
Our Mission:
To nurture and nourish the new mother through pregnancy and after birth.
Exercise | Self-Care | Nutrition
About The Gentle Birth Project

The Gentle Birth Project (TGBP) is the brainchild of Carolyne Anthony, founder of The Center for Women’s Fitness and The Studio. After 30 years of teaching instructors and practitioners, Carolyne saw that there was a big gap between how western cultures and non-western cultures care for postpartum women, how that impacts woman’s long-term health as she moves into later years in life, and the need for women to be continuously supported when they’re at home and not with an instructor or a practitioner.
Carolyne found Julina, and Julina found Hana. Together, they launched TGBP in Chicago in 2017. Today, TGBP services, products and professional training scan be found in US, UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Korea.
Our Team
Carolyne Anthony
FOUNDER

Carolyne began her professional career as a dancer in London having completed her Diploma in Dance at The Stella Mann College in 1982.She went on to dance in companies in the UK, Europe and East Africa. Along with dancing, Carolyne has always had an interest in movement, she has swum competitively and was a keen runner in her younger days.
While attending company class in London in 1983, she was referred to Alan Herdman for Pilates and thus began her love affair with this amazing method. Carolyne has gone on to certify with Polestar, BASI, The PhysicalMind Institute and the Pilates Method Alliance.
Upon her relocation to the USA in the mid 80’s Carolyne became involved in the Fitness industry and went on to certify in group exercise, personal training and aquatics. She was also a professor of Dance at The Hartford Conservatory of Music and Dance and the Artistic Director of the Enfield Civic Ballet Company.
Carolyne’s journey into women’s health began with the birth of her first daughter in 1988. Dismayed by the lack of information available for women during the childbearing years, she went on to complete her Birth Doula training as well as studying under well known Midwives such as Patty Brennan and Pat Kramer. The illustrations for her pre and postnatal teacher training manual are the product of midwife Amanda Smith in Ann Arbor MI.
Being a birth doula has informed her program design for the pre and postnatal work that she does. Her philosophy is about preparing the body for birth and repairing the body after birth with exercises that truly address the changes that are taking place in the pregnant body.
This desire to work according to the female anatomy and physiology has led Carolyne to study other modalities such as myofascial release (she is a John Barnes practitioner) Esoteric Healing and in-depth anatomy courses.
Learning from her own life’s experiences Carolyne has developed her Moving through Menopause™ course, Support your Floor™ (Pelvic Floor Function course) and the very successful The Center Method for Diastasis Recti Recovery™ program. Her work has taken her all over the world, training the trainers to be able to help their female clients through all stages of their lives. She currently has over 2000 teachers in 41 countries plus 29 faculty teaching her methods.
Carolyne has also developed the Women’s Health and Exercise Certification™ and The Women’s Health Pilates Specialist Certification™.
Carolyne continues to develop her own curriculum for women that incorporates all her studies in myofascial release, esoteric healing, anatomy, ballet, fitness, Pilates and lifelong moving.
She has 3 daughters and one grandson who is undoubtedly the cutest kid EVER.
Julina Halim
Co-Founder, Nutritionist, Women’s Health Pilates Specialist, Wellness Coach

Julina is a co-founder and faculty of The Gentle Birth Project, together with Hana Halim and Carolyne Anthony, who is also the founder of The Center for Women’s Fitness and The Studio.
With a background in Public Health and Human Nutrition, Julina has years of experience in health promotion/education and employee wellness program designs and management. She is a health personality, regularly seen in Singapore TV and online platforms, speaking on nutrition, wellness, and women’s fitness. She also co-founded a boutique, one-on-one-classes-only Pilates studio in Singapore, the Better Movement Studio.
Julina received a BSc in Public Health from Fu Jen Catholic University Taiwan and a MSc in Human Nutrition from University of Glasgow UK, WellcoachesⓇ, STOTT Pilates, The Center for Women’s Fitness and the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy™
Hana Halim
Co-Founder, Active member in the Malaysian spa and wellness industry

Straight out of graduation from a marketing degree program, she worked with BioEssentials, a top spa supplier in Malaysia, and launched herself onto the spa and wellness scene. She joined the Energy Wellness Group to administer their Academy’s training programs, and to ensure that they achieved the right professional skills and standards. This involvement eventually led to an appointment by the Ministry of Human Resources to serve on their panel for developing syllabuses for selected Malaysian Skills Certificate programs.
In addition to being a government-certified trainer, Hana is certificated in Holistic Massage and Post-Natal Treatment, and has earned CIBTAC diplomas in Anatomy & Physiology, Body Massage, and Salon Management. She lectures in the YTL International College of Hotel Management Diploma Programme in Spa Management and is currently an INSKEN Post-Natal Care Industry Coach. Her expert experience in postnatal treatment and management has extended to overseas training sessions in China, Korea, Chicago and London, promoting The Gentle Birth Project. Back home, she is utilising her expertise in operating the Bondahaven Breastfeeding Specialist & Maternity Spa.
Hana is presently the Vice President for the Association of Malaysian Spas (AMSPA) and is continuing to pave pathways as a trainer, entrepreneur and wellness expert.