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Writer's picturePetra Coveney

What is Premature Ovarian Insufficiency?

Women's health specialists Veronica Santini and Helen Davenport-Peace Join the Menopause Yoga Teacher Training Course as Guest Speakers on POI and Infertility.




I am delighted to announce that Helen Davenport-Peace and Veronica Santini have joined the Menopause Yoga Teacher Training course in March 2022 as guest speakers on Premature Ovarian Insufficiency.


1 in 100 women in the UK experience POI which is when there are insufficient ovum in the ovaries to be released each month for potential fertilisation. This causes Anovulation, which is when the ovaries don't release an egg in the menstrual cycle. Some women will still have a menstrual bleed.


POI can be caused by genetics, being born with an insufficient number of eggs to sustain a woman into her 40's and 50's when menopause usually occurs. 1 in 1000 women experience POI under the age of 30 and some even find out they have POI as early as puberty.

But it can also be caused by surgery , serious illness and treatments such as radio and chemotherapy for cancer.



POI, sometimes confused with Early Menopause (before the age of 45) and Surgical menopause when a woman's ovaries (oophorectomy) or entire womb (hysterectomy) are removed for health reasons. Common health reasons include: heavy periods – which can be caused by fibroids; pelvic pain – which may be caused by endometriosis; unsuccessfully treated pelvic inflammatory disease (PID); adenomyosis or fibroids, prolapse of the uterus, ovarian cancer and benign tumours the ovaries.


How Can Yoga Teachers Help?


Yoga can help by offering special adapted poses to support women physically, emotionally and psychologically as they adjust to their diagnosis of POI, making decisions about fertility treatment, and caring for their bodies if they have had surgery. Restorative yoga, meditation and breathing can help women manage stress and anxiety at this time of life, and softening into their bodies can help develop a mindset of acceptance. Simply being with other women with similar lived experiences can also foster a sense of community so that women know they are not alone.


Meet the Guest Speakers

Helen Davenport-Peace is an academic and an experienced yoga teacher who specialises in guiding women through the stages of fertility to pregnancy yoga, to post natal yoga and Menopause Yoga.

She has felt a strong pull to support women treading the IVF path, after travelling this path herself. She seeks to open doors to connection, understanding and support. She particularly works with women who are experiencing anxiety while they try to conceive.





Veronica Santini is a 500+ RYT yoga teacher and women’s health guide. After her POI and infertility diagnosis at the age of 32, she felt called to soften her practice and deepen her interest in women’s health. She trained in Yin yoga with Annie Au, Menopause Yoga with Petra Coveney and Yoga for Women’s Health with Tiffany Cruishank.


Supporting women struggling with sub/in-fertility has become Veronica’s mission. She helps them reconnect to their bodies and inner powers so they can continue their journey without the emotional overwhelm.


As an infertility warrior herself, a communication expert and a multi-style yoga teacher specialised in women’s health, Veronica truly understand the importance of processing one’s story and emotions to lighten the emotional overwhelm and reconnect to a once lost inner spark.


She believes that vulnerability is the super power which will bring women back to a sense of empowerment and acceptance. Her approach prioritises processing women’s unique journeys through movement, meditation, sharing and journaling, so that they can feel to heal.


Her favourite quote is: “the thing that breaks your heart is the very thing you were born to help heal. Every world changer’s work begins with a broken heart” (Untamed - by Glennon Doyle).


Helen and Veronica are both graduates of the menopause Yoga Teacher Training course so it is a great pleasure to welcome back All,ni to help train new teachers. Welcome back!


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