Cat started yoga and meditation at the age of eighteen as a way to heal her anorexia and bulimia and also work through sexual, physical and emotional trauma and alcohol abuse. That's when the love affair with yoga began.
"What I loved was how yoga and meditation became tools for me in listening to myself and how to safely feel again & work through all the numbness I'd built up through the years.'
"At first, I didn't care so much about the poses on the mat, but during the rests between the poses, that's when the amazing sensations began. I had no idea what they were but they felt miraculous and magical and every week I lived for those pauses between the poses where I actually delighted in my body." As Cat grew stronger she moved into more dynamic styles of yoga. "Suddenly it didn't matter how small I was. I wanted a balanced body that could play in all the poses. My body went from my ugly enemy to something I could play in."
Throughout the years Cat's yoga and meditation practice has changed as Cat has evolved.
"There's never the perfect yoga style. It's allowing oneself to
evolve and change and what's caused one to taste God one day can be what one uses to separate from God the next. I've sought out what helps me to break my old habits, my routines, my patterns – that's where freedom lies - in the courage of letting go of control and the needing to know.
I just have to be open each day. I used to care about whether I could wrap my legs around my head or how open my hamstrings are or how long I could balance in a handstand. It's funny because now that I don't care about any of those things, suddenly I'm getting into all of these poses I've never dreamed of. When I demo in class and I watch people's eyes widen and I see them think, 'I can never do that,' I always want everyone to know that I wasn't a gymnast or dancer. I was terrified of going up-side down and for me, in class, when it was time to do an arm balance or inversion, I feigned wrist injuries and that was when I left to use the toilet. I used to cry in the most basic hip openers, I was that tight. So on a physical level, I teach because I want everyone to know that it is possible to open and strengthen the body. Our body is our most loyal lover. It has secrets and stories it's dying to reveal and we get on the mat to listen and support its needs."
Cat's teaching has evolved from more classical Indian-style Kriyas into Power and Vinyasa yoga and into Forrest yoga. Now she's incorporated more softness with the Forrest style.
"I see that to be soft and vulnerable can be one of our greatest strengths." What Cat teaches isn't about Asana, it's about the willingness to go inside and get real with oneself. "We always have a choice – to go through the same old way of doing something out of fear of change – or to risk being completely open to the unknown and bare our hearts wider than ever."
While Cat's studied with so many masters, her greatest teachers are each and every student she has on the mat and all the challenges she experiences off the mat.
"It's one thing to stand in front of class and speak about "integrity" and the "heart," but my students keep me checked into what's really going on. Life keeps us checked in. Yoga is a living practice."
Cat's classes are passionate and intense and not for the faint of heart yet her sensitivity, intuition, playfulness, and humour bring a lightness that makes the impossible seem quite possible. Cat acts as a guide for all her students to go on their own unique journey to shed the skins they've been craving to release, to step into their own brilliance and delight in being themselves. Cat is gifted in tracking emotions and thought patterns and holds the space for her students to realize that they no longer need to beat themselves up or judge themselves, that they can finally drop the critic and relax into who they really are. Cat is also skilled at working with injuries and in helping students discover how to work their Asanas in the way that is best for their own bodies.
Craniosacral Therapy is done while you're fully clothed and lying comfortably on a massage table. The goal is to detect subtle imbalances in the basic rhythm of the body and release the blockages that are the underlying cause of the imbalance and resulting pain.
It can be helpful for physical ailments like sciatica, back pain,
especially in the lower back, headaches, jaw, and neck tension.
As the body is not just physical, shifts and healing also occur in
the emotional, energetic, and mental body. This is both intense
and subtle work.
Cat started training as a Craniosacral Therapist after receiving many treatments from healers all over the world and was amazed by how profound the work was. She was always sending her students to CST and then realized that she wanted to be able to provide the work for her students herself.
"It's great to practice CST with your students because you
already know their bodies, you already have a history with them. I care about my students and I know that when I work
with them, I'm providing the best support that I can. The key
to being a good therapist is knowing how to support someone
and to read what sort of space they need so that they can
begin their own healing work."
"My life has changed profoundly on a physical, mental and
emotional level from Craniosacral Therapy. My sacrum shifted once so much from one session that I was able to get into yoga poses I never thought was possible before. I even found that my surfing improved! Even more than a physical practice, CST has been a journey for me back into my heart and a way for me to converse and celebrate my entire being in a way I never thought was possible."
Cat believes that working on an energetic level first is more effective than working solely on the physical realm. If we try to work only on the physical level, it takes so much effort and the deeper patterns still remain. But if we address the energetic level, then the pattern shifts and then there's more room for the physical shift to occur.
Each Craniosacral treatment is different.
"I can never predict how someone will react or, necessarily,
what needs to happen for the healing. That's why the work is
exciting, it's a surprise and miracle every time and we really
have to stay present with what is."
If you're planning on receiving Craniosacral treatment, make sure that you have plenty of time after your treatment to relax and give yourself the space that you need. Don't plan on engaging in any intense physical exercise, even yoga, because that can sometimes undo the work you just did. The body's habit is to return to the old way of being and it takes a lot of awareness to step into your new space with which you're working. Sometimes it's not the day of the treatment but the next day or two after that where you really feel the work moving through you. Each session will feel different so just be open to what you need at the time. Sometimes you will feel sad, angry, blissed out, joyful, uncertain, ungrounded, or whatever. Everything is possible. An epsom salt bath can be helpful in grounding you.
Along with Craniosacral therapy ( in which Cat has trained both
biodynamically and biomechanically) Cat is a Reiki II practitioner and has also been involved with shamanic work in South American and Native American traditions since she was nineteen years old. Cat's commitment is to be a clear witness to her client's healing process and to hold a space of collaborative healing for both client and practitioner to watch the miracle unfold.
