XENA

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

The other day I messaged an old friend because I found out for the reason for a gait pattern we had noticed together whilst people during our sport science degree.

Have you ever noticed that some people heels come off the floor very early after heel strike, before they take the next stride.

If you know, you know…🤪

Even with 20 years of physio behind me, I had no idea why this was!

Yesterday, on my biomechanics course I learned that it is due to a lack of internal rotation and pronation of the foot.

So after heel strike people arch their back, to get their weight onto the balls of the feet, pulling the heels up, and helping to propel them forward through the gait cycle,

🤯

This might mean nothing to you, but to me this is exactly why I continue learning. Because suddenly something you’ve looked at all your life you can see a different light, with better understanding and clarity.

If you are struggling with pain and discomfort or dysfunction that other clinicians can’t fix.

Drop me a note and see if I can help you.

I work online and in person, so don’t let distance be a barrier ✨

Now …Enjoy watching people’s gait now 🚶🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️

Do you know how many people come to me saying they have done pilates for years yet can’t do the basics.

Tiny tweaks make the simplest of movements super tough.

Keep hips over knees
Unlock elbows
Lift through breast bone
Don’t shift across as you move a leg
Activate quads and glutes at end of movement
Breathe!!!!

Layering biomechanics into my rehab programmes is no helping me see the benefit of really slowing down.
Feeling the feels
Allowing expansion from within.

And again with the somatic massage. Slow listen hands not just a rushed full body experience.

Give this a try. It’s Level 4 swimming but with toes on the floor. Looks easy but it’s a killer when done right.

Building pelvic control, glutes, core , arm strength, coordination….

Sometimes less is more.

I used to think that training harder was the only way to rebuild.

But then I realised healing doesn’t happen through punishment.

It happens through understanding.
Through slowing down long enough to listen.
Through rebuilding with intention instead of exhaustion.

Now I train smarter.
I rest without guilt.
I nourish properly.
I protect my energy.
And I trust focused consistency.

Ironically, that’s when everything started to change.

And when I began building this philosophy into my work with clients, and into the way I teach my classes, they started to change too.

Less burnout.
Less frustration.
More connection.
More strength.
More sustainable results.

Because rebuilding your body should never come at the cost of your wellbeing.

Biomechanics has taught me the importance of form in loading and this ties so beautifully into Pilates.

Join me online for Rebuild Strength and Rebuild Pilates on Tuesdays and Fridays. 45 and 30 mins sessions. With real results.
✨💪💫💪✨

It’s for moments like this…

This is my gorgeous friend and client.

When we first met a year ago she had not been exercising for 6m following a injury.

Together, we started from the beginning. Building from the foundations up.

Twice a week with one Pilates and one strength session.

Reconnecting to her body she rebuilt strength and resilience, enabling her to re-join the gym and train alone with confidence.

In Jan she completed her first 5k and last weekend she smashed out a cheeky Hyrox. On her own!!!

I could not be prouder. I actually cried when I arrived to cheer her on. 🤪

This is why I love my job.

Yes, I started the ball rolling with helping her feel safe and capable of exercising again after injury.

I guided a slow but steady progressive exposure to more load and greater challenges.

But it was who then took that new found confidence in her body and literally ran with it.

It’s amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to something.

💪With consistency
🫶A support team
(Friends, family and professionals)
✨And grit and determination

Speaking of support - the hyrox team did the most amazing job encouraging contestants and it was lovely to see the camaraderie amongst the contestants.

And I just love the last photo of Amanda getting support from her daughter 🫶

My husband and I are now inspired to join the movement. 💫

Unpopular opinion…

Time is not a healer.

Yes, the body will heal but it will not rehabilitate itself.

Scars need massaging, hydrating and mobilising.
The body needs stretching, strengthening, nourishing and nurturing.
We also need time to accept, adapt and process.
Sometimes, we need only rest and other times we need action.

It is a common misconception that it is the time frame between an event that determines how we should feel.
In truth it is the dedication to recovery that makes all the difference.

This is where the strength and determination of you as the client really shines through.

As though I can help guide you to recovery and feeling strong and capable in your body again it is you who does the hard work.

My job it’s to be your cheerleader and to help you work realistically, consistently and progressively.

✨

Pelvic health awareness isn’t just for mama’s.

I love the variety of my role as a physio and supporting as their wellness ambassador keeps me educating and supporting women at every stage of life from across the world.

If you don’t know about the MOB and you are a woman building a business then check out their page and network. It is a fantastic community of women, supporting each other with a focus on financial fitness and health and wellbeing.

This Thursday in their app I’ll be discussing pelvic health. Understanding how breath, posture, hip mobility, diet, hormones and more can have a huge impact on how yours pelvic floor functions.

It is not just postpartum that you should be aware of how to support your pelvic health. Everywoman should learn how to optimise their pelvic health.

Our bodies are complex but having an understanding of how they work and how to support them can help us thrive through life.

Join the MOB and join me on Thursday at 1pm.

When do you make time for yourself…
�Guilt free.�Unashamed.�Just for you?

Here’s what I see time and time again with the women I work with:

We wait until we are exhausted…�Disconnected…�Or in pain…

Before we give ourselves permission to stop.

Birthdays feel different as you get older.

A few years ago, a two-hour steam session wouldn’t even have crossed my mind. Now… it’s a hell yesssssss.

It started 10 years ago when I realised everyone would be at work on my birthday. Phil suggested I go to a spa.

I remember thinking how strange, even a little sad, to go alone.

But it was magic. ✨

That was my first real date with myself.

And over the years, I’ve realised something important:

Space is not a luxury.�It’s part of recovery, rest and recuperation.

As a physio working 1:1 with women navigating postpartum, cancer and injury, I see how disconnection builds.

Not because women don’t care about themselves.�But because they’ve been taught to put themselves last.

To push through.�To carry on.�To ignore the signals.

This year, my birthday I found myself at .portugal, in the forest in Mafra.

Nature. Stillness. Connection.

Four women I didn’t even know last year,�and yet it felt like being with old friends.

We laughed. Shared. Slowed down.

And yes… there was a flicker of guilt.
Leaving my girls.�Stepping away on my birthday.
But this is the work.
Not just the exercises.�Not just the rehab.
Learning to be in your own space again.�Without guilt.

Because self-care isn’t a reward for doing enough.
It’s the foundation that allows you to function at all.
When you give yourself space…
�You come back more present.�More connected.�More you.

So if you’ve been feeling disconnected from your body…�Or like you’ve lost a part of yourself along the way…

Start here.
Not with more doing.�But with space.
Because recovery isn’t just physical.�It’s emotional.�It’s nervous system.�It’s identity.
And you are allowed to come back to yourself 🤍

The rib cage and pelvis are deeply connected through your breath, your diaphragm, and your fascia.

If your ribs are stuck, lifted or flared your diaphragm can’t work to its best capacity.

And without that pressure system working your pelvis can’t move well, stabilise properly, or respond to load.

This is where we start to see:

– gripping through the core
– pelvic floor dysfunction
– tight hips no matter how much you stretch
– poor abdominal activation

Using postures that encourage the air flow down and activate supporting muscles you can retrain your body how to breath

It’s not about doing more core work
It’s about restoring how your body works together

When we improve rib mobility
when the ribs can expand, rotate, and drop

We restore breath
We restore pressure
And the pelvis can finally move the way it’s designed to.

This is where real strength comes from.

Not forcing your body…
but understanding it.

This is exactly what we build inside The Foundations - step by step.