Your Wellness New Zealand Team

Sarah McGuire - Founder/Co-owner/Practitioner

Sarah is an Holistic Therapist, accredited Life Coach and Hypnotherapist . She began her vast array of training in coaching and massage in 2003 where she studied relaxation, Lomi Lomi, Shiatzu and emotional release techniques.  

She then went on to work at Fountainhead Retreat in Australia. This experience allowed Sarah to work with clients who were suffering and recovering from cancer and other health issues, including anxiety and depression, treating them organically and holistically. In her time there she learnt about detoxification, raw food preparation and permaculture. These opportunities have given her a well-rounded perspective on holistic treatments and lifestyle. 

Upon relocating back to Nelson, Sarah began working in the outdoors, managing a guiding company, where she discovered another opening for people to connect with themselves and others through movement and being empowered by nature.

This combination of experiences ultimately lead to her creating Wellness New Zealand offering a unique transformative approach to wellness.

Sarah Cumming - Co-owner/General Manager

Sarah has a background in secondary school teaching and with 18 years experience, many of these in leadership roles, Sarah supports the behind the scenes running of Wellness New Zealand.

Sarah is passionate about spending time in the outdoors, on the water and in the bush. Her personal experiences, which include the devastating Christchurch earthquakes, led Sarah to seek out nature and alternative ways of healing and re-balancing her system.

With training in the practice of Shinrin Yoku, Sarah brings a different perspective to your experience of being in nature during our journeys.

She has an affinity for the wildlife the NZ bush is home to and loves photographing our stunning environment. 

Natalie Towler - Naturopath/Medicinal Herbalist - Nelson Clinic

Natalie first came across Natural Health after a backpacking adventure through Africa. She met a local healer in Uganda who showed her some plants and explained their healing properties. This was a totally new concept for Natalie and really sparked her interest.  Anti-Malaria medication and probably some pretty un-hygenic eating experiences caused her to become extremely sick a few months later and so she headed back to England where she was in and out of tropical hospitals, GP's etc, no one could discover what was causing the problem.

Back in NZ a chance encounter in a health store set Natalie on a path of discovery and success simply from altering her diet.

This prompted her train and begin a career in Natural Health. Natalie has Diplomas in Naturopathy, Massage, Nutrition and Medical Herbalism and a Bachelor's Degree in Health Science.

On graduation Natalie was employed by Thompson Nutrition (now Sanderson's) as Technical Manager /Naturopath.  Her role there was Product Development, Technical writer and national training of company staff, GP's, Pharmacists and Health shops in how to use these products.  After 2 years she moved to Mapua, where she practiced independently for 3 years before having her children.  

Natalie has a passion for art - using wood as a medium and also loves oil painting and has recently taken up ceramic lessons.

Rachael Vickers - Integrative Nutrition Health Coach - Nelson Clinic

Rachael is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who is passionate about supporting and guiding women on their fertility journey through the power of simple dietary and lifestyle changes. 

Rachael understands the emotional roller-coaster, highs and lowest of lows that a fertility journey can bring from her own personal experience of eight years of "unexplained infertility", a devastating miscarriage, an unsuccessful IVF cycle, multiple visits to doctors and alternative health practitioners, to finally attaining the longed for baby a month after she turned forty. Her beautiful baby girl was conceived naturally following dietary, lifestyle and supplementation changes. 

Motivated by her own fertility journey, Rachael became deeply interested in the field of integrative nutrition and health and has completed a health coaching certification at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition as well as an advanced course in hormone health.

Leeann Hill ND - Massage therapist/Naturopath - Punakaiki Journeys

Leeann has been a practicing as a naturopath since 1998 and has been embracing massage full time for 15 years. Through Leeann’s training as a Naturopath, she has developed a range of modalities which support the body’s own healing abilities with the use of natural and non toxic therapies.

Her massage is very therapeutic and relaxing to the body; enhancing blood flow to the skin surface, relieving stress and gathering up toxins, moving them out through a stimulated lymphatic system.

Leeann joins us on your day for ‘self’, offering you an experience in either Deep Tissue, Relaxation, Reflexology, Aroma Touch Essential Oil massage or Reiki healing.

Claire Langley - Qigong/Meditation - Guest practitioner

Claire’s journey started in late 2008 when her husband Matt, a very fit and healthy 25 years old was diagnosed with cancer. It was already very advanced and as his Western doctors were very cautious about not offering “false hope”, Claire immediately decided that the way in which she could best help him was to look for hope outside of this medical paradigm.  Claire spent every moment she had researching alternatives and trying them. Matt’s journey with cancer and her subsequent research gave her the opportunity to become aware of many people who had healed themselves from all sorts of diseases in all sorts of ways. She couldn’t help but want to understand the underlying laws behind these amazing recoveries.

Fast forward to 2013: Claire continues to apply some of the things she has learnt around health and wellbeing and she is still on the lookout for something or someone who could help her understand what makes some people recover from life-threatening diseases. While in her chiropractor’s waiting room she come across an article from a woman in New Zealand, Vanessa Lukes who recovered from cancer and seems to be thriving on Qigong. (Organic NZ article, January 2013. Vanessa is also mentioned in the book 'Radical Remissions' by Kelly A. Turner). Talking with her chiropractor about it a few minutes later, Claire found out that there is a Qigong Master named Yuan Tze (Vanessa’s Qigong teacher) who lives in Wellington and offers a 6 years teacher training in New Zealand. Read more…