A real example of how integrative wellness approaches can work when everything feels hopeless.

This year marks twenty years of Studio Australia Barcelona.  

Two decades of guiding people in how to care for, maintain, rehabilitate, and heal their bodies through holistic health and wellness practices.

So, I’d like to share something personal, a reflection of the very principles we guide others through, which is an example of how the work we do truly supports healing and recovery.

I also want to challenge the way wellness scandals and cons are casting doubt over holistic and alternative health practices, because they risk shutting down the possibility for people to believe in approaches that genuinely support healing, like the one I’m about to share.

This is my own recent healing story. And the reason I decided to share it is because my maxillofacial specialist, a mainstream medical doctor, encouraged me to. 

She was surprised, I would even say taken back, at how I had healed myself. I think she realised it wasn’t just a coincidence or a fluke, it was a choice. A conscious decision to take control of my health with the tools I’ve spent my life practicing and sharing.

Our health doesn’t just break down overnight. It’s usually a slow accumulation of stress, poor eating habits, lack of movement, disrupted sleep, and ignoring the body’s subtle warning signs, until one day, it all catches up with us.

This is how it all caught up with me.

The Five Year Breakdown Before the Breakthrough

2020 started with the grief of losing my stepfather.

In March came COVID, within months we were forced to closed our physical studio after 13 years of building a business we loved in that particular location. That loss was devastating. 

Everything felt like a slow implosion.

Then came the financial stress.  Financial stress can take a serious toll on the body, triggering chronic anxiety, disrupting sleep, weakening the immune system, and keeping the nervous system, and especially your autonomic nervous system, in a constant state of fight or flight.

Your autonomic nervous system regulates vital functions like heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and stress response, and when it breaks down, the body can spiral into dysfunction, triggering symptoms like panic attacks, extreme fatigue, high blood pressure, and as described above, the constant state of fight or flight.

The result? Three years of physical red flags. Gut issues, a kidney cancer scare, other symptoms that weren’t “serious,” but all signs that my immune system, adreanals and nervous systems were faltering.

But hey, ‘she’ll be right’.

In 2023, my time was consumed by repeated trips to Australia, selling the family property in rural Victoria, packing up my mother, relocating her to South Australia and helping her settle into a new home, all while also searching for a new apartment for us to relocate and reopen our center in Barcelona.

They say the three biggest sources of stress in life are moving house, losing a loved one, and financial pressure…

By early 2024, I was completely depleted. But true to form, I pushed through, hosting Christmas dinner for ten, just two weeks after moving into our freshly renovated apartment (which, naturally, had to be perfect beforehand). All of this, of course, while still running our company.

So it’s not a surprise that I ended up with a migraine. It lasted for three months.

By month two, I went to a neurologist to see if there were any new medications or options to give me some relief. I have suffered from Basilar Migraines since I was in my early 20’s and they only arrive when my body is trying to get my attention. I knew I’d pushed too far, again.  They sent me off for a MRI just to rule out if there was any other issues, which I diligently did.

I believe that when we’re not truly listening, life finds a way to send us messages, louder and clearer each time, until we finally pay attention.

One of our mantras to caring for your body that we tell our clients is that your body shouldn’t be screaming at you before you listen.  It was a bit like, ‘do as I say not as I do’ in this instance.

And then, I had a freak accident. One of those surreal moments. I slipped and fell on a wet footpath and in two seconds I had completely snapped my wrist—broke the ulnar and radius, shattered the carpal bones

It was one of the most painful experiences of my life.

But the shock, the drugs, the pain, it did something else. It crashed my autonomic nervous system. 

And I mean crashed.  

The Invisible Breakdown

I didn’t understand what was happening at first. My blood pressure, normally around 110/70, spiked to dangerously high levels. I ended up in emergency three times in a week.

Full blown panic attacks followed. The kind you can’t breathe through, can’t control, can’t rationalise.

Here’s what I’ve learned: when the autonomic nervous system hits that level of breakdown, you can’t just “think” your way out of it. Your fight-or-flight response is now driving the show.

For the first 7 weeks after surgery, I could barely get out of bed. Functioning was a struggle.

Then I got another hit. During the follow up appointment with the neurologist, whom I hadn’t been able to see any earlier due to my fall, I was told that I had a 24mm growth in my left cheek that they were ‘concerned about’. 

They needed to investigate it further. Another MRI.  A maxillofacial referral.  A biopsy was scheduled.

I was exhausted. Three months into recovery.  A shadow of myself.  My nervous system had broken and I was also diagnosed with Sympathetic Reflex Dystrophy Syndrome.

The Turning Point

If you know me, you know I’m a doer. A fixer. I’m fit. Ambitious. A warrior. And suddenly I couldn’t even walk to the hairdresser without a panic attack.

That loss of agency, of capacity, was devastating. I felt not just lost but scared.

But somewhere in the depths of this fear and depair, the part of me that refuses to give up recognised that if I didn’t take back control and shift my perspective, the next crisis might be the one I couldn’t come back from.  I needed to get my shit together.  Now.

That’s when I turned to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza.

My partner Natalia has followed his work for over a decade but I’d always brushed it off as ‘her thing’. 

But I was at a point of desperation, so I asked her to share the links to his work.

I needed tools.

As someone who mostly relies on science, facts, and systems, I needed clear, evidence based explanations to truly understand what was happening to my body physically, emotionally, and chemically, so I could logically choose the right tools to help myself heal.

I started with his book Evolve Your Brain, and it was like being awakened with realisation. 

What I was experiencing was not just emotional and physical, it was deeply chemical, and affecting every system in my body.

