughts and your actions. Although there are no guarantees, if you want to increase your chances of leading an active and healthy life, then yoga will help you to develop your physical, mental and emotional strength, flexibility and balance.

Trust your instinct

The second inspiration for the name Red Hat Yoga came from Edward de Bono's book 'Six Thinking Hats'.  Widely adopted in the world of business and education, Six Thinking Hats is a concept that helps people think more holistically and from different points of view. There are six different coloured hats, each representing a different mode of thinking. Metaphorically, you put on a 'red hat' when you want to check out your 'gut feel'. 

Yoga encourages us to tune into our inner wisdom and to trust our instincts.  Yoga reminds us to take notice of what our body is telling us, both on and off the yoga mat. Red Hat Yoga and Wellbeing therefore became a natural choice of name - it felt right.