M E.

The first two letters of menopause signal an opportunity for a Renaissance, yet it can be an isolating, bewildering period in a person’s life. Women’s health has been historically deprioritized. Interestingly, a person with ovaries experiences different phases of menopause throughout their life, yet it is most commonly associated with the year after menses stop. A person’s exercise needs will shift as they transition throughout menopausal stages. Experiences are nuanced with some likening menopause to a labyrinth of Dante's Inferno and others gayly glissading Capitol Peak.

Women I’ve trained disclose zero support or education about these multifaceted stages in life:

Neither my mom nor grandma talked to me about it…there was shame around periods…what happened to my body…I didn’t know Premarin Estrogen was from horse urine…How am I supposed to work and take care of my family…I don’t sleep, but weed helps…menopause has made my existing depression worse…hot flashes are embarrassing and brain fog is forever…I’m too tired to exercise…I’m worried about osteoporosis and falling…menopause is a woman’s business…

Trigger Warning

Breaking the 4th wall: Perimenopause and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder almost ended my life; I am passionately dedicated to supporting people during these seismic transitions.

Cœur is a LGBTQIA+ safe space. You are wanted, welcomed, and invited to be ravishingly you. The expectation is mutual dignity and respect for the ways people identify, express themselves, and live their lives with love and kindness.

Fears for safety, belonging, or understanding in the exercise world can be soothed with our work together. I've supported students, athletes, and adults with this quest to find the prowess of their body's ability just as they are.

According to Colorado Health Access Survey 2023, more than half of LGBTQ+ adults (54%) reported poor mental health - defined as eight or more days in the past month of stress, depression, or problems with emotions — compared with less than a third (27.8%) of their straight and cisgender peers.

Exercise won’t remedy discrimination, but it’s definitely a Master Sword to slay stress. The beauty of sustainable exercise is that it highlights the wholeness that is already you.

Cœur welcomes people who have invisible and/or visible disabilities and creates programming and atmosphere that honors your needs. According to 2023 research from the National Institute of Health:

People with disabilities often experience a wide and varying range of health conditions leading to poorer health and shorter lifespan. In addition, discrimination, inequality and exclusionary structural practices, programs and policies inhibit access to timely and comprehensive health care, which further results in poorer health outcomes. People with disabilities who also belong to one or more other populations with health disparities fare even worse.

Engaging in regular exercise is an opportunity for actionable, preventative steps to manage challenges of living with a disability (or disabilities). Cœur inspires to be your loudest ally for wellness!

Cœur embraces individuals in the BIPOC community and is committed to health equity:

the attainment of the highest level of health for all people. Health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and health and health care disparities (Project Healthy People 2030).

Cœur celebrates diversity and shares immense gratitude for Indigenous cultures, languages, and lands. Nature is the best gym on the planet, and the natural world responds to the energy of loving kindness that we cultivate in session.

“When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.” - Arapaho proverb

Cœur welcomes older adults and is experienced at programming for bodies with unique needs. Exercise accommodation, safe programming, and multiple modalities are integral to Cœur’s work with older clients.

Humans remain in adulthood more than any other time of life, so strength, balance, and flexibility training is fundamental. It’s okay if you have never strength-trained or gone to the gym; clients have shared that they weren’t encouraged or taught to use weights because that was “for boys”. Others recall Presidential Fitness tests at school where they felt shame and embarrassment about what their bodies could/could not do.

According to the Colorado Health Institute, Colorado is getting older:

By 2050, there will be twice as many seniors as there are today, a demographic sea change that will impact Colorado’s economy, its infrastructure, the age and skills of its workforce, and the social landscape. The health of this new wave of 65-and-older residents will be a major consideration for policymakers — and, of course, for the older adults and their families and friends.

Cœur has trained adults up until their 90s and would be delighted to lead your fitness journey.

Cœur proudly offers a sliding scale, so more people can access the robust benefits of personal training. Our pristine parks and open spaces are plentiful, and we can meet at locations where bus lines and bike paths exist. Coloradans are rooted in community; those that can pay more support neighbors who would not otherwise have resources for personal training.

Exercise is critical for vulnerable populations as evidenced by Healthy People 2030’s research on generational poverty, health equity, and upward mobility:

The chronic stress of unmet social needs, environmental factors, and barriers to accessing health care contribute to worse health outcomes for people with lower incomes. Across the lifespan, residents of impoverished communities are at increased risk for mental illness, chronic disease, higher mortality, and lower life expectancy. Children make up the largest age group of those experiencing poverty. Childhood poverty is associated with developmental delays, toxic stress, chronic illness, and nutritional deficits. Individuals who experience childhood poverty are more likely to experience poverty into adulthood, which contributes to generational cycles of poverty…

Cœur ensures exercise is accessible and supports community health through individual empowerment. We’re excited to support your wellness journey!

Beauty and wellness is a form of power in society, so it’s no wonder that there is a strive culture in an attempt to meet a prescribed standard of health. The not-fine print: You are not standard.

Our work together equips you to craft your standard based on how you want to live your life—hiking with pups, scooping up kids/grandkids, biking on the Poudre Trail, working in your job without pain, or whatever brings you joy. The overarching goal is to maintain health throughout your lifelong heroine’s journey while understanding that none of us are immune from the impactful messages about our bodies not being enough. This creates catastrophic disconnect from self and body. In creating sustainable exercise practices, Cœur focuses on improving strength, balance, flexibility, and badassery. Cœur does not train clients for weight loss (read more in FAQ).

Cœur is delighted to work with you to find your version of radiance in your body—besides as Oscar Wilde suggested, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”