A Bayview woman is driven by empowering women through fitness and health.
Director and founder of Fitmumz, Natalie Daniels, 39, who is originally from East London, is a wife, a mom of two boys, aged 9 and 2, and still finds the time to run a home studio which specialises in prenatal and postnatal fitness.
As was the case with many, Covid-19 challenged Ms Daniels to be innovative as the world moved online and working from home became the norm.
She has been part of youth development organisations such as the Columba Leadership Trust which works in schools, the Youth for Christ NGO and Preggi Bellies who offered to have her do her training and qualify as a trainer in prenatal and postnatal fitness training, she told the Plainsman.
When she got married in 2012, she moved from Johannesburg to Cape Town and has been doing youth development for 20 years, as well as being involved in dance and theatre.
“I love working with women and empowering girls. Some of the women I worked with suggested I start my own fitness initiative. I didn’t think I could at first, but once I started, I came into my own,” she said.
The Columba Leadership Trust “elicited greatness and got the best out of me. I started with four women,” she said of her initiative which was initially named Mumz and Babez Movement but is now known as Fitmumz.
Then, she said, lockdown happened and everyone was online.
“Lockdown came with all of its challenges but also lots of opportunities as you needed to think outside the box,” she said. So, she tried out Facebook live and later turned her garage into a home fitness studio.
“I invested in this. I also needed this for me and reminded myself it’s going to be okay at this moment. I haven’t seen an initiative like this in our community,” she said.
She told Plainsman her class was a safe haven for women. “I encourage them to put on lipstick and dress up for class.That’s what exercise does. We do cardio, Tabata, high-impact body conditioning and strength training to name a few,” she said.
After classes, she said, she allows some time for reflection – and some of the women have become like sisters.
“People need to invest in their health. Women need to push each other. We need to get involved and take ownership of our community. We need to do the hard work but we must take ownership of our health and body too.
“Just start, if you believe in something, do it. I had two people go live with me and had one person in my class for eight months. It’s not about the money, it’s about the impact. The goal is to be fit in mind, body and soul,” she said.
Letecia Standaar, 44, from Bayview was the first to join the group.
“My health has improved so much,” she said.
“After this class I can feel the difference. Natalie motivates us and encourages us after class before we leave and gives an opportunity to share. We don’t usually get an opportunity to relax and enjoy this. As mothers we’re busy. Here we can relax and think about ourselves. We have fun, it helps us and builds our self-esteem. We’ve become like a family.”
Bayview resident Ruth Lamohr, 68, who has arthritis, said she couldn’t bend but being in Natalie’s class helped with her mobility.
“I am stronger, I get to move myself. I don’t need to hold onto things anymore. I enjoy it in class,” she said.
“Natalie’s a beautiful person and encourages us so much. Dit is lekker hier. Ek voel sy is die een wat ons push. Ek geniet dit baie met haar en sy bemoedig ons. Ek’s lief vir haar,” she said.
Vivienne van der Schuur, 46, also from Bayview, said she had been diagnosed with breast cancer during lockdown, and she had had to have the lymph nodes in her left armpit removed.
Her arm movements were restricted due to her mastectomy but she’s found that the classes have helped improve her mobility.
“I spoke to her about my condition. I can lift my hand normally. Lots of ladies who were with me have struggled but this has helped me. Here is spiritual guidance and calmness. Every night after class she lets us relax and chill after class. We leave the house to break away. Here you can be yourself. She encourages us to put ourselves first,” she said.
Find Fitmumz on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Fitmumz_capetown