Restore Your Core

Restore Your Core® is a comprehensive, whole-body exercise programme designed to help anyone with core issues. These can include, but are not limited to:

  • diastasis recti (mummy tummy);
  • pelvic floor dysfunction, including incontinence or prolapse;
  • post-natal issues;
  • pelvic pain
  • back pain
  • painful sex
  • struggling to run, cough or sneeze without leaks

Combining yoga and Pilates-based exercises with tailored breath work, Restore Your Core® aims to help you regain strength, restore function and move with a new level of awareness, so your core and pelvic floor can be responsive and functional.

You’ll learn what unhelpful movement and postural patterns are contributing to your symptoms, and how to reset them. With a new level of whole-body awareness, you will be able to safely and slowly return to the activities you love, whether running after your children, or running a marathon.

Restore Your Core® courses run 4-5 times during the year as a 6-week, live course. During the 6 weeks we will work through a series of progressive exercises and flowing sequences to improve whole-body strength, mobility and function.

The 6-week, live course includes:

  • guidance and feedback from me as we move through the live exercises together;
  • a 3-day playback of the live class, in case you want to recap or review any of the exercises;
  • weekly homework videos to work through in your own time, and long after the course has ended;
  • information to educate, empower and help you reconnect to your body;
  • a supportive WhatsApp group where you can ask questions or share observations with fellow course participants, and with me;
  • one free place in the weekly Core & More ‘next stage’ class.

 

Restore Your Core 6-Week Course (via Zoom)

Thursday 18 April – 23 May

7.45 – 9pm (UK time)

£145

Book this 6-week course here

 

If you prefer a more bespoke session, 1-1 RYC® appointments are available in person from Bardsey, close to Wetherby, North Leeds, or online via Zoom. During a one hour, 1-1 appointment, you will receive a full assessment of your posture, breathing and gait, in order to assess how these may be supporting or compromising your core function. We will then work through exercises to restore balance, improve mobility and support your core to work reflexively. After each 1-1 appointment, homework is given so you can continue the good work between appointments, in your own time.
My aim during a 1-1 appointment is to help you feel at home in your body, to reconnect and to be able to make informed choices that continue supporting your healing journey. I do not believe any activity should be ‘banned’, so I will always aim to support you in returning to the activities you enjoy, regardless of where you are starting from.
Book a 1-1 appointment here

If you prefer to join the online programme, I will be happy to support you as you work through the 13-week programme at your own pace.

**Please note RYC® courses and 1-1 appointments book up really quickly. If you would like to receive information about upcoming courses, workshops or appointment availability, join my mailing list here.**

 

My story

Following the birth of my first child, I experienced a diastatis recti, an unnatural separation of the abdominal muscles. I soon realized that regular exercises, and in particular core strengthening exercises, where adding to the problem. I felt frustrated and helpless as numerous health care professionals gave me varying feedback, from being told my only option to heal was to have surgery, to being told it was ‘just part of being a mother’, I felt my condition wasn’t being taken seriously and was taking its toll on my confidence and my trust in my body. Despite being a movement teacher with years of experience, I felt afraid to move, had no idea what movement and exercise to avoid, and I mourned my old, pre-baby body. In my mission to heal my abdominals and restore function to my core, I set about on a voyage of discovery into the world of post-natal healing.

My first, and probably most shocking, discovery was how little support, knowledge and advice was available to women wanting to recover post-natally. I would watch women doing boot-camp style workouts in the park, their prams parked alongside them, and wince in the knowledge that they were working so hard but exacerbating so many issues such as pelvic floor weakness, diastasis recti, tight shoulders, and pelvic misalignment. Frustrated and determined to find answers, I discovered the work of biomechanic Katy Bowman, author of numerous books including Diastasis Recti, founder of Nutritious Movement and creator of Restorative Exercise. Bowman’s work focuses on the whole body, and the idea that correct alignment is absolutely fundamental and crucial to any type of healing.

I soon realized that core work alone wasn’t going to repair my diastasis – I needed to work on freeing my tight shoulders, realigning and stabilizing my pelvis, breathing optimally to reduce excessive intra-abdominal pressure, mobilising my spine to facilitate efficient movement, bringing space into my ribs and thoracic area so my breath could work efficiently and facilitate movement, rather than restricting it. It was the missing part of the puzzle I had been looking for, and I was excited at my discovery. Through patient and persistent corrective work, I began to see an improvement in my diastasis. My belly started to flatten, my shoulders became less rounded, my previously unstable pelvis started to feel secure for the first time in my adult life, my whole body felt strong and well-arranged.

And then I discovered I was pregnant with my third baby.

Determined to keep up the good work, I was terrified that my body would be broken and my abdominals would never recover. I wanted a programme of exercise that was safe, effective and that I could follow throughout my pregnancy to maintain my core function. It was during this search, and through the work of Katy Bowman, that I discovered the amazing Lauren Ohayon, yoga and pilates teacher, Restorative Exercises professional and creator of Restore Your Core. I sent a tentative email asking Lauren if her programme was safe to start during my pregnancy, and she replied right away. Her enthusiasm and positivity was contagious, and I signed up for the programme immediately. I worked through it daily for the duration of my pregnancy, intrigued to know what state I would be in following the birth. My baby boy was born at home, in water, following a quick, comfortable and mind-blowingly beautiful birth. A few weeks after the birth, I started back to some gentle breath work, gradually reconnecting to my core. Within 8 weeks, I had returned to the first phase of the programme, feeling strong, stable and with a new level of awareness about my body.

Fast forward one year, and I have now completed two full rounds of RYC, making new discoveries about my body and its movement habits along the way. My core is stronger than it has ever been. It functions efficiently and automatically when needed, without any bracing or bulging in my belly. My diastasis is closed, my alignment has improved, I no longer hide behind layers of baggy tops to hide my inflated belly. I can play with my children, run, jump on a trampoline, do yoga and enjoy life without any fear of peeing or leaking. To say RYC has changed my life sounds dramatic, but the words are an understatement.

In September 2017 I became one of just 10 people to complete Lauren’s RYC teacher training programme. The training gave me to the tools to be able to support women on their RYC journey, whatever stage of life they are at and whatever symptoms they are experiencing. In April 2019 I was appointed Director of Education for RYC, and now work alongside Lauren to train, mentor, support and educate our fast-growing team of RYC teachers worldwide. With teachers from India to Estonia; New Zealand to Canada, the RYC brand fast-becoming a leader in the world of movement, rehabilitation and women’s wellness.

RYC helped me to get my body back to wellness after 3 babies in 4 years. I am living proof that it works! I can’t recommend the programme enough, and I can’t wait to support you on your RYC journey into good whole-body health.