Sunday, 10/6 from 9am - 4:30pm (1.5 hr lunch break from 12 - 1:30pm)

Workshop Descriptions

Kathy Grant Cats (3 hrs, 9am - 12pm)

Kathy loved cats and loved the way they moved. They inspired her to make up many different exercises based on their movements. You'll learn all of Kathy's “cats” and how Kathy used them to enhance the connection to traditional Pilates.

You'll discover that the principles, imagery and skills of the cats can transfer to other Pilates exercises both on and off the equipment. Kathy Grant’s cats are a wonderful way to warm up a group of students, assess a new client's spinal movement patterns and stretch without tension.

In addition, Blossom will share Kathy’s signature Matwork inserts such as her Laterals and Weather Vane that can be translated to many apparatuses. These exercises are favorite places to add a twist in order to challenge the body in a different way than the traditional Mat and demonstrate Kathy’s continued genius at work. Deceptively challenging these exercises can make a huge difference in your teaching and your client’s workout -- stimulating the brain and the body. This won’t be a whole new set of movements, but rather ways to mix up the “routine” of it all.

Connected Arms, Strong Torso (3 hrs, 1:30 - 4:30pm)

Finding the mental and physical connection to the extremities is important. As a Pilates teacher, it delights Blossom to hear someone talk about their torso when  they are doing an “arm exercise”. The mind-body connection is a mirror for the arm torso relationship.

In this workshop, we will explore a collection of exercises from Kathy Grant combined with traditional Pilates that focus on how the arms attach to the body. We'll play with ideas on how to use the upper extremities to strengthen the symmetrical or asymmetrical torso and learn how to effectively implement these tools when teaching.