Ep20. AuDHD, Movement, Pain and Creating a Neuroaffirming Space with Jordana

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of chronic pain, injury, disordered health behaviours and addiction, as well as references to neurodivergent experiences including RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria), sensory sensitivities, and the process of autism diagnosis. There is also a brief mention of nocebo effects and catastrophising language in healthcare settings.

Summary: Bri sits down with Jordana Martin, founder of Feel Better Pilates in Canberra (where Bri enjoys Pilates classes), for a wide-ranging and genuinely joyful conversation about movement, neurodivergence, and what it looks like to build a space that actually works for brains like ours.

Jordana shares her own ND story - identified as ADHD since childhood in a family full of ND folk, an autism diagnosis she suspects, and how she went from not seeing herself as a sporty person at all to becoming a powerlifter and Pilates teacher. She talks candidly about how movement became her version of meditation and regulation, and why that matters so much for neurodivergent people who live a lot of life up in their heads.

The conversation takes some brilliant side quests into pain science (including the nocebo effect and why the words a care provider uses can genuinely shape a patient's recovery), the biopsychosocial model of health, hypermobility in the ND community, the boom-and-bust movement patterns many of us fall into, and why "correct form" is largely a myth.

Jordana also unpacks the deliberate choices she made in designing Feel Better Pilates, from dim lighting and low-smell environments to rethinking hands-on touch in classes, and why she built it the way she did.

Key Takeaways

• Movement is regulation. Repetitive, rhythmic movement is inherently soothing for neurodivergent nervous systems, and getting into the body can offer relief from the mental churn that many of us live in.
• Words matter in healthcare. The nocebo effect is real! A care provider's catastrophising language can worsen outcomes. Jordana's own experience with a physio who told her she'd never lift weights again (she now powerlifts) is a powerful reminder to seek out providers who use empowering, evidence-based language.
• "Correct form" is mostly a myth. Human bodies are robust and designed for varied movement. The goal is progressive strength and feeling good, not aesthetic perfection.
• Sensory environment matters. A movement space that works for ND people considers lighting, sound, smell, touch consent, and the language used by instructors. If a studio's website makes you uncomfortable, trust that signal.
• Find the lowest barrier to entry. Go with a friend, book online (eww to no phone calls!), ask for a private intro session if that helps - just remove as many friction points as possible and give yourself one concrete deadline to show up once.
• The social biopsy is real. Both Bri and Jordana reflect on the experience of enjoying social situations in the moment but paying for it in the 48 hours after - a very common experience for those socialised as girls with ND profiles.

You can find Jordana on Instagram at @feelbetterpilates or through her website www.feelbetterpilates.com.au.