About Us

Our Founder’s Story

Hello, Joyce here - Chartered Accountant by day, trainee BASI Pilates Instructor (not by night...) and proud mother to little Nalu (who is not so little anymore). Through my experience into motherhood, I have developed a passion for supporting women and raising awareness to help reduce harm and promote good outcomes.

I hold a BASI Pilates Mat qualification and an advanced BASI certification course in Pilates for Pregnancy and Beyond. I am currently working towards my 500 certification hours ahead of the Comprehensive Exam.

Pregnancy & birth

I enjoyed my pregnancy and it was deemed low risk. I would have liked to have a water birth with some of my favourite tunes in the background, that was the plan. Unfortunately, the birth was traumatic and I am not sure I have come to terms with that yet.

Nalu was born via  emergency c-section and we stayed in hospital for a further 5 days due to suspected infection. That was the beginning of my postpartum story…and I wish it were different. I had lots of support from my partner, friends and family and NCT crew, and still found it challenging, I can imagine how much harder it is for mothers with little or no support.

Early postpartum

Outside of the usual newborn struggles, the main struggle I had was with my body - it just didn’t work as well as it did before. Aches and pains, a bulging belly that made me look like I am still pregnant months after birth (gather here my diastasis recti friends)…navigating postural challenges of breastfeeding with c-section recovery and all round weak tone was difficult, I am still working on it today. 

My experience, and that of close friends and family highlighted just how little structured support there is in the postnatal pathway for mothers. If you are a recent mum you will no doubt be aware of the ‘6 week check up’ - I think that’s about it, and that’s if you’re lucky enough to get a thorough review. 

That’s how Viva Core was born - If I were to do it all over again, what structures would I like to have in place? How could I help others to reduce the pain and have better information during a very vulnerable period of life?

The vision has grown since, key changes in a woman’s like go beyond pregnancy, we are here to educate and raise awareness across key stages of a woman’s life.

How can we help you?

Knowing what is happening to your body is not a luxury. It is the first step toward getting the right help. We equip you with the knowledge to increase your awareness, linking you with the right professionals where necessary, so that you can get the right help as early as possible.

One thing I have learnt is the importance of movement (in the right way) and we support you through this with Reformer & Equipment Pilates training. It is helping me to regain core strength and I continue to practice because this is about the long-term. I can’t promise Meghan knees but maybe we will get close? Here’s hoping…

Join us in building a community where we support one another and help to eradicate the harmful rhetoric of ‘this is just how it is now’, pain should not be ignored and we deserve to be happy and whole in our bodies and not have our problems ignored or minimised.