Hi I’m Melissa
but you can call me Mel
I’m a Bachelor Degree qualified Clinical Naturopath, Certified Clinical Hypnosis, NLP Practitioner, and Pilates Instructor based in Brisbane, Australia. A member of ANTA (Australian Natural Therapists Association). I am passionate about helping you achieve your best self by truly valuing yourself, finding the confidence within yourself and having the passion and motivation to achieve your goals.
My key areas of interest are:
Mental health
Digestive issues (bloating, food sensitivities)
Fatigue and sleep conditions
Nutrient deficiencies
Skin conditions (acne, eczema, dermatitis)
Poor immunity
I have a passion for treating holistically (natural medicine, mindset & movement). I personally believe, to acquire our best state of health we need a balance of good nutrition, daily movement, quality sleep and sunshine with a sprinkle of happiness. Something I like to refer to these as the 4 Pillars of Health.
When I’m not working, I fill the rest of my time surrounded by my partner, family, and friends. I love to travel, connect, cook, moving my body and enjoying a nice herbal tea.
I am a mother of 3 beautiful dogs (Tiggy, Mochi and Snow), a foodie, an experimental chef, tea fanatic, flower lover and an explorer.
While in clinic, I am fascinated by the science and biochemistry of the human body and how emotional and physical aspects interlace with each other leading to a complete representation of health & wellbeing. Hence why I furthered my studies beyond Naturopathy to become an instructor. I wanted to understand the anatomy and the function of the body to be able to implement it in my practice as I am really passionate about treating the whole body by addressing both the nutrition and movement aspects of health.
my story
Growing up, I was always surrounded by plants. From being raised on a farm and in a restaurant to being healed by them from the backyard. If I got burnt, my grandma or mum would cut an aloe plant and put it on me. If I got sick, they would cut a bunch of herbs from the yard, boil it in a pot then make me breathe it all in under a blanket for 30 minutes. You can say, this is where my fascination with plants started. I fell in love with how they worked and how comforting they made me feel.
Every time I think back, I appreciate the traditional knowledge I’ve gained and grateful to the inspiration they’ve given to me as a child.
Fast forward ahead to my teen years and this is where I experienced multiple eczema flares. Having none of my present knowledge, I would LAYER on cortisol cream, not knowing what it was doing! It wasn’t until I naturally started to eat healthier that it started to get better.
Skipping to a few more years later after graduating high school and I discovered Naturopathy. It naturally drew me in, and I fall in love with it even more as time goes by.
Coming into 2019, I injured my lower back at work, and this was the start of the snowball effect. At first, I managed my disc bulge by seeing a Naturopath, Osteopath, and a Physiotherapist for 6 months. There were periods of time where I couldn’t even sit down properly for 15 minutes without feeling a shooting pain down my legs but as I stuck to my exercises, as impatient as I may of seem, I could see I was getting better. This was also roughly around the time when I tried out my first Reformer Pilates class and fell in love with it! It was the perfect challenging movement I needed while being able to completely support my back.
Comes 2020, my MOST challenging year ever! Up until now, I thought I could do it all. Study full time, balancing 2-3 jobs at a time, socialising and time for myself. Oh gosh, never have I ever been so wrong! This is where I get hit with a COMPLETE breakdown of my mental health. I developed severe anxiety, depression, chronic acne, and eczema (on my face & hands), lack of self-confidence and complete exhaustion (mentally & physically). It was a major rollercoaster! However, as disheartening all of this was, I am honestly grateful for the experience as I was able to experiment on myself with what worked, what didn’t, and I finally managed to come out of the tunnel into the light.
Enters 2021, I’VE DONE IT! It was a long 6 years, but I managed to finish my Bachelor of Health Science in Naturopathy, together with my Pilates Instructor Certification in the same year.
2022, I have founded my own company, EMBOTANY. With my passion, dedicating my time and knowledge to empower and help guide those who wish to embody their best selves.
From here, I have furthered and continually furthering my studies to provide the best support so I can guide you to be a conscious healthy you.
embody your best self
HOW DID EMBOTANY COME ABOUT?
I’ve created the word EM | BOTANY by combining two words that I feel strongly about, Embody & Botany.
By combining the two, I hope you’re able to embody your best self with the assistance of the healing properties of Botanicals.
ALLOW ME TO HEAR YOUR STORY AND LET ME HELP YOU EMBODY YOUR BEST SELF !