Hawke's Bay is where I grew up and went to school/ beaches/ rivers/ mountains/churches. I returned in 1989 to live in Napier and work as a Naturopath, Medical Herbalist, Yoga and Meditation teacher. Raising a child gave me a keen appreciation of homeopathy and homeoprophylaxis. My son has left home and my partner and I value and support the local Buddhist Centre with its particular range of heart/mind medicine. Working as a natural health practitioner invites me to walk the talk in every way I can, to meet people where they are and support them in their next steps of healing. Nutritional counselling using a pendulum and latterly hair follicle analysis, informs a patient how to increase their awareness of Food and Fasting as Medicine. Herbal Medicines are particularly rich food gifts from the earth and many herbs and spices can or are used extensively in the kitchen.

Growing up in Hawke's Bay with a big home vegetable garden, numerous orchards in the neighbourhood, a father into checking out the first health shops in Hastings in the 1970's, Mum's home cures for everything and an early interest in yoga, all supported me into a belief in the body's ability to heal itself given the right amount of rest, natural remedies and reconnection. After university, travel and engaging politically with the big issues of the 1980's, studying at South Pacific College of Natural Therapeutics in Auckland wove many threads of interest together for me as well as introducing me to the vast world of herbal medicine. I returned to Hawke's Bay in 1989 to work as a Naturopath above Chantals Wholefoods in Napier and have since then enjoyed the growing acceptance of natural medicine by professionals and regular people. Emma Goldman, Susan Weed and Juliette de Bairacli Levy were all strong influences in my early years of study and practice, as was learning to dowse with a pendulum from Dave Duggan at SPCNT. Being a member of NZAMH has kept me linked in with the growing insights and research of Herbal Medicine and to its inspiring world-wide practitioners.

Your first appointment with me will take about an hour and a half as I listen to you talk about what is ailing you now, taking a full case history including your family health history, what and when you usually eat and drink, what your passions are, when and how you exercise and what your health goals are. This leads us to timeline the changes you want to make and to select what herbal or nutritional interventions will support that. I use a pendulum to dowse your nutritional status and on which levels of your being we need to focus - body structures and systems, nutrition, emotional health, or internal or external energetics. I use a hair follicle computer analysis (a bioprofile) to assist in diagnosis of energetics and Touch For Health massage points, yoga, essential oils, homeopathics and other interventions to treat these imbalances. Herbal Medicines are dispensed generally as Fluid Extract blends from my clinic and I also encourage the use of gathered or home-grown Herbal Teas. Follow up appointments are generally 2 weeks later at which time we tweak the remedies. We repeat consultations and remedies as needed until health is restored and energy regained. I am linked in with local homeopaths, massage therapists, counsellors and acupuncturists and will refer if you need their skills in your health care.

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