Cheshire


<p>If you haven&#8217;t heard of <a href="https://www.yogasocialclub.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yoga Social Club</a>, then I implore you to take a deep dive into their website immediately. It&#8217;s for anyone craving a bit of movement and stretching, but crucially, the added bonus of waxing lyrically afterwards with a bunch of like-minded individuals. It might be a yoga class, warmed up with R&amp;B, before a couple of glasses of rosé. Or there are sound baths in achingly luxe bed shops with chats over herbal tea, or slow flow sessions followed by a cuppa. And behind it all is the enduringly inspirational Chrissie Whittingham &#8211; a woman who has created the kind of space she’d spent years desperately needing herself. Here&#8217;s her story&#8230; </p>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="728" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image1-5-728x1024.jpeg" alt="Chrissie Whittingham Yoga Social Club" class="wp-image-8779" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image1-5-728x1024.jpeg 728w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image1-5-213x300.jpeg 213w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image1-5-768x1080.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image1-5-1093x1536.jpeg 1093w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image1-5-1457x2048.jpeg 1457w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image1-5-scaled.jpeg 1821w" sizes="(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /></figure></div>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-my-background-had-nothing-to-do-with-yoga">My background had nothing to do with yoga&#8230; </h2>



<p>I was an English teacher in North Manchester, working with children from incredibly deprived backgrounds. I was straight-talking, no-nonsense — and many of these kids had lived through enormous trauma. </p>



<p>It felt a bit like&nbsp;<em>Dangerous Minds</em>. One boy used to help me carry my bags into school; later, he was killed in a gang-related conflict. I remember another child asking me during a writing exercise, “Miss, what’s the word for when your parents don’t want you?”</p>



<p>I’ve always been a go-getter. I was running marathons, doing HIIT training, turning up to work in suits and heels, determined to change the world. I was climbing the leadership ladder in schools. But behind all of that, I was struggling to get pregnant. I kept miscarrying, and it was completely heartbreaking.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-my-first-step-into-anything-remotely-woo-woo-was-seeing-an-acupuncturist">My first step into anything remotely “woo woo” was seeing an acupuncturist&#8230;</h2>



<p>He told me very clearly: stop running, start doing yoga, and stop relentlessly chasing leadership roles. I remember thinking,&nbsp;&#8216;I’m not a yoga person&#8217;.&nbsp;I worked in inner-city schools where nobody was calm — how could I possibly be calm? At the time, I was also tutoring in the evenings, renovating a house, and sleeping on a blow-up mattress. Sometimes I was so exhausted I genuinely wondered if I had narcolepsy. </p>



<p>But he explained that my body was constantly flooded with cortisol and adrenaline. If your nervous system is always in fight-or-flight mode, your body struggles to feel safe enough to conceive.</p>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="683" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image0-9-683x1024.jpeg" alt="Chrissie Whittingham Yoga social Club" class="wp-image-8781" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image0-9-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image0-9-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image0-9-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image0-9-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image0-9-1366x2048.jpeg 1366w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image0-9-scaled.jpeg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /></figure></div>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-i-first-tried-yoga-i-hated-it">When I first tried yoga, I hated it&#8230;</h2>



<p>I thought it was awful. Everyone else seemed serene and completely at ease, while my head was racing with everything I’d witnessed at school — children being taken into care, family crises, trauma. I couldn’t switch off. But then it happened &#8211; the first time I truly dropped into the breathing, I felt almost stoned — I was floaty and peaceful and completely present. For the first time in years, my mind went quiet. I started to realise just how much stress had been affecting my physical health, even though, at the time, I didn&#8217;t actually think I was stressed. I thought everyone felt like this. </p>



<p>And then, finally, I got pregnant and gave birth to my first child at 31 — just as the acupuncturist had promised, and around 18 months after I&#8217;d started yoga.</p>



<p>I assumed I would return to teaching afterwards, but then Covid hit and everything shifted again. We had our second child and I found myself questioning everything. I realised I wasn’t happy. Teaching had been my identity for so long, but I no longer felt a sense of purpose there. By this time, I adored yoga but I found it strange that people would attend yoga classes, have these deeply personal experiences, and then leave without speaking to one another. I started imagining a different kind of yoga experience — one where every class ended with a coffee and a chat, however small.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-i-threw-myself-into-yoga-teacher-training-completing-a-two-year-course-in-just-six-months">I threw myself into yoga teacher training, completing a two-year course in just six months&#8230;</h2>



<p>I started running yoga classes from a community centre, and they immediately sold out. Then came evening R&amp;B yoga classes. Looking back, I still don’t know where I got the confidence from. But what fascinated me was that people were craving community just as much as movement.</p>



