“So, what do you want to do???” I was 17 years old and in my last year of school and this is what the big question from everyone seemed to be. I would usually give a slight shrug and mention the idea of studying history or becoming a teacher, but to be honest, I didn’t really know. I had only applied to one university, which had been accepted, but I didn’t feel settled with the prospect. I knew I loved helping others and imparting knowledge but the idea of a traditional teaching role in a mainstream school just didn’t sit well. One day, a couple months before graduation my childhood friend called me up. “Robyn, I really want to go check out this open day at a college for massage therapy in the city, but I don’t want to go alone, would you like to come along?” I had nothing on, and was always keen to support a friend so off we went. An hour after arriving we left the school. My friend had decided it wasn’t really for her and I had an application in my hand and a clear direction of where I wanted to go.

From that moment I haven’t looked back. I began my studies that September, first with all the sciences of the body – anatomy, physiology, pathology…you get the idea, hands on courses in treatment styles and then eventually practicing on the public in the student clinic linked to the school. I quickly gained a reputation both among the staff and clients for my intuition with treating the body, especially for chronic pain and injuries. I felt so at peace and connected to myself every time I performed a session, it had awakened something in me I didn’t even know existed before then.

As time progressed, there was a consistent element I began to notice through the majority of those I treated. Most of the people I saw didn’t actually understand what was going on with their body, or how to fix it and were just stumbling along in the dark trying to find a path to health as well as they could without proper signposting or knowledge, parroting back whatever phrase had been quoted to them by a health professional. It made me sad and angry to see so many people didn’t understand the most precious and important item they possess – their own body. I made a promise to myself that I would create a wellness business that would look at the body from a whole, interconnected unit and empower people with the knowledge and skills necessary to map their own journey to lifelong health.

Over the next decade I moved first to Germany and then the UK where I expanded my knowledge and experience of the health field by working and further studies in personal training, children’s motor development and nutrition. I began to work less with adults and more with children and found the true core of my passion. I realized I wanted to do more than just pass on some helpful facts, a bit of useful vocabulary and a few exercises or recipes; I wanted to create a new way of looking at health, a way that was integrated into everyday life, that was as natural as reading or riding a bike. Why try to re-direct a population who are set in their ways, when you can lay the path from first steps onwards? I live to help raise a generation of children who are educated about their body and health choices and have the tools necessary to go beyond our destination and reach the stars.