About Me
My Mission
Hi I’m Lavina, a Personal Trainer, Wellness Coach, mum of 3, featured on TV & RadioAbout Me. My mission is to help ALL ages to FEEL GOOD physically & mentally. My slogan is to “Exercise for Sanity not Vanity.”
I have been honoured with an MBE for my services in Health & Fitness over the covid pandemic in the Oct 2020 Queen’s honours list.
I’m a British Asian & am very passionate about promoting the health benefits of exercise to treat, prevent & reduce risks of chronic diseases like Diabetes & Heart Disease, so prevalent in Asian communities. Pre-COVID I launched a National press campaign to “Get UK Asians Fit!”
I devoted lockdown to providing free twice-daily virtual workouts to help keep all ages healthy & mentally positive from home. I’ve since uploaded my FREE Feel Good in 21 Day Workout Plan on my Instagram page @feelgoodwithlavina.
I continue to provide Free virtual Seniors Workouts sessions, with my 74-year-old Mother in Law, in Gujarati and English, which have featured on TV & Radio & have had up to the age 100 join us!
My free concept of “Exercise Snacking” encourages treating your body and mind to short bouts/”bites” of exercise throughout the day!
I am a Diabetes UK & Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador and support Brain Tumour Research fronting charity fitness campaigns.
I provide Workplace Wellness Events to with businesses to help employees Feel Good at Work.
I received the British Asian Trust “British Asian Heroes Award;” endorsed by the Prime Minister, Women of the Future “Kindness Rules Programme”, BBC’s “Make a Difference” for my COVID work.
I won the She Awards Inspiration in Health & Fitness 2020 Award. I was a finalist & only PT in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards 2020 Sports Category.
Lavina is a Patron of the Menopause Mandate. She openly shares her own perimenopause journey on social media to help normalise the conversation and promotes the power of exercise and lifestyle changes to help women embrace this phase.
MY JOURNEY
During my childhood, I actually got teased at my single sex girls’ school for being “under weight”, not over weight! This was a difficult time but I managed to get through it. Nowadays there’s even more added pressure from social media on how the “ideal” female body should look and the rise in eating disorders. The message I want to portray from this is that it’s not just about “your weight.” We should exercise to love ourselves and feel good – body & mind.
I really believe in fate & destiny. Following my A- Levels, I wanted to pursue a career in Art but went down the more traditional route & studied Management at UMIST. I was lucky to have some amazing job opportunities post university which helped me progress my career very quickly to a senior level. When I married Menal, I was in a demanding job as a Global Project manager for BP’s Trading systems & I really pushed my management for flexible working (which was very rare at the time) and luckily they agreed to going part time to bring up my sons, Sai & Saj. After I had my youngest son Sahil 12 years ago, I decided to resign from my role which I absolutely loved. It was a tough decision, but looking back but I feel so fortunate that I was able to have such quality years raising my boys.
My own fitness & wellness journey started during my pregnancy with Sahil as I helped type, publish & launch my Mum’s “Feel Good with Food” book. It gave me in depth knowledge into the science behind food, anti oxidants & super foods, and made a big impact on my own vegetarian diet.
Although I was always slim up until childbirth, I wouldn’t say I was healthy or fit! I loved food, especially growing up with an amazing chef as a mother (& I still do!) The weight did creep on over the years as my metabolism slowed down. Post childbirth I lost over 10kgs through hard work, consistency & patience with my training, nutrition and lifestyle improvements.
I used to regularly go to the gym and do the usual classes on offer. It was only when I hired a Personal Trainer that I got exposed to the whole new world of weight training & saw how resistance training transformed my body and mind. On a search to learn more about my passion, I decided to educate myself and undertook home study courses to gain my Level 2 in Fitness Instructing & Level 3 in Personal Training.
I am highlighting this private part of my life as I want women and mothers to know it’s never too late to follow & fulfil their dreams.
MY PASSION & PURPOSE
I offer Women 1-1 Personal Training Sessions at my Private Gym in Bushey, London which has a fully kitted gym, functional & circuits area, cardio equipment, large garden for outdoor training & a holistic relaxation studio.
I pride myself on my meticulous planning and giving each client “Personal” Training by writing individual personalised training plans for all my clients – it’s not a one size fits all approach! I want my ladies, who range from the age of 30-70 years old to train safely, with perfect form & to reach their goals.
I believe we are ALL on a continuous wellness journey & the goal is NOT always weight loss. I work with women who want to get strong & feel good about themselves. Many of my mums may want to shift their pregnancy weight; or my menopausal ladies may be experiencing hormonal weight gain and want to increase their bone density; my older ladies want to preserve their bone density, muscle mass and their independence; or I have women who just want to get strong through weight lifting; others where fitness, stamina or flexibility are the priority. Some of my clients are just focussing on health & trying to mitigate and reduce the risk of illness; or working safely with previous injuries/health conditions.
Although my ladies have got some amazing physical results, they have also got super results in terms of strength, stamina, flexibility, fitness, as well as important mental health benefits and some have even corrected pre-existing health conditions and injuries via the benefits of exercise.
I provide more than just PT but also Wellness & Lifestyle Coaching on leading a healthy & active lifestyle, cardio targets, nutritional advice, sleep management, stress management, importance of stretching, correct breathing techniques, mindfulness, self-care & promote the strong correlation between mental health and exercise.
I am different to other PTs out there as I am not just about the hardcore physical transformations & photo shoots or the restrictive / fad diets which can be hard to sustain and can cause the recurring cycle of yo-yo dieting and weight loss. There is no “Feel Good Diet”, just sensible principles to focus on building the best possible eating plan to work around my clients’ lifestyle, goals & needs – a flexible approach that makes them feel good and get amazing results in the process.
I have a strong & active “Feel Good Team” forum for all my amazing ladies to support & motivate each other on their fitness journeys. I strongly believe in “Women supporting women.”
I’m incredibly lucky I love what I do & find it so fulfilling and rewarding. I am blessed that from my Passion, I have found my Purpose & I want to help as many women as I can to FEEL GOOD.
If you would like me to help you on your journey
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