Meet Kat
Movement is my life! I ride my bike or walk pretty much everywhere. Sometimes I simply roll on a foam roller in my living room, challenge myself to a Pilates class, or release tension by lying on bolster and breathing deeply. It depends on the day, but everyday is a good day to breathe and move.
My first yoga class was in 1996. I remember walking home after the class and experiencing a distinct feeling in my body and sensations in my feet, as though everything was connected and relaxed, my body and mind in the same place at the same time. It was so foreign, so delightful and grounding that I began to explore more and more classes. I obtained my first certification in 2000. The practice hasn’t been easy. My body was strong but tight from mountain biking, stair running, and backpacking. All of sudden I was challenged to open my shoulders, sit on the earth and stretch my muscles to new lengths. It was agonizing, mostly for my ego— I thought I was fit!
My exploration of yoga and meditation has been somewhat unique as I dove into the philosophies deep and fast. I have travelled to India, Nepal, Thailand and Burma to study, practice, hike, and just learning to be. I sat my first silent ten-day retreat in India in 1997. My idea at that time, was if I continued to practice yoga my body pain would disappear and I’d be free to do sit in silence for longer and longer periods of time, entering into the stillness and openings of mind. Like yoga, meditation proved my theory and ambitions to be naïve.