Optima is powered by a multidisciplinary team of experts who bring together elite sport experience, clinical insight, and science-led performance training. Each specialist within Optima contributes a unique perspective — shaped by years of hands-on work in high-performance environments — while sharing a common commitment to evidence-based practice, education, and real-world application.
JACK MCMILLAN
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Jack McMillan is a certified Advanced Oxygen Advantage instructor, Holosomatic Breathwork therapist, and experienced yoga practitioner, with a Master’s in Sports Business Management and a distinguished background as a former professional footballer.
Blending his elite athletic experience with advanced breathwork and holistic practices, Jack specializes in optimizing physical endurance, mental resilience, and emotional balance for high-performance individuals. His evidence-based approach combines scientific breathwork techniques, mindfulness, and movement therapy to help athletes and professionals enhance focus, accelerate recovery, and perform at their peak under pressure.
Jack’s unique expertise bridges the gap between elite sports performance and holistic well-being, empowering athletes to unlock their full potential through the transformative power of breathwork and conscious movement.
RORY PENROSE
 Rory Penrose is an international hockey player and dedicated coach specialising in yoga and breathwork for athlete performance and wellbeing. With a background as a recent graduate in Maths & Economics and a passion for human performance, Rory has blended elite sport experience with mindful movement principles to support athletes both on and off the field.
While pursuing his hockey career at an international level, Rory has developed expertise in using yoga and breathwork as tools to optimise physical performance, enhance recovery, and improve mental clarity — helping athletes train smarter and perform with purpose. Â
At Optima Performance, Rory brings his unique perspective as a high-performance athlete and movement coach, delivering breathwork and yoga sessions that are grounded in practical application and designed to elevate resilience, alignment, and overall athletic capability.
REBEKAH JADE
 Dr. Rebekah Jade is a medical doctor, certified yoga and breathwork teacher, Nike trainer, and wellness expert who brings clinical insight to holistic performance and recovery. With a foundation in Western medicine and physiology, she blends science-backed practice with embodied movement to help individuals optimise recovery, regulate the nervous system, and build sustainable resilience. Â
Rebekah has worked with a wide range of athletes and high performers — including sessions with Premier League players and the England Football Team — integrating yoga, breathwork, mobility, and mindful practice to support performance and wellbeing. Her approach is trauma-informed, inclusive, and grounded in both clinical understanding and real-world application.
Alongside her clinical and coaching work, Rebekah founded the wellness platform Pana, through which she creates community experiences centred on breath, movement, culture, and connection. She also supports teams, organisations, and global audiences with workshops, 1:1 coaching, and expert speaking engagements that blend evidence-based techniques with purposeful embodiment.
DR. RICARDO CATUMBELA
 Dr Ricardo Catumbela is a medical doctor who brings clinical insight and evidence-based expertise to Optima’s performance and recovery work. With a strong foundation in medicine, Ricardo supports Optima programmes by translating complex health and recovery principles into clear, practical strategies that athletes and high performers can apply with confidence.
Within Optima, Ricardo plays a key role in delivering education around sleep, recovery, and overall wellbeing, helping individuals better understand the science behind performance, resilience, and long-term health. His ability to communicate medical concepts in a clear and accessible way ensures sessions are both informative and immediately actionable.
DR. LAUREN GARNER
Lauren is in the final stages of becoming a HCPC-registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist, holding degrees in Psychology and Sport Psychology. She has worked across a range of sports including rugby, rowing, gymnastics, esports, and elite football, with the majority of her experience based within professional football environments.
Having worked within Category 1 academies in both Championship and Premier League settings, Lauren now operates as a First Team Performance Psychologist at Championship level, supporting players with performance, resilience, and wellbeing under pressure.
Her approach is rooted in acceptance-based psychology, helping athletes manage challenging thoughts and emotions while maintaining performance in high-pressure moments. Alongside this, Lauren integrates breathwork into her practice to support recovery, stress regulation, sleep, injury rehabilitation, and overall mental and physical wellbeing.
JACK MCMILLAN
Jack McMillan is a certified Advanced Oxygen Advantage instructor, Holosomatic Breathwork therapist, and experienced yoga practitioner, with a Master’s in Sports Business Management and a distinguished background as a former professional footballer.
Blending his elite athletic experience with advanced breathwork and holistic practices, Jack specialises in optimising physical endurance, mental resilience, and emotional balance for high-performance individuals. His evidence-based approach combines scientific breathwork techniques, mindfulness, and movement therapy to help athletes and professionals enhance focus, accelerate recovery, and perform at their peak under pressure.
Jack’s unique expertise bridges the gap between elite sports performance and holistic wellbeing, empowering athletes to unlock their full potential through the transformative power of breathwork and conscious movement.