I, myself, finally had a grasp intellectually of what was happening in my body. 

When the autonomic nervous system (ANS) breaks down, often due to prolonged stress, trauma, or shock, the communication between the brain and body becomes dysregulated. The brain’s stress centre, the amygdala, remains overactivated, constantly signalling danger even when there is none. This triggers the hypothalamus to keep releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, flooding the body with chemicals designed for short term survival.

Over time, this chronic chemical stress response overwhelms the parasympathetic system (responsible for rest, recovery, and repair), leaving the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) stuck in overdrive. The result? Elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, poor digestion, disrupted sleep, weakened immunity, panic attacks, and a body that’s running on emergency mode with no off switch.

The fear, the pain, the physiological reactions. And suddenly, I had a framework to work with.

The tool? Meditation. So I committed to a daily practice of three specific types of meditations: one focused on healing my body, another to balance my chakras, and a third to connect with the vision of my future self.  Where I was healed.

Ninety minutes each day, often with tears of relief, as I slowly began to reconnect with myself.

It’s important to acknowledge that in the moment in which I realised I needed to take control of my healing I knew that it needed to be a holistic plan, I chose to follow the very advice I’ve given others for years.

I altered my diet and consciously incorporated supportive therapies inclucing Qi Gung , acupuncture, Reiki , holistic physiotherapy, and homeopathy into my routine.  

Without a doubt, my recovery is the result of a fully integrated, whole body approach.

The Shift

Two weeks later the day of the biopsy arrived. Valium taken to relieve my anxiety as I was having constant panic attacks, Natalia by my side, I went to the hospital for the biopsy. 

But before the proceedure, they needed to do another ultrasound to pinpoint the growth.

The technician kept stopping, checking the screen, walking away, coming back. Finally I asked, “Can’t you find it?”

He said, “It’s too small to biopsy, I think.”

It had shrunk. From 24mm to 10mm in two weeks.

At the next appointment with the maxillofacial doctor she was still not convinced that we shouldn’t have the biopsy or remove the growth to test it.  I was adamant the we should wait and requested to wait another four weeks before proceeding.   She reluctantly agreed, but only due to the fact that it had shrunk and not grown any larger.

I kept up meditating routine, every day, without fail. 

Four weeks later when I went for the next ultrasound, it was 6mm.

At the next appointment with my specialist she finally asked: “What are you doing?”

I told her. I explained I was using energy work and left it at that. I was ready for the usual eye-roll.

But instead, she said: “Well, something’s working so let’s see you in another 6 weeks.”

Gone

On the 28th of February, I went back for what turned out to be my final follow up with the maxillofacial specialist. 

The growth was gone.

This time I told my doctor that I had been following Joe Dispenza’s method.

She looked at me and said: “You should share this with Joe Dispenza.”

The thing is that I live, breathe and care for people with a holistic approach to health and wellness and recently there has been so much controversy around this approach so I felt that I should share it with you.  

With people who are interested in knowing that there are alternatives to healing the body in conjunction with and other than the mainstream medical system that are not a con.

Truth, Trust, and the Cost of Wellness Scandals

Recently, the wellness industry has come under intense scrutiny, and in some circumstances rightfully so. 

High profile cases have revealed the dangers of blindly following individuals who profit from deception, exploiting people’s hope and trust with false health claims.

Take Belle Gibson, for example—an Australian wellness influencer who falsely claimed she had cured terminal brain cancer through natural remedies. Her fabricated story became the foundation of a successful brand, The Whole Pantry, complete with a best-selling app and cookbook. But it was all a lie. She never had cancer. In 2017, she was fined $410,000 AUD for deceptive conduct, a penalty she has yet to pay. Her story became the subject of the Netflix docuseries Apple Cider Vinegar , a cautionary tale about the dark side of influencer culture in wellness.

Elle Macpherson sparked concern after publicly sharing that she opted out of chemotherapy for breast cancer in favour of a natural, holistic path. While she did undergo surgery, her strong promotion of alternative methods, without the context of medical oversight, drew criticism for potentially misleading others about their treatment choices.  

It’s important to say that we support Elle Macpherson’s choice to share her healing journey, and we respect her commitment to a holistic lifestyle. Everyone deserves the right to choose their own path to wellness. But it’s also worth recognising that Elle has the financial resources, time, and access to some of the best experts and treatments in the world. That level of privilege isn’t available to most people navigating serious health issues. And that’s why transparency matters—because while her story may inspire, it’s not necessarily a blueprint that others can realistically follow without the same support systems in place.

An even figures like Dr. Joe Dispenza have faced backlash. In France, his workshops on self healing and meditation were banned by authorities over concerns about safety and scientific credibility. 

But here’s where the narrative needs more nuance.

We Practice What we Preach

These stories have cast a long shadow over the wellness industry, one that risks obscuring the real, grounded work being done by practitioners who are transparent, evidence informed, and deeply committed to helping others heal. 

When you lump all alternative health under the label of “dangerous” or “fraudulent,” you silence the stories of those who’ve experienced genuine, measurable healing through integrative approaches. And you discourage people from exploring options that could actually work for them, especially when conventional medical routes abandon and fall short.

The issue isn’t holistic health itself. It’s misinformation, lack of integrity, and the absence of critical thinking. We need to ask the right questions, stay informed, and separate the hype from the real, proven practice.

Because these alternative tools can make a profound difference.

My story is a personal, lived experience of recovery. One that mirrors the principles I’ve fostered and practiced for over 20 year, and one that may help others see what’s possible when holistic wellness is approached with honesty, accountability, and heart.

We don’t just talk about holistic healing.  We live it.  We practice what we preach.