![[with morgan.jpeg]] It's been almost 20 years since I started coaching clients in health, fitness & wellness. But the young girl who came into the profession is not the same woman sitting here writing this now. So much has changed. I have changed. In the past two decades, I have qualified in fitness and nutrition, sports massage, remedial therapy, biomechanics and exercise referral. But it was not enough. As Caroline Criado Perez says, %% [[we continue to rely on data from studies done on men as if they apply to women]] %% > "…we continue to rely on data from studies done on men as if they apply to women. Specifically, Caucasian men aged twenty-five to thirty, who weigh 70 kg. This is 'Reference Man' and his superpower is being able to represent humanity as a whole. Of course, he does not. Men and women have different immune systems and different hormones…" I had already witnessed how the women I worked with responded differently to the men I coached. And, of course, they would. After all, they are women, not men. But all the education I had received so far was created with this 'reference man' in mind. Not for women. I realised I could only help by understanding female health more deeply. Anatomically. Biologically. Psychosocially. Because, again, as women, we are different. As a result, I furthered my education in hormonal health, perimenopause & menopause, pre and post-natal fitness, and female-specific pelvic and back pain rehab. In a nutshell, I began specialising in female health awareness and what I consider Women's Integrative Wellness. As a woman in her 40s, the knowledge and information I have gained (and continue to gain) has been a blessing for my health just as much as it has for my clients. I love what I do, which is helping women (and those around them) to make sense of the female body, mind, mood and hormones. And then to use that understanding to improve their health, wellness and wellbeing. If I can help just one woman stop cursing her body and instead learn to listen and support it with what it needs, it will all have been worth it. Sarah