XENA

XENA Online women’s health hub with exercise and information to support you and your babies need’s. Check out the app

https://tinto.app.link/octavia

I have a passion for working with women through their journey into motherhood. As a physiotherapist with over 10 years experience, I restore movement, build confidence and support pelvic health. I am a scar work practitioner and can help your recovery from and surgery encouraging optimal healing, improved sensation and appearance. I also offer ante and postnatal Pilates, both classes and 1:1's and have a podcast TINTOTALKS interviewing mothers about birth and parenthood.

19/06/2026

I am one of those teachers who walks around the classes correcting technique.
I can’t help it.
It’s the physio in me.

But also, what is the point if you are not doing it right.

Pelvic control feeds into everthing you do.

Squatting, running, dancing lifting… If you have no control around your pelvis then you’re going to have pain, dysfunction or perhaps not perform to your highest standard.

It ties in so much with biomechanics too. If the hip range is limited this will impact your pelvic position as you go through range leading to a hitch or roll back.

So, enough boring stuff.

Two ways to target this is mobilise and open hip.

Orrrrr

Build up strength and control.

Next time you are in your pilates class, pop a block on your back and see how much movement you have. Better still do it with a ball.. This will really show your control 

:)

Keen to work with me?

Drop me a DM

We can train online or in person in Cascais. Or just drop in to to be guided as if you are having a 1:1.

16/06/2026

Why was that so hard to say!

Isn’t it interesting.

What doesn’t break you makes you stronger hey.

I truly believe that my attitude to the problem helped me work through it.

It doesn’t make it easier but it certainly kept me working through it.

And now it defines how I work and show up daily.

If you want to hear a little more about my alopecia journey and the beliefs and actions I took to enabled me to feel confident in my skin, then join me over at the Mums Who Build tomorrow at 1pm online.

Sign up via their website for access.

This is relevant if you are working in business (cause we all know the grit you need), recovering from and illness or injury or just keen to hear about working on your resilience in life.

See you there
🫶

12/06/2026

Need accountability?

Join me online

Building strength needs consistency.

That is why I run 2 online classes a week. So clients who work with me, and even those who don’t, can work safely but progressively.

For only €9.99 a month…. Yup a total bargain. You can join 2 sessions a week with little old me.

Expect:

Tuesday 8.15am - 45mins
Pilates: Precision work, postural control and breathwork

Friday 12pm - 30mins
Strength: Weights, Progressive strengthening, recision work, postural control and breathwork

It’s a no brainer. Come join and Strat to feel stronger, more confident in your body and resilient to the world 💪

Nobody can get out of bed for you.This feels like an important post to share because it explains a little more about who...
09/06/2026

Nobody can get out of bed for you.

This feels like an important post to share because it explains a little more about who I am and why I work the way I do.

As it is clear to see, I have alopecia. I’ve had it since I was 12 years old. For 24 years I wore wigs before I found the courage to step out into the world as I am today.

The journey was long and challenging. But I knew I did not want to be defined by how I looked. I didn’t want fear to stop me becoming the person I knew I could be, or doing the things I wanted to do.

There were years of therapy. Years of starting again. Picking myself back up over and over. I faked confidence. I cried. I hid. I had fun with it. I came into my own. I hated myself at times. I spent days in bed. I self-harmed. I questioned “why me?”

I tried everything - therapy, healers, diets, medication, self-medication, retreats, wives’ tales, all with the unwavering support of family and friends.

Some things helped. Some didn’t.
But every time I chose to keep going, I built something:
strength, confidence and resilience.

These are now the pillars of my work.

Not because I think it’s easy.
Quite the opposite.
I know how hard it can be to trust yourself, your body and the process when you are struggling physically or emotionally.

But I also know this:
Nobody can get out of bed for you.

In 2025, I was asked to speak on the main stage at the about becoming “Hair Free and Carefree.”

Initially, I was slightly mortified.
“You don’t want me to talk about physio or biomechanics?!” 🤪

But while preparing the talk, I realised something important.

The same five lessons that carried me through my own challenges are now the foundation of how I work with my clients.

My role is not to “fix” you.
It is to empower you alongside your rehabilitation, helping you build trust in yourself, your body and your ability to move forward.

Because often, the greatest transformation is not physical.
It is learning that you are stronger than you think you are 🫶

03/06/2026

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

The other day I messaged an old friend because I found out for the reason for a gait pattern we had noticed together whilst people during our sport science degree.

Have you ever noticed that some people heels come off the floor very early after heel strike, before they take the next stride.

If you know, you know…🤪

Even with 20 years of physio behind me, I had no idea why this was!

