Tiffany Bown

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It was my own four-year experience with infertility and complementary medicine before the birth of my first child that led me to train as a Naturopath and a Yoga teacher, and to specialise in the area of reproductive health. I lived in China at the time, so turned to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and also started practicing yoga. These helped me so much that, after moving to Italy in 2000, I began my TCM-based naturopathic studies, focusing particularly on women's reproductive health. Since qualifying in 2007, I have also trained as a teacher of both MogaDao Yoga (a ovely
practice that brings together classic yoga with the Chinese healing art of Qigong) and of Birthlight yoga for pregnancy and for fertility.

After 21 years abroad, I moved back to the UK (and to Cambridge where I studied Chinese many years ago!) in late 2011. I joined the therapists at Neal's Yard in 2012, offering naturopathy, reflexology, yoga and qigong for general and, in particular, reproductive wellbeing. I find that these disciplines fit beautifully together to promote vital and fertile good health. Naturopathic advice empowers people to make positive lifestyle and diet changes, while the relaxing, harmonising and healing effects of specialised yoga and reflexology are wonderfully beneficial both in the pre-conception period and in pregnancy, whether things are going smoothly or not.

I also teach regular yoga therapy groups in Cambridge for both pre-conceptual care/fertility and for pregnancy. My personal journey informs my desire to help other couples navigate their own fertility issues and allows me to relate deeply to what they are going through. I know from my own experience that the healing and empowerment that comes from taking the time and the  responsibility to nurture yourself is just what is needed during such a magical but unpredictable journey, whether or not it ends with a baby. I believe it is as important for men as it is for women and for those with no fertility issues as much as for those with specific or unidentified problems. In pregnancy, such nurturing can make all the difference to the experience of both mother and child, and post-natally it smooths the transition to motherhood.