Jan 16 2022 49 mins 15
In this episode of Finding Your Range podcast, we hear from Dinah Simon – a Pilates teacher with a specialist interest in the menopause. I chat to her about the impact the menopause can have on women and how this can relate to EDS symptoms. A fascinating listen – I learnt a lot. Here’s an intro from Dinah: Teaching movement has been my passion for many years, starting with Jazz Dance and Aerobics in the ‘80s and evolving through Callanetics, to Pilates, Franklin Method, Gyrotonic and Yoga and Meditation. I’m very fortunate to have trained under Master Teachers such as Alan Herdman, Elizabeth Larkam, Eric Franklin, Leda Franklin, as I’ve followed my movement path. Pilates has remained my foundation work. After my initial 2 year Apprenticeship in the late ‘90s I continued my education with Polestar Pilates in 2003. I have taught Pilates in the Cotswolds since 1999, opening my Studio Contemporary Pilates in 2001. My fascination with the body lead me to study Myofascial Anatomy with Joanne Avison and Tom Myers and on to train as a Fascial Fitness trainer with Robert Schleip. The more I learned about movement the more I was drawn to Meditation which brought me to study with Alexander Filmer Lorch, becoming a Meditation teacher and Faculty member of his training school Inside Meditation. During all these years my biggest curve of clients has always been Menopausal women. Like most teachers I’ve been on a mission to find ways to facilitate movement potential for my clients so they remain strong and active into later years - that and have fun with it! The lack of main[1]stream information for women reaching this transition hit me profoundly once I also became Menopausal. Puzzles of my teaching past started to resolve as I joined the dots and made more sense of this massive physical, psychological and emotional total life shift and helping clients and teachers understand this transition has become my passion project. Earlier this year a podcast I recorded with Dr Louise Newson the leading Menopause Doctor was released discussing the benefits of Pilates in Menopause. I am continuing to work with Dr Newson’s team to raise funds for the newly established charity ‘The Menopause Charity’ which is a much needed resource for women, along with other Pilates projects. From May 2020 to June 2021 I worked with the Menopause Dietitian Nigel Denby .supporting Menopausal women with Pilates for weight management. With Nigel I was part of the team of experts for Harley Street at Home Menopause, an integrated approach to Menopause care with a specialist Doctor, Yoga teacher, CBT practitioner and Self Worth Coach, Pelvic Floor expert and fitness professional also. In April 2021 I launched my accredited Menopause Awareness Continuing Professional Development course for Pilates Teachers to further educate and empower instructors. The feedback has been very positive - this is my Pilates passion project! Menopause can be a time of enormous opportunity if we feel empowered through education and awareness. Menopause Pilates is an integrated approach inspiring women and teachers through movement and education.
