At birth, I wasn't off to a great start. I spent the first three years of my life being sick and constantly poorly with cold, chest and ear infections. The more medicine I was given, the worse I was getting and remained an enigma to most doctors.
By my third birthday, my parents finally realised I was allergic to most antibiotics that existed in France in the 70's and they had no other choice than to turn to natural remedies to help me be healthy.
And from those humble beginnings I grew up into adulthood, sightly oblivious of traditional medicine, knowing that plants and the body's natural healing process were working their wonders for me.
I became interested in reflexology a few years ago. I found the whole process fascinating and intriguing. I bought a book about it to extend my understanding, but I barely got to open it : life was so busy at the time.
Then my dad passed away and everything stopped. Back in France with my family, I started to reconsider the priorities in my life and decided it was time to make meaningful changes. I enrolled with the Maureen Burgess School of Reflexology only three weeks later and it was the beginning of a life changing journey.
During the course, I started to grasp fully the concept of 'holistic approach', common to all natural and complementary therapies. I also understood our active responsibility in maintaining optimum health and well-being through nutrition, mindfulness and, obviously, reflexology! Most of all, I learned the power of listening. I learned how to listen without judgment. I discovered that empathy and compassion counts as much as the treatment itself.
Maureen Burgess once said to her students: 'If we can develop our sensitivity and awareness, we can also develop our healership'. Hopefully this is exactly what I have been doing all this time.