This story goes quite a way back. It starts with Naomi asking me to join a clinic she was forming in Woollahra way back in 2009. Both she and I had been running our own acupuncture businesses separately for some time. She’d decided she didn’t want to work alone anymore and so had hand-picked all these therapists who she’d had her eye on for years and I was one of them.
Her proposition to me was a little different to the rest… it went something along the lines of this: “I’m creating this wonderful group of women therapists that I’d love for you to join. When you have your next baby I can work for you and hold the clinic for you and vice versa.”
I’d just had my first child, well she was about ten months at the time. Running a clinic all on my own at the same time as caring for a baby was big, and something I didn’t want to do a second time around, so it was very tempting. I was tired though, being a first-time mum and I’d started up my practice in two locations already, the thought of doing it again at a third was also tiring. Whilst Naomi longed for lots of talking and people, I actually longed for silence and some alone time.
I remember saying something along the lines of, “I would love to think about it in a few months,” to which she answered, “Well I can’t promise the offer will be here then – it’s here now… and if it works and we like each other then there’s the possibility of you joining me to run the clinic.” So that got me in – that and the thought of having my/our clinic tended to whilst I was away on maternity leave and I could concentrate on my baby.
Fast-forward six years and there has been another baby for me and two for Naomi and the clinic is still going strong. So what’s our secret? It is a real Red Tent.
Naomi had read the book The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and described to me what it was about. I loved the sound of it so I agreed we should call our centre the Red Tent Health Centre. What did I love? I loved hearing that history had been re-imagined from the female perspective. I loved the idea of a sacred place only women could gather during their menstrual cycle and their birth. I loved the support that comes from that.
Naomi wanted to make our own Red Tent where we could all support each other since being women and having babies makes life different for us and she wanted to support that process – and I wanted to join in that vision – sounded divine!
It wasn’t long before I read the book, my first book since having a child. I couldn’t put it down. I kept reading well into the early hours of the morning.
Now you and I both know that a book has to be pretty special to pull you away from much-needed sleep.
So a few years after the physical Red Tent was born, my passion and vision to build more of a virtual Red Tent though an online space was also born. We started by teaching acupressure online courses to midwives, then we taught mums how to care for their sick children with home remedies online and most recently we gathered together an amazing line up of women to talk about a precious Red Tent issue – birth. We called it the Bumps Births Babies Holistic Health Conference.
It went off with a bang in March 2015. We were on fire and just loved talking to all the incredible women we had gathered together from Australia and internationally. We recorded all of the talks so we could spread the wealth of knowledge after it was over.
We had topics that looked at how your hormones affect your birth and what you can do to maximise what nature intended so you get the best out of them, thanks Dr Sarah Buckley.
We had birth prep covered with fascinating talks about what the three pillars of good birth preparation are and how to achieve them, thanks Nadine Richardson.
We had intriguing and an enlightening chat about having a super pleasurable birth and how that could be possible from Debra Pascali-Bonaro from Orgasmic Birth.
We listened to Professor Hannah Dahlen from the University of Western Sydney discuss the super interesting topic of epigenetics and what potential effects we may be having on future generations without even realising it. We also discussed the importance of your gut flora and your microbiome and how important they are realising that is now to your bubba’s health and wellbeing.
There was also Gail Tully from Spinning Babies who gave great info on how to get your baby into the best position for labour.
Naomi and I talked as well. We gave you info on what acupressure techniques can help to prepare you for birth to avoid a medical induction.
And then we covered the other side, early parenthood.Pinky McKay showered us with her awesome advice on breastfeeding and settling and oh so much more.
Well there’s our Red Tent story in a nutshell. It’s not over yet though, there is movement in the water and changes are coming – good changes that will bear more fruit for all. Naomi’s youngest baby is a few months off one, the other has just turned three and mine feel like they’re almost flying the nest at four and seven – but fortunately they’re not.
Ideas are brewing and we are getting excited at the next stage of our lives together as Red Tent business women. It has been wonderful to be able to support each other through this precious stage of early motherhood. It is so demanding on your time and energy and to have each other’s backs has been – well – just awesome. It has had its rough patches and it hasn’t all been roses – but what relationship is? We’re still here and alive and kicking and loving it :)
Discover our virtual Red Tent
Acupressure course for midwives, doulas and birth educators: Ancient Secrets to Better Bumps Births and Babies.
Natural kids’ health course for mamas: From Anxiety to Security – The A–Z of Home Remedies for Children’s Health.
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