Catherine Simonidis grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to the Monterey Bay Area in 2003 to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz. At UCSC, she double-majored and earned her Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Environmental Studies (Agroecology Focus) and French and Francophone Studies. Following University, she pursued her passions for organic foods, health and wellness and became a Certified Natural Chef through Bauman College. After developing her own Personal Chef and Catering business, she became a Mother to her son Zion, and later, to her daughter, Athena. She then developed a career as a Sales Professional in the wellness industry- evolving from Sales Representative, to Sales Coordinator to Assistant Sales Manager. After 10 years in sales, Catherine followed the internal call to invest more time into her yoga practice.

Catherine initially discovered her love for yoga from her first teacher, Marni Sclaroff, in 2006. After an introduction to yoga with Marni, she trained extensively with Victor Dubin in Santa Cruz, CA at the Om Room and later at Nourish. She developed her own self-practice and always returns to her mat recognizing the peace, clarity, balance, joy and presence that comes with each return. After many classes at Pleasure Point Yoga, she enrolled in Pleasure Point Yoga’s Teacher Training Program. Catherine became a Certified RYT-200 & Embodied Breath Breathwork Facilitator Coach, trained by Lead Teacher Kayla Copeland and Pleasure Point Yoga Faculty. Continuing to follow her heart and the healing and wellness path, Catherine then became a Certified Reiki Master in the Usui Tibetan Tradition, trained and attuned by Allison Eaton at the Yandara Yoga Institute in Todos Santos, Mexico.

Catherine is passionate about yoga and breathwork, Reiki, meditation and healing foods and loves to share these passions with the community and beyond. Additionally, she is focused on living the most vibrant life possible and loves to spend time in nature- with her family, her friends, her bunny and on her own. Catherine currently works as the Administrative Project Manager at Pleasure Point Sanctuary and teaches Mixed Flow and Slow Flow Yoga Classes. Her heart-centered classes focus on mindfulness, balance and building strength, all while settling into the generous present moment.