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THE QUALITY OF TEACHING
The single most important factor for you the student, is to have the very best tutors possible. Top quality tutors who have the necessary breadth of knowledge, skills and experience are truly few and far between.

The right tutors make the subject come alive, make the course either fascinating and fun or a boring slog. It is the tutors that make this course one that broadens students' horizons and imparts a perspective that is valued and treasured for the rest of one's life.

No compromise: The main reason that the Academy has chosen to remain a relatively small school is because we are not prepared to compromise at all by having even one that is not top flight.

Skill and experience level: All our tutors are highly skilled, highly trained, highly qualified and very experienced. Between them they also have qualifications in an extraordinary variety of related therapies. 

To name just a few there are Alexander Technique, aromatherapy, Thai yoga massage, baby massage, reflexology, healing, shamanic healing, colour therapy, medical herbalism, reiki, crystal therapy, mime and dance. Well, you get the idea! The important thing for you is that the tutors are able to draw on all their knowledge and experience and incorporate it into the course wherever appropriate. They will be able to answer your questions on this wonderfully wide and diverse range of related subjects.

Practical not theoretical: Our tutors all practice massage and have their own successful practices. This means that they are not just teaching you from a theoretical standpoint, but from actual day-to-day experience. They are not teachers because they can't do anything else. They teach because they really love it.

Training and standards: Tutors are only accepted into the Academy if they already have several years of teaching experience and have proved themselves to have proficient skills in and truly enjoy teaching. They then undergo a thorough in-house training to teach them our very holistic approach to massage and in particular our special experiential teaching techniques. This is one of the reasons why our course is so special for the students.

The tutors also have to pass an external exam set by the examining boards of the accreditation bodies ITEC and MTI.

Ongoing training and experience: The tutors also all continue their learning and training. They attend complementary courses on an ongoing basis, to extend their knowledge, not just of massage, but also related subjects and indeed teaching techniques, so that they are always freshly inspired and can bring new dimensions to the course for you.
COURSE TUTORS



SHARON BULL - Course Director, Principal Tutor
In her former career, Sharon was an HR manager in the field of investment banking, living and working in Hong Kong. Whilst exciting, this high-speed and high-stress environment eventually led to a full physical and emotional collapse that left her exhausted and diagnosed as suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. 

Receiving massage and reiki showed Sharon the way out from the symptoms of her ME and also, in turn, offered her a whole new way of living. Inspired by the profound changes she noticed in her own mind and body, Sharon returned to the UK in 1998 and studied at the Academy, qualifying as a holistic massage therapist in her own right in 1999. 

Since then, Sharon has cross trained in many disciplines including Thai yoga massage, reflexology, reiki, deep tissue and hot stone massage. She combines her holistic approach to healing and wellness by specialising in working with stress, pain and anxiety-related issues in her own private practice, much of which comes from GP-referral and from other links with mental health charities. Sharon has been a tutor at the Academy since 2001 and has recently taken the business reins from Katya stepping into the role of Course Director and Principal Tutor. Her creative and easygoing approach encourages individuals to explore the relationship with their own bodies through movement, stretching and therapies, empowering them to take responsibility for their own health. Her vision is to make energy and bodywork accessible to all in everyday life and to that end has worked roadside, on the beach and at festivals as well as overseas.
 

KATYA LANGMUUR , MA - Senior Course Tutor
Originally a professional opera singer, Katya Langmuur trained in holistic aromatherapy at the Tisserand Institute wanting to embrace a more holistic, yet still creative, way of living. In combination with the performance and movement-based skills garnered whilst at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and later at the Royal Academy of Music, she also has further bodywork and healthcare training in seated acupressure massage, pulsing, deep tissue massage, in 'No Hands' massage and in nutritional therapy. In conjunction with a busy private practice, Katya is registered by the NHS and works as a medical aromatherapist specialising in HIV+ and immunity care for the River House Trust, for whom she also facilitates meditation workshops.

In addition to her work at the Academy, Katya teaches on courses in Indian religious studies at the University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC) and facilitates other spiritual training programmes. Katya's own Masters Degree, from UKC, is an MA on the Study of Mysticism and Religious Experience, which she was awarded with distinction in 2003. She is now in her fifth and final year of doctoral research (also at UKC) focusing on Hindu devotional tradition through the fulcrum of twentieth century Indian Guru, Neem Karoli Baba. She plans to turn this thesis into a book in the coming year.

