ABOUT US
We believe this journey isn’t about
what you lose ... but what you gain.
So, how does gaining strength, confidence,
health, fitness and awesome posture sound?
We’re Becky and Jackie
We’re the women that proudly talk about stuff like bladder leakage and pelvic floor issues. (‘Cos, girl,
there is nothing to be ashamed of.) And we’re the coaches ready to help you build – and love
– your body beyond birth.
Yep, you.
The beautiful woman that’s trying to do it all: Reclaim her body (and her identity) while being a positive role model for her family. The gorgeous soul that wants to be fit, healthy and the very best version of herself … without starving herself, attempting radical diets or exercising for hours a day. Because you want to feel healthy and you want to feel good. Inside and out.
… Which can feel hard when your body is changing and you don’t recognise the woman you see in the mirror. We’ve been where you are. The changes in body shape, the pelvic instability, the crap pelvic floor, the abdominal separations, all of it. If there’s a t-shirt, we’ve bought it. And got baby puke on it. Twice. (Three times, for Jackie.)
WHAT EXERCISES WE
DID TO HEAL?
Our signature blend of physiotherapy and Pilates that ensured our bodies steadily became fitter and stronger. And the nutritional guidance we followed to nurture and nourish our bodies. They’re the exact exercises and protocols we teach you in Body Beyond Birth.
OUR PROGRAMS ARE BUILT FOR YOU, GIRL.
‘Cos it’s not about how much weight you should be losing, when you should be losing it or how quickly you should be bouncing back after having a baby (… or how you should be doing a million sit-ups to reclaim your abs #notathing).
LET’S DITCH ALL THOSE ‘SHOULDS’. YOU DON’T NEED ‘EM.
It’s about carefully, methodically and lovingly giving your body what it needs to heal, rebuild and strengthen. And it’s about giving you the resources, guidance and confidence you need to make life-long changes that’ll have you looking and feeling confident during pregnancy, birth and beyond.
Our meet cute*
It all started with a pain in the back. Literally. Pregnant with twins, Jackie was (quite understandably) struggling with back pain and wanted something more than a quick fix … she wanted a real fix. Searching for a lasting, exercise-based and natural approach to pain management, Jackie wobbled into a Pilates class. Where she met … Becky! Yep, surprise: Becky isn’t just a licensed physiotherapist, she’s a Pilates instructor too. Finally, Jackie had found something – and someone – that would truly help her build her core strength.
After delivering her twins naturally, Jackie had an eight cm abdominal separation. But by dedicating herself to following Becky’s core strengthening exercises, Jackie was able to recover, heal and almost completely eliminate her abdominal separation in just 18 months. Today, Jackie is fit, healthy and confident. And best of all? It didn’t take hours every day. It took just 20 minutes a day. Around the same length as an episode of “Younger”. We know. We timed it.
*Never heard of a ‘meet cute’? It’s the moment in a romantic comedy when the hero and the heroine meet. In our case, our meet cute was the beginning of a very beautiful best-friendship (#actuallyathing).
Jackie’s Story
Let’s rewind that story a little. I’m six-months pregnant with my beautiful twins, and I fall. Not an adorable slip-and-catch-yourself-and-giggle-in-relief fall. Not a so-in-love-with-your-hubby fall.
Fun Facts
- Star sign: Aquarius
- Theme song: This Girl Is on Fire by Alicia Keys
- Completed a 50km Coastrek marathon when her twins were 12 months old
- Sang solo at the Sydney Opera House
- Can’t knit to save her life
- Soft spot for stray or injured animals
But a smack-bang-on-the-ground-congrats-your-pelvis-is-out-of-alignment kind of fall. That kind.
Which was why my back was hurting and why I was so grateful to find Becky ‘cos she was able to help me in just a few short visits. But then … I gave birth.
The twins were carried to full-term. They were born naturally; one posterior and the other breech. Each weighing in at a respectable three kilograms.
So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that post-birth, I was the (not so) proud owner of the aforementioned abdominal separation. Sometimes abdominal separations are caused by things we do during pregnancy. But mine? It was purely because I had birthed two Herculean (not so) little guys.
I remember swallowing, hard, when I got the news. Even then I knew that the road to recovery was not going to be a smooth, fast-lane highway. I was on a bumpy country road, and my emotional, physical and mental fitness was taking a beating.
As somebody that was used to being fit and strong, every single day was a struggle. Made all the more worse by well-meaning strangers who asked, “When are you due?”
… After I’d already given birth. Farewell positive self-image.
But then, I began working with Becky again. With her expert guidance and prescribed exercises, I had manageable steps I could take to get me to where I wanted to be.
