Ali is a local and brilliant Garden Designer and Gardener running her business from her home office in Brockley. http://www.gardensbyali.com She lives with her husband Danny, a painter and decorator, her son Freddie and her gorgeous (but naughty) lurcher Wilf. Her daughter Lily has recently bought her first flat nearby.

As a result of her gardening work, Ali has a natural physical strength from her daily work however, when it came to exercise and life, Ali felt like there was something missing.

Ali readily admits that she has never been a sporty or competitive person but felt that her fitness level needed to be better in order that she could carry out her work long term. An item on Woman’s Hour on Radio 4 promoting the importance of physical strength for menopausal women prompted her to look for somewhere to train – and happily landed her at The Hub!

During her consultation with Suzanne it was obvious that The Hub was the right place for Ali and Ali was right for The Hub! She started with personal training to build her confidence and then joined the classes. Ali has progressed in leaps and bounds in terms of physical development and emotional wellbeing. Focusing specifically on upper back, legs, core and unilateral work, Ali now feels like her strength is balanced and that she can approach her daily work, either at her drawing board or in a garden, with confidence. She no longer has the same level of back, neck or shoulder pain and is much more aware of her body, confident in her skin and has progressed to lifting very heavy weights in The Hub.

Having the opportunity to talk to coaches and make links between emotional wellbeing, stress and her body has been key for Ali. She is now more confident and resilient when life throws challenges her way and has a bank of strategies to help understand her emotions. Ali is really inspired by the other women at The Hub, meeting people of all ages, shapes and sizes where the emphasis is on being strong.

Over the past 5 years Ali has really struggled with the menopause experiencing disturbed sleep, loss of confidence and general low mood. She felt grumpy and permanently exhausted making it impossible for her to be on top form for family, friends and most importantly for herself. This then snowballed and resulted in Ali struggling to get “control” of her nutrition and mental health. This led to her working with Alice (another FH member) who runs Help Me Healthy Nutrition. https://www.helpmehealthynutrition.com They worked together to explore her daily routine and look for ways to ensure she can recover after her busy days. Ali has made some adjustments to her daily nutrition making sure that she includes sufficient protein in her diet and having the right snacks at the right time. She uses time walking her dog to meditate in her own way, bringing consciousness to her breathing and making sure that she is grounded. Through this work she has managed to improve her sleep and increase her knowledge about how her habits impact her menopause symptoms. By making tweaks to her nutrition she is more able to control her stress response to ensure her hormones are balanced and is thrilled to have come off of her HRT medication.

By taking control Ali has transformed how she feels. She is more energised, more positive and calmer. By giving herself permission and time to look after herself, Ali now sleeps better, makes more positive food choices and has more confidence.