Since coming to the Academy as a tutor in January 2001, Katya has taught on every aspect of the massage training programme and was the Principal Tutor between 2006 and 2008. Known for the multi-disciplined, creative and fun approach that she brings to all her classes and workshops, Katya facilitates the Academy Satsang, an ongoing spiritual community group that is part of the greater Academy family. Katya also plays harmonium and sings in the Academy Kirtan Group, a musical collective that hosts regular meditational Indian chanting evenings.
 

CORRINA JELLEYMAN - Asst.Tutor & Personal Mentor
I first came to massage as a potential way of relieving stress for myself as I worked in the corporate world with very long hours at a desk and regularly working 7day weeks. Once I started training at the Academy of Natural Health I realised that there was something very special about the place and since becoming involved at my introductory weekend have never left! I have grown as a therapist and as a tutor and really enjoy being part of the team spreading true holistic touch through our students. I really enjoy working with people on various levels using Massage, Reflexology and Reiki and gradually incorporating coaching to provide truly tailored treatments and work with people as true individuals. Whether in the class-room or treatment room - I love seeing people grow and blossom and love learning from each client and student.

Corrina qualified as a Massage Practitioner (MTI & ITEC) in 2003 and has since been building her private practice and keeping in touch with the Academy - assisting on various courses, has made a natural progression into Assistant Tutor and Personal Mentor. She primarily works with people from the corporate environment and with athletes of various levels - in particular her local ice-Hockey team and more recently with ladies pre, during and post Pregnancy.
 

ANJA SAUNDERS - Senior Course Tutor and Founder
Anja Saunders, founder and former director of the Academy of Natural Health has been working in holistic healing for the past twenty years. She has a private practice in Central London where she does holistic bodywork, shamanic work and a variety of forms of vibrational healing, as well as teaching the Alexander technique and tai ji. She also facilitates ceremonies and rituals. She works with the holistic principle that body, mind and spirit are integrated and need to be balanced for health and vitality.
Email: anja@fragrantfeathers.net


PIP WALLER - Senior Course Tutor and Head of Anatomy and Physiology
Pip Waller is head of Anatomy and Physiology. This means that she teaches the A&P program as well as monitors students' progression in their understanding of A&P for massage. She trained as a medical herbalist as well as a massage practitioner and her knowledge of Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology is outstanding. Her lively personality together with the experiential way of teaching we adopt at the Academy, ensures that this potentially daunting subject is filled with excitement and discovery. Pip loves singing and practices shamanic healing techniques as well as herbal medicine.

CATHERINE WALLER - Course Tutor
Cath discovered the art of massage over a decade ago and has been immersed in it ever since. She is the main tutor for the Introductory Module at the Academy, which she has been teaching since 2002. Her massage work has taken her into a variety of settings including hospice care, holistic clinics, businesses, theatres and yoga retreats abroad. Alongside her training in holistic massage she has also completed a five year apprenticeship in Traditional Thai Yoga Massage and created 'Earthways Institute Of Thai Yoga Massage', one of the first training schools in the UK.  She is an artist, a qualified yoga teacher and holds a diploma in creative art therapy. Her belief in creativity as a vehicle for human potential has led her to train as an integrative arts psychotherapist in London, where she is presently completing an MA. She has many years of teaching experience and is known for her warm, playful and inclusive style of teaching.

"I believe everyone can learn to massage and given the right environment will easily find out how. The Academy of Natural Health offers an optimal learning environment that supports and encourages its students from day one. As the main tutor for the Introductory Module I am committed to assisting all those who wish to dip their toe into the world of massage find their first footing on this amazing journey and discover the tools needed to 'be in touch' with themselves and with massage."

KYRA DE CONINCK - Postgraduate Tutor
As well as teaching our Soft Tissue Release and Massage in Pregnancy weekends, Kyra is Director of Studies of BSc Sports Therapy at the University of Kent where she has been a lecturer for the past 5 years.

She also runs a holistic sports & remedial massage practice in Kent along with teaching massage workshops for midwives, ante-natal groups and massage therapists. Her background is theatre and dance which initially drew her to massage and led to further studies in soft tissue work. Currently, she is particularly interested in the fascial anatomy of people with lower back pain, which will keep her busy for a few years!

She is also the singer/ song-writer in punky girl-band The A-Lines, and has released numerous albums over the years, and toured throughout the world. She realises she should know better by now, but she says it helps her to keep sane.