Low Pressure Fitness is very proud to announce the new incorporation of Shirley Boerssen as the Director of South Africa for the PressureLess workout. With this great announcement, we wanted to share her own testimonial after developing a diastasis due to her second pregnancy and how she felt a massive change training hypopressives.
“I have always been intrigued by human behaviour, movement, natural healing methods and wellness. I definitely wasn’t the sporty person at school, but I did ballet, I have always loved dancing and movement and even did aerobics and callanetics as a teenager in the 90’s. After school I completed my Psychology Honors Degree, but it felt like something was missing. I completed a Personal training and Group Fitness Instructors qualification. I wanted to work more intimately with smaller groups and decided on completing a Pilates Instructors mat work qualification, enjoying the rehabilitative angle of the method. I gained a lot of experience at a physiopilates studio, working with the deskbound corporate with postural problems to clients with sports injuries. I have worked intensively with pre and post natal clients, running my own groups as well as working for PreggieBellies South Africa and training throughout both of my pregnancies. I am also a qualified holistic and sports masseuse and completed a Biomedicine course as part of a Naturopathic/Nutritional Therapy study. I have been studying and working within human behaviour, fitness and health and wellbeing for 21 years.
With my second pregnancy I developed diastasis. Applying ALL my knowledge could not rehabilitate my problem. I remembered talking to devastated clients in the past, trying to put them at ease, telling them to take it easy and at the same time I’d be worried and concerned as I could see bellies bulging with the conventional core and breathing techniques….and for the first time I understood what they felt. Still looking pregnant, even if only to myself, almost a year and half post-natal, was not fun, it was devastating. I developed digestive issues and lower back pain as my Transversus Abdominis became weaker, something was out of balance and it affected me in more than just a physical way.
I was trained in Low Pressure Fitness technique for the first time by Janet Kimmel from Vancouver, over December of 2015 and I was amazed by the quick, automatic response my body had to the technique. The results were amazing and visible within the first 2 weeks of the programme. Suddenly I had a magical moment, a realisation connecting my educational background and experience gained from each individual client up to then. I had to learn more about the technique, I had to experiment more on myself and I had to introduce this to all the woman suffering from diastasis, prolapse, urinary incontinence or those just not knowing how to safely train or retrain the core muscles, work on the postural alignments and most importantly, to prevent pelvic floor problems. In South Africa’s multicultural society, talking comfortably about the pelvic floor is not always the case and the reality is that so many woman (and men) don’t even know what the pelvic floor is and/or suffer in silence. My mission in South Africa is first of all to create awareness of pelvic floor and core health for woman, men and children/teenagers within a supportive, educational and empathetic way, within a fitness environment. Low Pressure Fitness system is an amazing platform to achieve this. Training and educating instructors and professionals in this technique changes the whole training program, rehabilitative outcome and prevention of a variety of problems. South Africa has an amazing culture of sports, fitness, a fresh awakening to health and wellbeing,more people are outdoors either running a trail or cycling, the benefits of LPF system on oxygen usage and in competitive sports is astounding and caters for a huge market in South Africa.
My approach to health and wellbeing, fitness and longevity is holistic in nature. I look at the whole person as a being connected within a mind, body and soul and LPF fits in perfectly with this approach. It affects the sympathetic nervous system, stimulate excitation and increase metabolism. One of my favourite benefits of LPF is that it empowers the clients, giving them back the power and control within their bodies.
I feel extremely privileged, humbled and bursting with excitement to represent LPF in South Africa, first country on the African continent. I know this technique will be a game changer for many women and men; to those working in the health industry and their patients and clients”
Shirley Boerssen
LPF South Africa Director