Catherine McCrum

Practice

I work with a wide variety of individual students ranging from professional athletes, musicians and actors to people with chronic pain issues, injuries or those simply wanting to become more in tune with how they move in daily life. I teach regular workshops for the general public and also to Pilates and fitness teachers, physiotherapists, runners, tennis and golf coaches and ski instructors. I’m the creator of the FeldenFit 30 day Programme to refine your ability for powerful, effective and balanced movement which is hosted by Ritter Dressage. I co teach an online course for riders called The Aware Rider with Dr Thomas Ritter and Shana Ritter. I add rider content on the Ritter’s online courses which focus on the biomechanics of dressage.

I am also a Gestalt psychotherapist with a particular interest in working with developing awareness of how my clients embody their emotional and psychological patterns.

Biography

I’m an accredited Feldenkrais practitioner and have been teaching sport, fitness and movement since 1986. I also have an Msc in Clinical Gestalt Psychotherapy.

As an internationally qualified ski instructor and ski instructor coach, I taught in Europe, New Zealand and USA. Returning to London I worked as a personal trainer and was one of the first to incorporate Pilates into my training methods.

Many of my clients were very fit but I was always looking for something that would take them further. Despite daily strengthening and stretching regimes and regular osteopathic and physiotherapy treatments I found that their progress was often hampered by niggling injuries and chronic stiffness. Only when I came across the Feldenkrais Method did I make the connection that stretching, strengthening or manipulation were not the key. As I incorporated the Feldenkrais Method into my training my clients started to recognise for themselves how the way they moved could cause injury and interfere with their ability to reach their goals. Through the lessons they learned how much excess effort they put into everything they did, not only in sport but also daily activities. They started to notice surprising and unexpected improvements in their coordination. Many reported an increased sense of physical comfort and ease. I decided to embark on the 4 year Feldenkrais Training which I completed in 2002. I completed my Masters in Clinical Gestalt Psychotherapy in 2016.