I have a background in pharmacy, where I was introduced to the study of medicinal plants and how many pharmaceuticals originate from plants. When I imagined myself as a pharmacist, I saw myself supported my community, taking time to know my patients and understand how best to help them. I graduated with my Master’s degree in Pharmacy, but the fast pace and profit-driven focus of community pharmacy felt worlds away from the kind of care I had hoped to offer.
A few months later, after falling in love, I left England and moved to India to begin a new chapter. During the five years I lived there, I was introduced to Ayurveda and began to view health through a broader lens. When we returned to England with our son, then 18 months old, I retrained as a secondary school chemistry teacher.
In the years that followed, I experienced chronic stress, burnout, and exhaustion, which culminated in a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2021. In that moment, it felt as though my future had shattered. But as I found my footing again, I returned to research, drawing on my background in pharmacy, and began exploring how I could actively support my own health.
It was then that I discovered the tradition of Western herbal medicine. I realised that plant medicine was not only practised in India through Ayurveda or in China through Traditional Chinese Medicine… it was also part of my own heritage.
I reconnected with the plants and the medicine they hold.
Since then, I have completed a four-year diploma in Herbal Medicine, gaining over 500 hours of supervised clinical practice, alongside in-depth training in clinical skills and herbal therapeutics. My own health is a testament to the plants.
Today, I am returning to my original goal, but better. I can now take the time to truly know my patients, to understand their stories, and to support my community through bespoke herbal medicine. My work is rooted in restoring balance, resilience, and lasting wellbeing.
