The "Natural Menopause" Myth: A Fresh Perspective As a women's health educator and a woman in her mid-50s, I have countless conversations about menopause. One sentiment I hear repeatedly, whether in professional settings or casual chats with friends, is "I want to...
Understanding Movement through the Lens of the Nervous System: An Interview with Joseph Schwartz
Understanding the body is fundamental in the world of fitness, therapy, and human movement. But what if our traditional methods only scratch the surface? I had the pleasure of sitting down with Joseph Schwartz, an expert in Dynamic Neuromuscular Assessment (DNA), to...
Navigating Balance: Fight or Flight versus Rest and Digest.
Fight or Flight is a common phrase; everyone understands this is the body's response to danger. The more technical term is that the body has moved into the parasympathetic nervous system. But do you know about the flip side of this coin? Where the stress hormone gets...
How I quit Mummy Wine Time
Let me start by saying this: I'm not here to proclaim that my life has magically transformed into a utopia since I stopped drinking alcohol. I don't claim to possess all the answers or preach that sobriety is the only path to happiness. Instead, I want to share my...
Motherhood, Menopause and Alcohol: Why I called quits on Mummy Wine Time
I was a big believer in mummy wine time. Mummy wine time is a perfectly acceptable social movement that allows and encourages women to drink. And drink a lot and regularly. In reflection, when I became a full-time mother, my drinking became more of a problem. I called...
Juicy Vee™ Muffins
Funny story – I have been playing with replacing flour with milled flax seed for many years. And have a number of recipes for biscuits and muffins. One of the benefits of adding milled flaxseeds to your diet is to counter the loss of oestrogen that happens in the...
Does Menopause Make You Fat?
As a fitness professional, I've heard many misconceptions about menopause and weight gain. Recently, a fitness influencer made a bold claim that menopause doesn't cause weight gain - instead, our health and eating well standards drop during this time of life. While I...
3 Tips for Fitness Professionals to Ease Pregnancy Exercise Anxiety
I was pregnant more than 2 decades ago. Yes, I know. I am showing my age. But for both my pregnancies, the only exercise I did was walking. I was still a teacher, and changing my career to becoming a fitness professional was yet to come. Now lots of things have...
Supporting Clients with Endometriosis: Tips for Personal Trainers
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, which means it's a great time to learn about this painful and often overlooked condition. Endometriosis affects an estimated 1 in 10 women, yet diagnosis often takes years due to a lack of awareness and understanding. As a...
Training Pregnant Clients: 3 Essential Questions
If you are a personal trainer, training pregnant clients can be both rewarding and challenging. Knowing the right questions to ask is key in ensuring the safety and effectiveness of your sessions. Here are three essential questions that all trainers should consider...
COVID, missing clients and You
We all have our stories about COVID. If / when we caught it. How the whole pandemic disrupted our lives. For some people, they recovered like any other virus. For other people, the post-virus affects are still troubling. I am one of those people. I got COVID 6 months...
Menopause: the Hokey Pokey dance
Menopause, and particularly perimenopause, is a confusing time. There are many more symptoms of the menopause transition that don't get the same attention as hot flushes/flashes. And when women juggle work, home and caring responsibilities simultaneously as menopause,...