Justine Sipprell

In 1997 I had just finished training at The European School of Shiatsu and was pregnant. I had asked a fellow graduate to attend my birth and offer me Shiatsu at the birth. To say I was blown away by how effective the pressure techniques were, would be an understatement! They literally halved the intensity of the contractions. Which, anyone who has given birth will know, is something rather special. This was a key moment and turning point for me and so evolved my own mission to help pregnant women access Shiatsu support during labour.

Three years later, in 2000, we moved to Southern Spain, where I continued in a role as doula and pre and post-natal support and helped start up a birthing centre called Da A Luz, attending my first births using Shiatsu. In 2002 I discovered Suzanne Yates, the founder of WellMother in the UK and the author of Shiatsu for Midwives. I was lucky enough to train with Suzanne discovering new skills that allowed me to work more effectively with women in pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. What then followed in 2005 was further training development to allow me to become a WellMother teacher, sharing my knowledge with midwives and doulas, specifically effective Shiatsu techniques for labour, including stimulating acupressure points as well as stroking and holding. In parallel I started to work with couples, teaching partners easy these methods to use themselves.

In 2007, the workshops for midwives began and what followed over the next six years was a number of retreats and courses, in various settings, from a yurt in Spain to the Royal Sussex hospital in Brighton.

While continuing my work as a doula, I then started to train as a Pilates teacher and started teaching Pilates in 2009 and by 2010 was running various weekly classes including a post-natal class for mums and babies.

Through my work in both Shiatsu and Pilates I became increasingly aware that many women had pelvic floor issues that were not being spoken about and that lack of education meant that women were actually damaging themselves by doing the wrong exercises. My teaching and classes became focused on strengthening the core 4, breathing and posture.

In the summer of 2013, we were on the move again, this time to Toronto, Canada, where I have family. Here, I worked for Core Expectations, supporting women through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period as a personal trainer, Doula and Shiatsu therapist, as well as offering extensive post-natal support where there was clearly a gap.

In 2015, I discovered the Hypopressive Method, a series of postures with breath work that strengthened the core 4 muscle group, particularly the pelvic floor. I started to use the method with post-natal clients and found they had great results in closing their diastasic recti and resolving issues such as stress incontinence and prolapse. And so, more workshops! This time on pelvic floor introducing women to the Hypopressive Method and its benefits.

In 2017, we were still in Toronto and I discovered ELDOA, a remarkable series of postures that create spinal decompression and stimulate fascial release in the body. My classes evolved to become a mix of these fabulous practices; Hypopressives, Pilates, ELDOA and elements of yoga, with an emphasis on supporting women with pelvic floor issues to re-build strength and confidence in their return to exercise.

In 2018 we moved back to the UK. Currently, we live in East Sussex near Lewes, where I work from my lovely home studio featuring Reformer pilates machines as well as a perfect space for 1:1 session.

You may have spotted a pattern in my professional (and personal) development, in that I have a genuine passion for continuous learning to upskill myself in the best techniques to support women in their pelvic floor journey. My goal is to ensure they regain and retain flexibility, strength and overall wellbeing during what can be very challenging times and transitions throughout their lives. Preparing to become a mother, recovering from that, experiencing peri menopause and menopause and everything in between. A strong body and mental wellbeing put you in a much better position to deal with both physical and emotional challenges as they emerge or even to prevent them.

My current plan is to split my year between the UK and Mexico working in person and online and serving clients around the world.