I am a 63-year-old female; my incontinence problems began after the birth of my second baby 42 years ago. I have to make sure I have been to the loo before going out and always need to know where the loos are when I’m out and about. Riding a bike is painful, running isn’t good, I get up to go to the loo up to 4 times a night and I always wet my pants when I laugh or cough. I also suffer from back pain.

When I met Bridget and heard about Hypopressives, I didn’t think it would change my life but it was good to talk about my incontinence and not feel a freak.

At our first meeting, Bridget explained how Hypopressives could help with incontinence and lower back pain by strengthening the core muscles. I thought it was a big ask but I started the exercises with great hope. I practiced the exercises whenever I could and after a month I did feel things were improving and I started sleeping through the night for the first time in years.

I now practice Hypopressive exercises 3 – 4 times a week and my symptoms continue to improve. It’s been really good to get my life back and I hope many other sufferers manage to get the help I have had.

Annie, Marlborough, December 2014

I have become increasingly disabled since my transition into secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis 7 years ago. All the medical professionals I have seen have emphasised how important it is to keep my core muscles as strong as possible to aid my mobility. Despite the best efforts of many physiotherapists I have not been successful and any kind of movement has become extremely difficult. The virtual absence of any muscle control on my weaker side has led not only to a stroke like collapse of the right side of my body but constant lower back and hip pain which constantly disrupts my sleep.

I have always been willing to try new techniques but past experience has taught me not to expect too much. However, having now completed my initial 30-day course of Hypopressives under your expert tuition I have experienced what I consider to be some dramatic improvements:

• The pain in my lower back has eased allowing me to get a nearly normal night’s sleep.
• My balance has improved to the extent that this morning I stood comfortably in the shower without holding on for dear life.
• I can now stand for a reasonable length of time with both hands free allowing me to do all sorts of kitchen tasks more easily and joy of joys wash my hair leaning over the bath
• I am also now able to routinely go to bed and not get up in the night to go to the bathroom.
• Quite unexpectedly I have also experienced a resurgence in my energy levels which had dropped to almost nothing. As MS fatigue is one of the most common symptoms I hadn’t thought any change would be possible now.

I know the things I describe may seem small to able-bodied people but for me they really have made a significant difference to my daily life.

Heather, Burbage, April 2015

 • A lady suffering from incontinence details ...

I have suffered for years with bladder problems, I couldn’t leave home without going to the loo, and if I went anywhere new, the first thing on my mind was ‘ Where are the loos here?’ I have lost count of the times I couldn’t make it to the loo in time, and wet myself.

After 2 years of suffering, I went to my GP. She prescribed tablets, which did help in the beginning, but they gave me a dry mouth, so I would drink more, which made me go to the loo more. It was a vicious circle of drinking and not making it to the loo in time.

After another 6 years of back and forth between my GP and hospital visits for tests to see which type of bladder problem I had, I thought this is what it is going to be for the rest of my life. Then I had Botox injections into my bladder. I did work, I wasn’t going to the loo as often, but I started having urine infections, which made me ill.

Then I met Bridget, she taught me Hypopressives and I practiced for a month. I picked up the routine very quickly, as I was determined that it was going to work for me.

My husband and I went away for a weekend break. Normally I would ask him to stop at each service station so I could use the loo. He kept asking if I wanted to stop but I went 5 hours without needing to, and I was drinking along the way. I can’t tell you how that made me feel – a small thing like that made a big difference to my life and my husband was amazed!

I have a lot more energy, and my posture has improved a lot, my friends keep telling me that I look so good. I used to get up about 3-4 times a night, now I sleep up to 6 hours before I need the loo.

I do the Hypopressive exercises 6 days a week, half of the routine one day and half the next, I have one day off. Learning the routine was quite easy for me, as Bridget is very professional and a good teacher, she went through everything until we were both happy that I knew what I was doing. She contacted me once a week while I was doing my 30 day’s practice to see how I was getting along. I would recommend her to everyone. If I can do it, anybody can!

