Estimated reading time: 4 minutesWe have some changes coming to The Zebra Club.
When I founded The Zebra Club app in 2021, my goal was to create a safe, empowering space where people living with chronic illness conditions like Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) could move, learn, and build a community together.
Over the past four years, I have witnessed the incredible transformations that can happen when movement, education, science, and community come together.
Listening and Growing with Our Community
As our community has grown, so has our vision. There is still a desperate need for more support, more understanding, and improvement in advice and care given to EDS and HSD patients.
Over the years, we have listened to our community. We have understood what they need and how we can help support them further. It was time for The Zebra Club to evolve. This is that moment.
The Challenge in EDS and Hypermobility Support
Sadly, I still hear the same story in the clinic, and I receive heartfelt emails from people all over the world every week. The stories include
- “I’ve seen so many specialists, but still don’t know what exercise to do or how to move safely without injuring myself.”
- “I feel alone in managing my symptoms – there is no support where I live.”
- “I wish there were a place where I could learn more to educate myself and my family about my condition.”
Evidence-Based Movement From The Start
I had initially created an online course back in 2017 called Strengthen Your Hypermobile Core. This has now been studied and the research published. The effectiveness of my movement method, the Integral Movement Method (IMM), is now evidence-based.
Through this, I realised one course was not going to be enough to help the wide variety of symptoms and abilities we have in our community.
There was a total vacuum at that time for digital support for EDS and HSD patients. This was pre-Zoom days, too, so patients were really only receiving in-person care.
If you had no one local to you who also understood EDS, it was a real struggle to get help. I wanted to change that.
Bridging The Gap For Patients and Clinicians
Clinicians and movement professionals also had frustrations because there are no clinical guidelines for hypermobility for physiotherapy or exercise. They desperately wanted trustworthy and evidence-based resources to recommend to their patients.
At that time, none existed. The research into my IMM will hopefully contribute to these evidence-based guidelines.
The gap between medical care and real-life support is exactly where The Zebra Club was born. It was formed to support both patients and practitioners. It is now a recommended resource by doctors and clinicians all over the world.
It offers the first evidence-based movement practice for hypermobility to a global community.
“In summary, The Zebra Club provides the most comprehensive self-care resource for chronic pain and hEDS/HSD that I know of. For patients who are motivated to do everything they can to optimize their health, TZC is an outstanding and comprehensive resource.”
– Dr. Leslie Russek, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, Hypermobility specialist, Scientific Advisor to The Zebra Club
The Evolution – Starting Afresh
The new Zebra Club platform represents the next chapter of our journey to improve the care and support of those living with chronic illness.
We’ve taken the past 5 years to really listen to the community and have reimagined the entire experience from the ground up to make movement therapy and education more accessible, personalized, and community-driven.
We have addressed accessibility, navigation, progress tracking, notification management, and more. All with our members’ feedback at the forefront of our minds.
You Help Shape Our Community
To further improve the experience, we enlisted a team of beta testers to test out the new platform. Their feedback was essential to helping build and develop exactly what the community needs.
With this, the new iteration of the Zebra Club app, we will continue to learn and evolve – always listening to our community. This is just the beginning.
“There’s too much to mention, but that it’s bigger and better, it’s evolving all the time” – Beta Tester
“It is so much easier to find things, and I love the way the exercises are presented!” – Beta Tester
Our Principles Stay The Same
What hasn’t changed are the foundational principles of my IMM – the evidence-based framework that underpins all the work in The Zebra Club.
The IMM continues to guide how we teach the body to move with awareness, stability, and safety, creating space for nervous system regulation and sustaining it.
Our Vision for The Zebra Club
Not Just Another App, But A Home
This isn’t just another app! It’s a home and a safe place for the community.
Friends are made, light bulb moments are had every day, lived experiences are shared, and importantly, people are getting stronger, feeling more stable, and improving their quality of life.
Lived experience meets science in TZC. It is our goal that every community member feels seen, heard, and empowered. It is a beautiful place to be.
A Personal Thanks
I could not be prouder of what The Zebra Club has become. I want to thank every member, clinician, and supporter who has helped shape this evolution.
Your feedback, stories, time, and energy have guided every decision.
We are here to support both patients and clinicians through the power of gentle, mindful movement. Welcome to the future of movement therapy for EDS and HSD
Our new The Zebra Club app launches on November 13th, and we can’t wait!
You can learn more about our new platform at www.thezebra.club. We offer a 7-day free trial if you’d like to come and check us out.
We can’t wait to welcome you.
Jeannie Di Bon is a movement therapist, educator and author specializing in hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and chronic pain. She is the founder of The Zebra Club app and the creator of the Integral Movement Method.
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