<p>I started collaborating with different teachers and experimenting with events. Manchester String Quartet approached me, which led to working with the Hallé Orchestra on a 120-person sold-out yoga event. I didn’t know anyone in the wellness industry and had no idea how any of it was supposed to work — I just kept saying yes to everything. Seven months in, I found myself appearing on&nbsp;<em>Good Morning Britain</em>. Brands, hotels and restaurants started approaching me about collaborations and corporate events.</p>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="660" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image3-5-660x1024.jpeg" alt="Chrissie Whittingham Yoga social club" class="wp-image-8780" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image3-5-660x1024.jpeg 660w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image3-5-193x300.jpeg 193w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image3-5-768x1191.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image3-5-991x1536.jpeg 991w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image3-5-1321x2048.jpeg 1321w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image3-5-scaled.jpeg 1651w" sizes="(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px" /></figure></div>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-but-within-18-months-i-was-close-to-burnout-again">But within 18 months, I was close to burnout again&#8230;</h2>



<p>I was running a fast-growing business while raising two children, and I realised I’d recreated the same relentless pace I’d tried to escape in the first place. I had pneumonia, recurring tonsillitis, and one day I suddenly vomited all over my car for no apparent reason. I genuinely felt like I needed to go to bed for several days. My body was essentially forcing me to stop.</p>



<p>As <a href="https://www.yogasocialclub.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yoga Social Club</a> started growing, I found myself asking:&nbsp;&#8216;What am I actually trying to build here?&#8217;&nbsp;I knew I didn’t want yoga to become something exclusive or intimidating. Traditional franchise models felt too expensive and inaccessible for a lot of teachers, but equally, I didn’t want people trapped working endlessly for studios or community centres without being able to build something for themselves.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-i-started-wondering-if-i-could-create-an-uber-for-yoga">I started wondering if I could create an Uber for yoga&#8230;</h2>



<p>I’d spent years learning social media, community-building and brand partnerships through trial and error and I knew I could develop a model that made it genuinely accessible for both teachers and customers.</p>



<p>That meant accepting I’d have to give away a significant amount in order to grow. Instead of taking huge percentages, I created a flat-fee licence model where teachers could run their own Yoga Social Club communities with support, branding, digital resources and guidance behind them. The idea was simple: empower teachers to build sustainable businesses while creating real communities.</p>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="683" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image10-683x1024.jpeg" alt="Yoga social cub" class="wp-image-8783" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image10-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image10-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image10-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image10-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image10-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cheshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2026/05/image10-scaled.jpeg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /></figure></div>


<p>Now <a href="https://www.yogasocialclub.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yoga Social Club</a> operates across 37 locations, from Brighton and Winchester to Manchester and across the North West. We work with hospitality venues and underused spaces rather than expensive studios — places where people can stay afterwards for a drink or a conversation. That social aspect is everything. Yoga shouldn’t feel transactional.</p>



<p>What matters most to me is that every community feels personal. I’m constantly telling teachers: recognise your customers, connect with them, check in on them. Community is what makes people thrive. Every <a href="https://www.yogasocialclub.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yoga Social Club</a> location is slightly different because every area — and every group of people — is different. Some communities are built around post-class coffees, others around wellness events or social evenings. There’s no rigid formula.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-upcoming-yoga-social-club-events">Upcoming Yoga Social Club events&#8230;</h2>



<p><a href="https://yogasocialclub.as.me/?appointmentType=92431165" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Work Well: The Weekend Reset</a>: A full-day working experience for founders and business owners to step out of day-to-day noise and focus on what they’re building. It brings together structured workshops, protected time for deep work, and access to specialist consultants in one space.</p>



<p><a href="https://buy.stripe.com/7sY7sM3FBfw4fKs5s1es00k" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Permission:</a> A 100-person gathering for female founders in Manchester, centred on honest conversation, ambition and the realities of building something of your own.</p>



<p><a href="https://yogasocialclub.as.me/?appointmentType=90095062" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Manchester at Christmas:</a> A seasonal Yoga Social Club experience set to a live string quartet — the organisation’s flagship event. Designed as an immersive evening of movement, music and atmosphere, it consistently sells out within days.</p>



<p>For those interested in becoming part of the wider Yoga Social Club network, there is also a&nbsp;<a href="https://calendly.com/yogasocialclub/community-leader-intro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leader programme</a>&nbsp;for yoga teachers and facilitators who want to build their own communities under the brand, with structure, training and commercial support. More information is available via Yoga Social Club online or through direct enquiry.</p>



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“I didn’t even realise I was stressed”: Chrissie Whittingham on miscarriages, burnout and building Yoga Social Club

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