Slowly but surely, we rebuilt my body beyond birth. Every day I felt stronger and healthier. My abdominal separation was almost non-existent. I started wearing my pre-birth clothes again (something I’d thought would never be possible) and people stopped asking me when I was due.
This journey unearthed a dormant and genuine desire to offer women a safe way to recover from and feel empowered by birth experiences. I furthered my Pilates study, with a focus on pre and post-natal exercise. It was like I had rediscovered my purpose and passion in life. I couldn’t get enough of it.
Finally, following a chat after class one day, Becky and I decided to join forces and combine my Pilates expertise and personal experience as a mum that has used Becky’s exercises to heal and rebuild her body, with Becky’s immense skill and knowledge as a Pilates instructor and physiotherapist for women, to help other women nourish their body beyond birth.
Which brings me here. With you. With a suite of online programs that blend physiotherapy with Pilates, yoga, nutritional guidance and meditation for holistic prenatal and postnatal health.
Totally beginner-friendly. Completely safe. And refreshingly effective.
Becky’s Story
Some might argue it was a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) that started this incredible journey. Others might say it was the steady diet of pizza and beer following my injury and inactivity that kicked it all off.
Fun Facts
- Star sign: Cancer
- Theme song: Stronger, Kelly Clarkson
- Amateur baton twirler
- Ex-snowboard instructor
- Horrible violinist
- Pet peeve: Repeating herself (especially to her husband)
But I believe it was one specific moment that sparked it all: The moment I realised I could change. I could lose weight. Gain strength. Heal. Rebuild.
Growing up as an active kid, I’d had my fair share of injuries. Thankfully, this exposed me to the amazing profession of physiotherapy! Cue angel choir sounds.
It didn’t take long for me to realise that physiotherapy was the perfect blend of sport and medicine; two things I adored. So I studied Exercise Science and became a certified trainer at the University of Illinois.
It was around this time that the ACL injury happened.
It’s a unique career highlight, I’ll admit, but it gave me invaluable insight into what it’s like to come back from a major injury. To transform your diet, exercise and body shape. To change.
After my knee healed and I’d shed a few kilos working as a fitness instructor, I studied physiotherapy at Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles.
I finished my studies, met a charming Australian on a romantic ski lift ride, moved to Colorado and married him. I worked in private practice physiotherapy by day and snowboarded the slopes with my love on the weekends. And after love, after marriage, comes …
The baby. But most relevant – the birth.
The toll pregnancy and birth takes on the body was a total eye-opener for me. I realised how exhausting and challenging it was to get my pre-pregnancy strength back. And regaining fitness without inviting pelvic injuries or damage to the pelvic floor was a challenge. Avoiding worsening my super weak pelvic floor (and, later, Jackie’s abdominal separation) was a constant battle.
Working through what I needed to regain health and fitness in my own post-birth experience, I started teaching prenatal and postnatal exercise classes at the hospital I delivered my baby at.
Searching for an alternative to running (which I have a love/hate relationship with to this day), I discovered Pilates. The potential of Pilates got me excited. As a physiotherapist, it made so much sense functionally. It was applying ideas of resistance and movement that I knew worked. And as somebody carrying lots of old injuries, it gave me the ability to exercise without fear or concern. It was safe. But effective.
After my second daughter was born, I became a certified Pilates instructor. I opened my own physiotherapy private practice and Pilates studio in Sydney and focused solely on women’s health.
I’ve been a physiotherapist and exercise instructor for over 20 years now and have had the pleasure of working with a diverse range of patients. From elite college athletes to little old ladies with hip replacements, I’ve seen it all.
But my favourite patients remain pregnant and postnatal women. I feel so connected to these patients because I can identify with them.
Not everyone has access to safe postnatal programs. Or the ability to even leave the house once they have a newborn. Which is why Jackie and I decided we wanted to give women their freedom and their health back post birth.
Online Pilates-based wellness programs designed by a physio and women’s health expert for busy (but awesome) mums
We came up with a plan to bring super safe and effective core abdominal and pelvic floor exercises to women just like us. And we wanted to deliver those exercises to people that didn’t have the luxury of time, money, and babysitters to head to a Pilates studio.
That humble plan blossomed into the Body Beyond Birth you see today. Our online Pilates-based exercise program is designed specifically for women who are pregnant or who’ve had a baby. Whether you’re facing issues with your pelvic floor or you want to reclaim your pre-pregnancy wardrobe, BBB can help.
We can help.
We’re mamas, just like you, and we know what it feels like to be overwhelmed by all the changes your body has been – and will go – through. Consider us your pre and post-baby body whisperers: guiding you from strength to strength (literally!) as you build the healthy and fit body you deserve.
