Catnaps! On Pilates and Rest

With pilates practitioner Mary Bowen (Lifelong Pilates Plus Psyche with Mary Bowen) and author and activist Tricia Hersey, M.Div (The Nap Ministry)

The time is now!!

We are excited to kick off Season 3 of "6 Degrees of Cats," your favorite cat-themed history, culture, and science through part one of a two-part series on CATNAPS!

Full episode here!

That was Mary Bowen, the senior Pilates practitioner to have studied under Joseph Pilates who explains how and why cats are the ultimate pilates instructors and learn about the history of this art of holistic movement. Alongside Mary, The Nap Ministry founder and Bishop Tricia Hersey, M.Div of NY Times bestseller “Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto” (Little, Brown Spark) and “We Will Rest! The Art of Escape” (Hatchette), helps us further appreciate the deep divine teachings of cats and their nap genius.

So cozy up next to your nearest snoozing furfriend to celebrate the launch of season three with part one of this restorative, revolutionary two-part series inspired by the expert nappers in our homes - our cats!

Special thanks to Dianne Scotece of Muscle Inspires New Empowerment, a 401(c)3 program helping survivors of intimate partner violence heal through power lifting and more.

Support the podcast at https://ko-fi.com/6degreesofcats for as little as $1 / month for stickers, early access to new episodes and behind the scenes audio. View the show notes and more on The Captain’s Log, the companion podcast newsletter here: linktr.ee/6degreesofcats.

And check out these supplementary episodes:

• Cats Are the Consummate Domesticate: Origins and Evolution of Our Feline Friends [Pilot]

• Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Cat, Part 1: Research and Righting Reflexes

• Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Cat, Part 2: Exploring Science Fairs, Schrodinger’s Cat, and the Fascinating Concept of Cats as Liquids

About the experts:

• Mary Bowen is the most senior Pilates elder still teaching who knew and studied with Joseph and Clara Pilates. To study with Mary please visit https://pilates-marybowen.com.

• Tricia Hersey, M.Div, is the Atlanta, Georgia-based founder of The Nap Ministry, an organization that examines the liberating power of naps and author of “Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto” (Little, Brown Spark) and “We Will Rest! The Art of Escape” (Hachette), both available at major and independent book retailers. You can follow Bishop Hersey’s work on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and X via @thenapministry and learn more about her work and how to participate in a Collective Rest Experience by visiting her website at thenapministry.wordpress.com.

Producer, writer, editor, sound designer, host, basically everything*

• Captain Kitty (Amanda B.)

* with co-executive producers Binky & Snuggles and new associate Peanut

Animal voices include:

• Binky, Snuggles and Peanut _^..^_

Music:

• Leathered: "Look Alive" © 2025

• Additional sound effects from Pixabay.com

Logo design:

• Edward Anthony © 2025 (Instagram: itsmyunzii)

Research used:

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• Harvey, J. B. (1988). The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management. Lexington Books.

• Bartels, M. (2024, March 2). What do dogs and cats dream about?. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-do-dogs-and-cats-dream-about/

• Freud, S. (1997). The interpretation of dreams (A. A. Brill, Trans.). Wordsworth Editions.

• Friedman, D. (2019, July 26). Did you know that pilates was born in prison and inspired by cats? Vogue India. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.in/wellness/content/history-of-pilates-workout-born-in-prison-and-inspired-by-cats.

• Freeman M. The World Mental Health Report: transforming mental health for all. World Psychiatry. 2022 Oct;21(3):391-392. doi: 10.1002/wps.21018. PMID: 36073688; PMCID: PMC9453907.

• Gerretsen, I. (2024, January 29). Why power naps might be good for our health. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240126-why-power-naps-might-be-good-for-our-health

• Howell, S. (2021, November 7). Do cats dream?. The Dodo. https://www.thedodo.com/dodowell/do-cats-dream

• Jouvet, M. (2003, March 19). What does a cat dream about?. Trends in Neurosciences. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0166223679901103?via%3Dihub

• King, Martin Luther. (1963, August 28). “I Have a Dream.” March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC. https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety

• Kloubec, J. (2011, December 29). Pilates: How does it work and who needs it?. Muscles, ligaments and tendons journal. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3666467/

• Ling, T. (2023, July 12). Why do cats sleep so much? the hidden science of feline shuteye, explained. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much

• Mednick, S., Nakayama, K. & Stickgold, R. Sleep-dependent learning: a nap is as good as a night. Nat Neurosci 6, 697–698 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1078

• The National Sleep Foundation. (2022, March). Breaking Report: new insights on sleep health during the pandemic. The National Sleep Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.thensf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/National-Sleep-Foundation_Sleep-Health-in-COVID-19-Pandemic-Report.pdf.

• Walker, M. (2017, October 24). Why your brain needs to dream. Greater Good. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_your_brain_needs_to_dream

• Wamsley, E. J., & Stickgold, R. (2010, December 7). Dreaming and offline memory processing. Current biology : CB. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3557787/

• Williamson, A. M., & Feyer, A. M. (2000, October). Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication. Occupational and environmental medicine. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1739867/

• World Economic Forum. (2025, January 13). 4 imperatives for improving mental health care in 2025 | world economic forum. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/4-imperatives-for-improving-mental-health-care-in-2025/

• World Health Organization. (2022, January 17). Who highlights urgent need to transform mental health and Mental Health Care. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/17-06-2022-who-highlights-urgent-need-to-transform-mental-health-and-mental-health-care