Ribble Valley wellbeing expert and former UCLan lecturer launches new course Mindful Movement at Fuelmizas in Ribchester to help women navigate the menopause

Suzanne Astley, a former UCLan lecturer, runs Mindful Movement classes at the family business Fuelmizas in Preston Road, Ribchester.

The classes, which cover soma yoga, ballet and movement therapy, begin tomorrow and run from 6pm - 7-15pm. They will include advice and guidance from nutritionist Elysia Kenyon, who is based near Clitheroe.

Suzanne said: "We're offering a soma yoga and barre class, along with somatic movement therapy, advice on a holistic healthy lifestyle, nutrition, HRT and alternatives. It's about women's long-term health, being informed and being the healthiest you can be.

"My course is based on extensive research and practice. I've studied women's health for many years, looking at ways to approach every stage to assist in living a long, healthy, happy and active life."

And Elysia said: "As women experience the menopause, their hormone levels change - nutrition can be utilised to support them on their journey and to improve their long-term health. Nutrition underpins good health. It's one element of the holistic approach. You're experiencing all these changes in your hormone levels and trying to find this new balance."

Suzanne’s qualifications include an MA in Dance, Somatics, Health and Wellbeing, which she studied for at UCLan and in New York. She believes the course will meet a real need, providing a tool-kit to enable women to cope better with the demands of perimenopause, the menopause and post menopause.

"Somatics is about re-educating the body. The word originates from the Greek word soma, which means living body, so it looks at all the systems of the body, for example, the endocrine system, and it's re-educating the body to move efficiently. It can help with chronic pain. It's about self-care and getting in tune with your body so you can move more efficiently, preventing injury, settling the central nervous system and creating an integrated body and mind.

"For example, we will explore physical exercises to build bone density to support the effects of hormone changes in women and explore restorative practices to destress."

For more information, see www.mindfulmovementbysue.co.uk