RORY PENROSE
Rory Penrose is an international hockey player and dedicated coach specialising in yoga and breathwork for athlete performance and wellbeing. With a background as a recent graduate in Maths & Economics and a passion for human performance, Rory has blended elite sport experience with mindful movement principles to support athletes both on and off the field.
While pursuing his hockey career at an international level, Rory has developed expertise in using yoga and breathwork as tools to optimise physical performance, enhance recovery, and improve mental clarity — helping athletes train smarter and perform with purpose.
At Optima Performance, Rory brings his unique perspective as a high-performance athlete and movement coach, delivering breathwork and yoga sessions that are grounded in practical application and designed to elevate resilience, alignment, and overall athletic capability.
DR. REBEKAH JADE
Dr. Rebekah Jade is a medical doctor, certified yoga and breathwork teacher, Nike trainer, and wellness expert who brings clinical insight to holistic performance and recovery. With a foundation in Western medicine and physiology, she blends science-backed practice with embodied movement to help individuals optimise recovery, regulate the nervous system, and build sustainable resilience.
Rebekah has worked with a wide range of athletes and high performers — including sessions with Premier League players and the England Football Team — integrating yoga, breathwork, mobility, and mindful practice to support performance and wellbeing. Her approach is trauma-informed, inclusive, and grounded in both clinical understanding and real-world application.
Alongside her clinical and coaching work, Rebekah founded the wellness platform Pana, through which she creates community experiences centred on breath, movement, culture, and connection. She also supports teams, organisations, and global audiences with workshops, 1:1 coaching, and expert speaking engagements that blend evidence-based techniques with purposeful embodiment.
DR. RICARDO CATUMBELA
Dr Ricardo Catumbela is a medical doctor who brings clinical insight and evidence-based expertise to Optima’s performance and recovery work. With a strong foundation in medicine, Ricardo supports Optima programmes by translating complex health and recovery principles into clear, practical strategies that athletes and high performers can apply with confidence.
Within Optima, Ricardo plays a key role in delivering education around sleep, recovery, and overall wellbeing, helping individuals better understand the science behind performance, resilience, and long-term health. His ability to communicate medical concepts in a clear and accessible way ensures sessions are both informative and immediately actionable.
DR. LAUREN GARNER
A sport and exercise psychologist with an applied professional doctorate, Lauren has worked across several sports including rowing, rugby, gymnastics and e-sports, with her primary background situated within professional football.
She spent years in academy football at Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur integrating sport psychology within youth development, and most recently worked as the first team performance psychologist at Sunderland AFC, delivering breathwork sessions to support player wellbeing, recovery, and optimal performance in the run up to the club’s promotion to the Premier League. Lauren operates from a mindfulness-and-acceptance based approach and regularly practices breathwork herself.
BEN DAVIE
Ben is a performance coach with over 15 years of experience working across elite sport, general population and complex rehabilitation environments. His background is in strength and conditioning, which underpins a practical, evidence informed approach to improving physical performance and resilience.
Across his career, he has worked within professional football while also supporting everyday athletes and individuals navigating injury, including those with neurological and brain injuries. This range of experience has shaped a coaching style that adapts to the individual, rather than a single system or setting.
Over the past decade, Ben’s work has expanded to include more holistic practices such as restorative yoga, breathwork and nervous system education. These tools sit alongside his S&C background to support recovery, stress management and sustainable performance.
Alongside his coaching work, Ben has led on the UK’s first trial of cold water therapy within prison settings across Kent. This work explored the role of ice baths as a practical and accessible mental, physical and emotional recovery tool in high-stress environments, reflecting his interest in translating performance strategies beyond sport.
Ben works across sport, corporate and rehabilitation settings, bringing a calm, adaptable approach grounded in both experience and practical application.
BEN DAVIE
Ben is a performance coach with over 15 years of experience working across elite sport, general population and complex rehabilitation environments. His background is in strength and conditioning, which underpins a practical, evidence informed approach to improving physical performance and resilience.
Across his career, he has worked within professional football while also supporting everyday athletes and individuals navigating injury, including those with neurological and brain injuries. This range of experience has shaped a coaching style that adapts to the individual, rather than a single system or setting.
Over the past decade, Ben’s work has expanded to include more holistic practices such as restorative yoga, breathwork and nervous system education. These tools sit alongside his S&C background to support recovery, stress management and sustainable performance.
Alongside his coaching work, Ben has led on the UK’s first trial of cold water therapy within prison settings across Kent. This work explored the role of ice baths as a practical and accessible mental, physical and emotional recovery tool in high-stress environments, reflecting his interest in translating performance strategies beyond sport.
Ben works across sport, corporate and rehabilitation settings, bringing a calm, adaptable approach grounded in both experience and practical application.