Yesterday, on my biomechanics course I learned that it is due to a lack of internal rotation and pronation of the foot.

So after heel strike people arch their back, to get their weight onto the balls of the feet, pulling the heels up, and helping to propel them forward through the gait cycle,

🤯

This might mean nothing to you, but to me this is exactly why I continue learning. Because suddenly something you’ve looked at all your life you can see a different light, with better understanding and clarity.

If you are struggling with pain and discomfort or dysfunction that other clinicians can’t fix.

Drop me a note and see if I can help you.

I work online and in person, so don’t let distance be a barrier ✨

Now …Enjoy watching people’s gait now 🚶🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️

01/06/2026

Do you know how many people come to me saying they have done pilates for years yet can’t do the basics.

Tiny tweaks make the simplest of movements super tough.

Keep hips over knees
Unlock elbows
Lift through breast bone
Don’t shift across as you move a leg
Activate quads and glutes at end of movement
Breathe!!!!

Layering biomechanics into my rehab programmes is no helping me see the benefit of really slowing down.
Feeling the feels
Allowing expansion from within.

And again with the somatic massage. Slow listen hands not just a rushed full body experience.

Give this a try. It’s Level 4 swimming but with toes on the floor. Looks easy but it’s a killer when done right.

Building pelvic control, glutes, core , arm strength, coordination….

Sometimes less is more.

26/05/2026

I used to think that training harder was the only way to rebuild.

But then I realised healing doesn’t happen through punishment.

It happens through understanding.
Through slowing down long enough to listen.
Through rebuilding with intention instead of exhaustion.

Now I train smarter.
I rest without guilt.
I nourish properly.
I protect my energy.
And I trust focused consistency.

Ironically, that’s when everything started to change.

And when I began building this philosophy into my work with clients, and into the way I teach my classes, they started to change too.

Less burnout.
Less frustration.
More connection.
More strength.
More sustainable results.

Because rebuilding your body should never come at the cost of your wellbeing.

Biomechanics has taught me the importance of form in loading and this ties so beautifully into Pilates.

Join me online for Rebuild Strength and Rebuild Pilates on Tuesdays and Fridays. 45 and 30 mins sessions. With real results.
✨💪💫💪✨

07/05/2026

It’s for moments like this…

This is my gorgeous friend and client.

When we first met a year ago she had not been exercising for 6m following a injury.

Together, we started from the beginning. Building from the foundations up.

Twice a week with one Pilates and one strength session.

Reconnecting to her body she rebuilt strength and resilience, enabling her to re-join the gym and train alone with confidence.

In Jan she completed her first 5k and last weekend she smashed out a cheeky Hyrox. On her own!!!

I could not be prouder. I actually cried when I arrived to cheer her on. 🤪

This is why I love my job.

Yes, I started the ball rolling with helping her feel safe and capable of exercising again after injury.

I guided a slow but steady progressive exposure to more load and greater challenges.

But it was who then took that new found confidence in her body and literally ran with it.

It’s amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to something.

💪With consistency
🫶A support team
(Friends, family and professionals)
✨And grit and determination

Speaking of support - the hyrox team did the most amazing job encouraging contestants and it was lovely to see the camaraderie amongst the contestants.

And I just love the last photo of Amanda getting support from her daughter 🫶

My husband and I are now inspired to join the movement. 💫

04/05/2026

Unpopular opinion…

Time is not a healer.

Yes, the body will heal but it will not rehabilitate itself.

Scars need massaging, hydrating and mobilising.
The body needs stretching, strengthening, nourishing and nurturing.
We also need time to accept, adapt and process.
Sometimes, we need only rest and other times we need action.

It is a common misconception that it is the time frame between an event that determines how we should feel.
In truth it is the dedication to recovery that makes all the difference.

This is where the strength and determination of you as the client really shines through.

As though I can help guide you to recovery and feeling strong and capable in your body again it is you who does the hard work.

My job it’s to be your cheerleader and to help you work realistically, consistently and progressively.

✨

I am excited to announce I am now featured on Locallista. Thank you to my clients for all your recommendations and feedb...
19/01/2026

I am excited to announce I am now featured on Locallista.

Thank you to my clients for all your recommendations and feedback! You made this possible. Now I can be found among the best service providers in Lisbon at Locallista.com 🥳

Locallista is a platform for foreigners to find high-quality, local service providers, for all their needs. There are +100 different categories, but only the best professionals made it to the list. The directory is curated by and for expats, and you can access it for free by asking me for an invitation code 😇 See you there!

Address

Winchester

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 3:30am
Wednesday 9:30am - 3:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 3:30pm

Telephone

07590541002

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when XENA posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to XENA:

Shortcuts

Share