- Marci Shimoff, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author, Happy for No Reason and Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul
- A slideshow from Cathleen's 2017 intensive student seminar: Pilates - The Inner Unit
I have been working with Cathleen for over 25 years. I’m 71 now and credit my continued mobility and physical well-being in part to my long practice of Pilates, Gyrokinesis, and Gyrotonic with Cathleen. Over the years Cathleen has continued to expand her practice and modalities and for me, the combination of physical and self-reflective awareness has been critical. When I began working with her I had a very limited proprioceptive capacity. In fact, I didn’t even know what the term meant. I remember a day clearly after probably 6-7 years in when Cat told me how significantly that sense had improved. This was a real ah-ha moment and my continuing cultivation of that capacity has not only improved my embodied experiences in many areas of life but also translated to my work which is organizational psychology. I most enthusiastically support her candidacy for this award.
​
Jack Lampl
- Marilyn Melvin, age 77, Ceramic Instructor, Mother, Grandmother
- Cathleen's recent participation in a worldwide "Fitness Works 2020" webinar and a full schedule of Zoom classes has been a huge success!
Cathie Murakami was highly recommended when I was looking for a Pilates instructor years ago, and I can honestly say I’ve never had a better recommendation for anything.
I knew nothing about Pilates and was clearly out of shape, and Cathie slowly and carefully showed me what I had to do to improve my physical well-being.
​
But she didn’t stop there. She invited me to go with her to lectures given by spiritual people and alternative medicine people, gave me books to read, and therein introduced me to the best of alternative medicine. And she built in me a deep appreciation for how to help my body help itself to wellness.
During my many years in California, she was, with the rare exception of working with someone Cathie had trained, my only pilates teacher. It was not until I returned to Chicago in 2015 that I realized what an exceptional teacher she was, for I have been able to find no one with the talent and compassion that she has. But she has been more than that. She has been key to building the foundation of who I am today, practicing meditation with a group of like-minded people, and taking great pleasure in helping others help themselves. I am proud to be able to call her a friend.
​
Adrienne Samuels Chicago, IL
- Gay Hendricks, NY Times best selling author and world-renowned motivational speaker and coach
My wife and I spent a week at Rancho la Puerta in Tecate, MX which is an amazing place that offers a slew of wonderful classes, teachers, and speakers. The highlight of our week was Cathleen Murakami’s sound baths. I have been meditating for decades and have experienced many sound healing modalities over that time including Tibetan and crystal bowls, sound baths, and sound healing therapies, but Cathleen’s sound bath sessions stand out as being some of the best I’ve ever experienced.
It's obvious that she has studied and practiced extensively, and that shows but, more than that, her ability to read the room and then interpret that into a unique stream of well-timed, well played sound combinations, guide the recipients through an extraordinary sound bath experience. Her skills in that realm are unparalleled. I can’t recommend her enough if you have a chance to experience one of Cathleen’s sound baths or healing sessions.
Cliff Pia, Carlsbad, CA