Strong Women are Stronger Together series - Kate Block Edition

Meet Kate Block. She is the owner of Little Dipper where she offers therapeutic bodywork, massage therapy, and yoga classes and one-on-one sessions. Kate believes that truly honoring your body as your best teacher and your ultimate authority is the secret to letting go of old patterns that aren't serving you and building new ones that will -- which is why she's spent over a decade studying the body and learning how it works. Before beginning a Therapeutic Bodywork program at the Naturopathic Institute of Therapies and Education in Mt. Pleasant, Kate spent several years working on a Masters in Biology. In addition to being a licensed massage therapist (LMT), Kate also completed Mindful Vinyasa yoga teacher training with Amber Kilpatrick in February of 2017 and is now an RYT 200 through Yoga Alliance.

Kate offers a variety of amazing services. Her Heart Sessions are her own special blend of light energy work, emotional release, and open-ended, body-based dialoging. This integrated approach emphasizes curiosity, mindfulness, and non-judgement and helps you get to the root of any physical or emotional issues you’re experiencing. She also provides massage therapy in the form of deep tissue, abdominal, pre- and post-natal (just to name a few). Kate offers private yoga sessions (and yoga + massage combination sessions -- how great does that sound?) as well as unique group yoga series. I’ve been lucky to be Kate’s client through yoga and massage but I’m even more grateful to call her my friend.

I first met Kate when she reached out to me through Instagram. We exchanged a few messages and then met for lunch. I instantly fell in love with Kate because she’s as passionate about food as I am. I was running a little late to our first lunch date, so to save some time ordering I asked her what she was getting and she described her chosen dish so enthusiastically that I told the server I’ll have the same. We’ve had several other lunch dates and I pretty much always order what she’s having because she’s never led me astray.

Kate is someone that truly believes in supporting each other. She understands that sometimes life can be incredibly hard, let alone just being a woman and a business owner. She has a bleeding heart and will pitch in and help whenever she can. She’s strong and vulnerable which makes it easy to connect with her. As a yoga teacher, I admire and respect her extensive knowledge of the body. I’ve met so many amazing people through Kate. We now teach at the same yoga studio, Lotus Jo’s Yoga because she reached out to me when they were hiring and connected me with the owner. She’s kind, smart, has a great sense of humor and always knows the best brunch spots. The world would be a better place if there were more people like Kate.

If money were no object, what would you spend most of your time doing?

Kate: I am IN LOVE with Lake Michigan, so my dream is to have a little cottage on the big lake so I can watch the waves and look for beach stones and go for long afternoon swims as often as humanly possible. I’d probably spend most of my days reading (post-apocalyptic fiction, epic fantasy, and super cheesy romances are my faves!), writing, learning how to really cook, and — because I really do love what I get to do for a living — working with a few therapeutic bodywork clients and teaching the occasional yoga class or one-on-one. And since you can’t swim in Lake Michigan in mid-March, maybe traveling somewhere warm and beautiful during the winter.

What inspires you?

Kate: It sounds kind of corny, but love. Love inspires me daily. The love of my insanely kind, funny, grounded hubby. The love of my ride-or-die bffs that have been with me through thick and thin. The love of the wonderful little community of yoga teachers that I’m lucky to be a part of. The love of my imperfect and quirky family. The love I feel when I’m surrounded by nature. Love has rescued me every time.

Kate works with you to address the physical or emotional issues or pain you may be experiencing, you'll deepen your ability to recognize your inner wisdom and align your life with your own true north.

My name is Anna VanAgtmael, and I am a certified yoga instructor with a passion for yoga, travel, and connecting with others.

I believe in trying everything once. My values lie in collecting memories over things. Though we desire adventure and authentic experiences, naturally our fear holds us back.

My ambition is to inspire and encourage you to unmask your fears and jump into the unknown.

Anna VanAgtmael | Yoga Enthusiast | Travel Designer