I can’t praise you enough, Bridget, and thank you for teaching me. As I keep telling you, you are an Angel!

Margaret, Ebbw Vale
May 2015

 • A man seeking better core strength details ...

I would like to start by listing the positive outcomes I am now experiencing since I have started practising Hypopressives. I am now much more conscious of my posture and feel more balanced when I stand and walk. This may sound silly to some people but I have walked with a limp for over 30 years and the consequence of this is my left hip cartilage has virtually worn away. The discomfort is much less than it was, it’s now more of a dull ache than a sharp uncomfortable pain.

I do however jog, against the physiotherapist’s and doctor’s advice, once I got back into my stride I started taking note of my timings on my regular runs, and on the shorter runs I was showing a 3 minute improvement and the medium to long runs up to 5 minutes. I would like to add I was not going out of my way to improve my times or get hung up on PB’s, I just monitor it with my HR monitor.

With this in mind I also find I am improving on hills; I feel my core, especially my lower core, engaging and working with my legs to ascend, the result is I am finding the climbs much easier and am a lot less out of breath. I can only attribute this to Hypopressives, thank you so much!

I also find that my cycling has improved on the more demanding hills in the areas around Salisbury Plain – rather than all the work being done by my legs I feel my core naturally engaging and this prevents the legs from fatiguing.

I have also had difficulties with a bladder problem and for the past 4-6 weeks I have been able to control this and I have not had any accidents.

Lastly, I have a prolapsed disc and before the training never a day would go by when it wouldn’t constantly aggravate me, it was something I had learnt to tolerate and when it was really bad I would take painkillers. I wish I could say all the symptoms have receded, there are still little niggles, but not as uncomfortable as it was; I can honestly say it is more bearable.

Overall there has been a reasonable amount of improvement in my well-being and I am truly grateful to you for that and for preaching and training to the converted! Your approach, enthusiasm and continued support during the training was professional and encouraging throughout and I have no hesitation recommending you to friends and family.

Al, Devizes, April 2015

I first heard about Hypopressives when a friend and colleague successfully recovered from an incontinence issue after practicing the method and I began to think about my own situation.

I am 49 years old, some 12 years ago after my second child was born I became aware that I had a minor pelvic prolapse and was not happy about this; I was reassured that it was ‘my age, I had become a mother and it was perfectly normal’.

My work involves lifting and reaching up to high shelves – although not very strenuous, after lifting anything I feel the prolapse appear.

I always wear a panty-liner and need to change it three or four times a day due to urinary leakage and I get up in the night to use the lavatory more than once.

After speaking to Bridget about Hypopressives I decided I would like to try it out and see if there was any change to my bladder leakage and prolapse. I spent a very enjoyable time at Bridge to Fitness doing an intensive course and returned home to practise on my own.

Within two weeks of learning Hypopressives things were improving – no more broken nights sleep; no more urine leaks; no more panty liners and I am now lifting at work with confidence. After more than a month’s practice my sluggish metabolism has increased and the physical side of the relationship with my husband has improved.

I am a Hypopressives devotee and only hope that more people can learn about this method as it has helped me so much with my difficulties.

Helen, Llandridnod Wells, July 2015

Having been a runner for the past 10 years, I had put my recent slow-down in terms of pace down to age as I had just turned 40. Therefore I was keen to turn the clock back and run a marathon time somewhere near to what I was running in my early 30’s and thought I needed all the help I could get to achieve this.

I therefore started to look at my ‘core strength’ as it was never something I had worked on before. Having researched the subject I decided that improving this would help achieve my marathon goals.

Having known Bridget for many years I knew that she specialised in Hypopressives, which she explained would benefit my core strength and in turn my running ‘form’.

