All about Pilates legend Kathi Ross Nash’s upcoming workshop in Tel Aviv
Pilates is a whole lot more than that mat class you took in your gym once. Joseph Pilates founded the method in German internment camps in the 1930s with something he called “Contrology”. It included elements of gymnastics, yoga, dance, bodybuilding, boxing and reflexology. Over the years it has developed a lineage of teachers, a rich history and an international following. Kathi Ross Nash, one of the legacy instructors of the Classical Pilates method, has inspired many, including Mor Vestler, owner of MorePilates studio in Tel Aviv. Mor is thrilled to be hosting Kathi for a two-day workshop this July. Here they chat about their excitement for the upcoming workshop, the Red Thread®️, and what Pilates really is.
Who are you two?
Kathi Ross Nash: I am a person who is driven by love, loyalty and passion - in everything I do. I believe you must give back what you take from this world. I believe through my work in Pilates it is my obligation to share what I have not only learned from my teachers but in my 40 plus years as a student and teacher of the method. This is who I am.
Mor Vestler: Thanks to Pilates I had the privilege to find myself in a process that transformed me not only physically, but also mentally. This transformation gave me a strong desire to share this and pass it on. After a decade of experience in teaching Pilates at a variety of studios, in Israel and the USA, I opened my boutique studio, MorePilates, here in 2014.
Kathi Ross Nash
How are you connected to Joseph Pilates?
KRN: I have had the blessing of working extensively with five teachers who worked with Joe directly, spent 16 years post certification studying weekly (when possible) with his protege [Romana Kryzanowska], and created my base of the work at a young age.
MV: I got certified at the Kane Core and Integration Institute in New York. The course was conducted by Kelly Kane, a student of Romana Kryzanowska. I continued my training with renowned teachers of the 2nd Pilates generation - Bob Leikens and Susan Moran.
Mor, how has Kathi influenced your Pilates career?
MV: She made me who I am. I started watching her classes and workshops on Pilates Anytime and Pilatesology in 2012, and since then she has been a voice in my head that I follow. Thanks to social media, I had the opportunity to connect with her, and I finally got a chance to meet her in Athens in 2016. Since then, she has been a mentor to me.
What is the difference between Classical and other Pilates?
MV: After experiencing different types of Pilates, it became very clear to me that there is only one Pilates. Joseph H Pilates. He was a person. He had one vision. And that is Pilates to me. There are a lot of different types of sports and workout methods, and they are all great. But there is only one Pilates, and it is the method the man invented.
Kathi, you have a term that you have coined, the Red Thread®️. What is it?
KRN: It is the thread that binds us- the work and the blood that runs through each of our veins which purifies and nourishes both mind and body.
You travel quite a bit in the name of Pilates. What is it about Pilates that makes it so relevant all over the world?
KRN: It is about making quality of life better for another human. What could be better?
Kathi Ross Nash
What made you decide to do a workshop here in Tel Aviv?
KRN: Honestly, Israel is the center of religion and the foundation of culture. My husband is Jewish and to be in the land that joins us will be so incredible!
What are you two looking forward to the most?
MV: Just being in Kathi’s presence. I feel very honored to be in one of her groups, and privileged that she chose me and my studio as one of her destinations to visit in 2019. Every moment I spend with her is a moment to be cherished.
MorePilates Studio
Kathi Ross Nash Pilates Workshop - July 19-20. MorePilates, HaHaskala 9, Tel Aviv.
Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/2236009710002735/
More Pilates website in English: http://www.morepilates.co.il/?depart_id=413296&lat=en