My name is Kathryn Mansfield, but everybody calls me "Kat!"  I am a Nia black belt, a certified yoga instructor, a music enthusiast and a creative mover. I have a background in theatre, dance, pantomime, taekwondo, music, yoga and college show choir.  

Movement has been a part of my life since childhoood. I got my first job at the age of 13 when I began teaching tap and ballet at DaCapo School of Performing Arts in Beaufort, SC. At 14, I became active in Beaufort Little Theater. At 17, I was accepted into the modern dance program at Florida School of the Arts for my senior year of high school. After graduating, I was a member of Variations, College of Central Florida's premier Show Choir.  Prior to graduating from the University of Central Florida with a BA in theatre, I earned my 1st Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. After graduation, I accepted a job with Disney and moved to Tokyo where I performed as a Living Statue at Disney Seas Tokyo. When I returned to the states, I started a career as a successful (and stressed) land sales consultant for several years.

In 2008, I married my husband, Luke, and we moved to Bahrain with the Navy. I was taking yoga and belly dancing at a local studio when I was drawn to a poster about Nia. After my first Nia class, I was deeply moved. I had never taken a class that allowed me to move mindfully, be seduced by the music, and experience fitness that was expressive. I was ecstatic to have found Nia – I felt better, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I felt stronger, less pain, more flexible, more creative and happier! I had done traditional exercise classes and programs but Nia was different. With a focus on joy, pleasure and expression, it opened me up and moved me from the inside out. Nia seemed like the perfect culmination of all of my life endeavors! I knew I wanted more.

Fast forward to 2010, shortly after the birth of our son, I experienced post-partum anxiety. With my husband’s encouragement, I signed up for the transformational Nia White Belt Intensive. Upon graduation, I felt a mandate to share this amazing practice with others.  I started teaching in Fort Mill, SC and Charlotte, NC and helped build a thriving community for 4 years, which continues to thrive today. Being in the Navy, we tend to move every 3-4 years. I continued my Nia education and am now certified in all five belt levels of the Nia education system: White, Green, Blue, Brown and Black. I am also certified in Nia’s 5 Stages and Move I.T. program, an interval-training program focused on Nia’s 52 Moves, as well as Nia's Moving to Heal program. 

After moving to Brandon, FL in 2014, I continued to teach Nia at a local studio and started building a new community. I also taught Nia to people living with Parkinson's Disease at the Jewish Community Center in partnership with the USF Health’s Byrd Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center via the Edmond J. Safra National Parkinson's Wellness Initiative.

We received orders to Pensacola, FL in June of 2017, and I am fortunate to have connected with Katy McKenzie, who recently opened a grogeous new health and wellness center called Communio. I am currently teaching 3-4 classes a week as well as facilitating and hosting workshops, Nia jams and special events.

Nia invites everybody to love and accept themselves fully and to develop their full potential. In my classes, emphasis is given to creative expression, play, and fun, while engaging in a great workout for the whole body. My goal is to provide a fun, healing and supportive environment for all to enjoy and become empowered in their own bodies. I invite you to experience for yourself the expression, power, creativity, community and pleasure of living, moving and being in your body. No matter your shape or size; whether you are a lifelong mover or brand new, come and experience the power of Nia!