From Pilates to Neuroscience
We interviewed Polestar Educator Kate Strozak MSc, LMT, NCPT of Chicago, Illinois. Not only is Kate a leader in Pilates education in Chicago and the Mid-West she is also a Runity coach, Oov educator and JB-MFR trained. Kate is a contributor for Polestar Life Weekly (check out her blogs on Neuroplasticity, Fascia, Healthcare and Pilates Chairs). Watch Kate as a special guest on the #PilatesHour episode “Neuro-Concepts in Pilates”.
Polestar: What do you love about teaching? KS: I love the challenge of helping anybody surpass their movement expectations and goals. It’s one thing to meet goals and another to exceed them. I also love the uniqueness of each individual and how there are beautiful similarities that we all share. We are complex systems of gliding tissues with this incredible spark of life. This keeps me in constant awe and amazement and makes me feel like it’s an honor and privilege to be able to collaborate with my clients and students. Polestar: What are your current inspirations? KS: Nature is my perpetual inspiration. Whenever I start to feel in need of inspiration or if I feel in need of balance or grounding, I head outside as fast as I can. Polestar: Why Pilates? KS: Pilates made movement accessible and fascinating to me. It’s my foundation to start from and return to for my personal movement inquiries or for my clients’ movement exploration. Polestar: What do you hope to convey in your teaching? KS: I hope to empower my clients to revel in their movement, health, and fitness. I aim to be a resource and a collaborator, not a teacher or practitioner. Polestar: Where would you love to vacation? KS: I love to hike and would love an extended trip to visit a few countries in Africa. But I would go anywhere…I love to travel. Polestar: Do you have a favorite quote? KS: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Polestar: Describe your movement style? KS: Explorative, Playful, and Varied. Polestar: Do you have a favorite apparatus? KS: The mat. I think of that apparatus being there as a tool to help me better access my own body’s capabilities. But if I had to choose an apparatus I’d go with the cadillac for purposes of hanging and flips . Polestar: What are you currently reading? KS: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, and Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body by Leon Chaitow.
[…] educator and affiliate Kate Strozak BS, NCPT, LMT discusses the benefits of supporting the integration of Pilates with the current healthcare […]