The start of my Naturopathic Journey...

Hey everyone, 

As you may know 3 weeks ago I started studying a Bachelor of Naturopathy at the Endeavour College of Natural Health here in Melbourne. My first couple of subjects are Chemistry & Biochemistry and History of Healing. Chemistry is sending me into a mind spin as there is so much information to process in such a small amount of time before we move onto the next topic. I have no idea how the heck I am going to remember 13 weeks of material for the exam at the end of the semester...eek, lots of revision ahead of me. The History of Healing surprisingly has been really interesting. I say surprisingly as history has never really been my thing, but I am loving learning about how different cultural traditions have viewed healing and the methods and techniques they have used.

So anyway, I'm not sure if you will find this interesting or not but I thought I might share some of my forum entries with you all starting off with my introduction post, which I actually found a bit difficult to write - its hard to condense 43 years into a few paragraphs.

I'm Natasha (either pronounced with or without the 'r' sound - I answer to both, and also to Tash or Tarsh). I am 41 and 11 months and live in Bacchus Marsh which is 45 minutes from Melbourne. I am a Mum to two rambunctious boys aged 11 and 13 who are my world. I am newly engaged and very thankful for my partners support so that I can pursue this journey towards becoming a Naturopath, which I must say has me excited and nervous at the same time!

For me, the journey of holistic healing started a young age (I was born into a linage of Maori tribal healers) however, after losing my Dad to cancer when I was 16 I shut myself down completely. After a period of trials and confusion which culminated in the diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 1998, seeing me nick named 'Typhoid Tash', I visited a Mind, Body and Spirit Festival and received the wake up call I needed. From then on I started opening myself up to the universal energy and reconnecting spiritually and as fate would have it (synchronicity at its finest), I would meet just the right people at just the right time or find books which contained the answers I had questions to. My thirst for knowledge was ignited. I completed my Mastership in Reiki, attended classes and workshops in Meditation, Aromatherapy (I am also a DoTERRA wellness advocate), Shiatsu, Massage, Psychic Development to name a few.

Unfortunately in 2001 my life was once again turned upside down and I started to live what some might call a 'Rock'n'Roll' lifestyle, which saw me straying from my path. 

In 2003, I fell pregnant with my first child and made a decision to once again turn my life around. He was born in Jan 2004 and in Jun 2005 his brother joined him. As the one thing I wanted for my boys was to be happy and to follow their dreams, I felt that I should lead by example and walk the talk so to speak!

One of my biggest dreams was to sing and so that's exactly what I did and performed regularly in pubs and festivals as a guitarist and singer. This is something that I loved doing, however it was not something that I found worked well for my family, so it became more of a part time thing and up until a year ago I was doing the odd gig here and there performing my original material (a fusion of country, folk with a dash of blues and pop-rock). I haven't been able to perform for the past year due to Auto Immune issues, I constantly get tonsillitis and am 'not' very patiently waiting to have them removed. I also work as a photographer now and then capturing everything from weddings to newborns.

I picked up where I left off with regards to Massage and studied to become a Remedial Massage Therapist. I also became a Personal Trainer, as my weight has always been an issue and I wanted to help others achieve the same kind of results I had with regards to weight loss (although I did have the help of a lap band - certainly not the easy way out). I also did a Cert III course in Nutrition. I am currently running my own home based business as a Remedial Massage Therapist & Personal trainer. 

I love singing and playing the guitar, photography, blogging, camping, quality time with my family and friends and pretty much anything that allows me to be creative, oh and I love my cat 'Tat' who thinks he is a dog!

I decided to do the Bachelor of Naturopathy because I felt that it would add a new dimension to my current career, because of my own personal experience of Naturopathy throughout this past year with my own health issues and to be able to support my families health and well-being in a more natural way (both of my boys are asthmatics, my partner has ongoing health issues and my Mum was diagnosed with Cancer earlier this year).

Despite the fact that my physical health is not 100%, I am happier and mentally healthier than I have ever been. It feels great to be connected to life again and to be pursing something that makes me both excited and nervous at the same time!

xox Tash :)