After practicing the Hypopressive exercises she gave me during my training, I certainly saw an improvement in my core stability, which in turn helped the running times come tumbling down to speeds that I had not run for 9 years or more – achieving a 9^th place finish overall in a local half marathon and my best marathon time since 2007.

Therefore I would fully recommend Hypopressives to be part of everyone’s exercise regime.

Paul, Devizes, January 2016

Hypopressives has been my very own miracle. My sessions with Bridget have quite literally turned my life around. Due to giving birth to two very large babies, and a career in care, I developed a moderate prolapse which caused quite severe symptoms. I suffered constant backache, I had to walk slowly and limit distances and I was unable to sleep because of back pain. I was told the problem was not severe enough for surgery and felt stuck with these symptoms.

After visiting Bridget and practicing Hypopressives the symptoms are now negligible as long as I keep up with the exercise routine. Everything feels much tighter and more lifted. I have just returned from a holiday where I was able to walk for miles, climb the cliff paths and enjoy being with my new partner feeling like a transformed woman!

Bridget is very thorough and supportive throughout, and has a wealth of expertise to bring to individual cases. I can’t recommend her or thank her enough.

Jane, Bath, March 2016

I contacted Bridget to see if she could help me to heal my separated tummy muscles following the birth of my second child. She said that she couldn’t promise anything but thought she may know a way to help. I decided to give Hypopressives a go as I really wanted to be able to exercise safely again. I picked up the Hypopressive exercises really quickly and was able to fit them into my daily routine. A tick chart provided by Bridget helped me to stay motivated and she was always on hand to answer any questions. I was very pleased that it helped to reduce my Diastasis Recti and I can now exercise safely again.

Jenny, Swindon, February 2015

The Hypopressive Method is amazing! I wanted to begin with this statement as I can truly say that they have a made a huge impact on my day-to-day life. Before starting Hypopressives I had some minor bladder problems and wanted to improve the strength of my pelvic floor. When Bridget first explained the benefits of the method I was very interested and after just a couple of weeks of the doing the exercises I was already seeing a huge difference in my bladder control.

I enjoy doing my Hypopressive exercises every morning as they are not only helping to increase my bladder control and pelvic floor but they are a relaxing and almost meditative way to begin the day. I would absolutely recommend trying Hypopressives as it has made such a huge impact on my confidence as well as everything else. It is such a simple way to fix an uncomfortable and embarrassing problem.

Another great thing about Hypopressives is there is so much variety with the different positions you can do – meaning you are able to shuffle them around to keep it interesting. Practising  hypopressives regularly has almost completely erased my bladder and pelvic floor issues and taken the anxiety away with them!

Hypopressives is such a fabulous and easy way to treat these types of problems, after trying Hypopressive exercises, I would never go back – they’re brilliant!

Anoud, Pewsey, December 2015

I learnt Hypopressives with Bridget in May 2016. I am writing this review nearly a year later and I can honestly say that the discovery of Hypopressives has been life changing for me. Following my 30 day ‘re-set’ of doing the exercises every day for 30 days I have since carried out the Hypopressive flow routine 4 times a week; I enjoy my time doing the exercises and rarely miss a session. I feel stronger, fitter, healthier and more body confident.

Having had 3 babies in very quick succession, my pelvic floor and core strength suffered the effects and I was diagnosed with a minor cervical prolapse. Following 6 months of Hypopressive exercises, a medical examination confirmed that my cervix had returned to its pre-childbirth position. I had also suffered on-going lower back pain that, despite medical and Physio intervention, had gone undiagnosed and unimproved. After 6 months of doing Hypopressive exercises 4 times a week, my back pain dissipated completely.

I am proud of my commitment to Hypopressives and of the obvious positive effects it has had on my body and I am relieved to have avoided potential surgical intervention. I am determined to spread the word of Hypopressives to others and have, in fact, now trained as an instructor. Everybody can benefit from making the Hypopressive Method part of their daily lives.

Jen, Westbury, April 2017