Exeter University Graduate launches online wellness business that helps you fall in love with exercise

Exeter University Sports Science graduate, Catarina Lau launches an online business, supporting people to build a happier and sustainable relationship with exercise. Through her work with clients at Cat Does Wellness, she promotes an anti-diet approach to fitness, helping clients focus on what their body is capable of and how exercise can enhance their overall sense of well-being.

Cat Does Wellness understands the importance of exercise for a person’s physical health, having studied at Exeter University on the Masters program. However with growing research into the negative effects of diet culture on a person’s mental health, body image and ability to adhere to an exercise program, the small business owner wanted to provide a unique service to clients, helping them learn how to exercise in a way that takes the focus off of what their body looks like and place it on how movement makes them feel.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of intrinsic exercise. This is when a person’s motivation for exercise comes from an internal place, because they enjoy moving their body, rather than forcing themselves to do a workout they hate as they are motivated by a desire to change the way they look.

Based on this growing area of research, Cat Does Wellness supports clients in their journey towards a sustainable relationship with exercise through providing them with tools they need to feel confident in movement and to exercise in alignment with their body. Taking an intuitive approach to exercise rather than an overly prescriptive one allows the client to take ownership over the way they workout, which nurtures their autonomy and in turn makes motivation for exercise far more sustainable.  

Catarina says that, “I want to give people the tools to build a lasting relationship with exercise and for movement to feel like self-care, not punishment for eating a donut.”

Previous client Tomi Gbajumo said, “Cat Does Wellness has helped me connect with my body and actually enjoy the process of getting fitter and stronger without feeling like exercise is a chore.”

This is exactly what Cat Does Wellness is all about, supporting clients to listen to their body and enjoy exercise as a tool for self-care, which sets them up with a strong and healthy relationship with exercise for life.

Connect with Cat on Instagram @catdoeswellness or visit www.catdoeswellness.com