Women's health specialist services, built by a woman who needed it first.

Viva Core was born out of frustration. Frustration at the lack of joined-up support during the postpartum period. A six-week check up that was mostly a tickbox exercise. A diastasis recti and hernia which was causing pain and discomfort. Multiple appointments with no results, for a process that's repeated countless times.

Something was broken - and Viva Core started as one woman's ambition to create a hub for women, to raise awareness and promote healing through movement. Joyce didn't come into this business for Pilates. She came into it because of the lack of a supportive postnatal pathway and the gaps in healthcare for women after birth. Pilates was the vehicle which helped her body heal, alongside physio and wider clinical support.

So she trained, and has continued training. Today she's a BASI-qualified Pilates instructor with specialist training in injuries, pre-hab and post-op rehabilitation, working as an injury and rehab specialist alongside physios, consultants and GPs.

Menopause and perimenopause thread through her private teaching too. When you work 1:1 with Joyce, whatever stage you're in, the session meets you there.

"I am building the women's health service I wish I'd had. A place where women's health education and empowerment take centre stage, whether it's at a workshop or in the Pilates studio."

Joyce Mwape