Tia Miers always knew that she wanted her career to centre around helping people's health and wellbeing.
“I have always been interested in human biology and how the body works,” she tells Mamamia.
Like many with this interest, Tia began studying nursing, only to very quickly discover that this wasn’t the right pathway for her.
After researching and reading more about ways to still help people’s health in alternative ways, Tia discovered naturopathy. She transferred to Endeavour College of Natural Health where she completed her four-year Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy), specialising in herbal and nutritional medicine.
“It was amazing. I loved it. I went from a big university to a smaller educational institution where I wasn’t just a number, I was a person, most of the lecturers knew our names,” she explains.
Endeavour College, a leader of natural health education, has six campuses nationally (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Gold Coast and Adelaide) and a robust online education platform which allows undertaking natural health education – ranging from massage, nutrition, naturopathy to acupuncture, easy and accessible.
But for Tia, the biggest benefit of her educational experience there was its interactivity that allowed her to ask questions and learn in her own way.
She was especially drawn to the healing properties and abilities of herbal medicine, which naturopaths use within their practice for a wide range of conditions.
“Naturopathy is a holistic health practice that focuses on the whole person. It looks to find the root cause of a health problem rather than just manage the symptoms,” she says.
“Naturopaths use herbal and nutritional medicines to correct body and health imbalances, as well as offer dietary and lifestyle support to help improve health."
For Tia, this is now the focus of her own business, Tia Miers Naturopathy, which she began four years ago.
It’s here where she specialises in individualised herbal tonics and compounds for a range of health issues, with a special focus on women’s health and hormones.
“In my clinic I do a lot of work with women’s health after experiencing my own hormonal imbalances and getting diagnosed with endometriosis and acne.”
She also supports patients with a range of other health concerns, including energy imbalance, dietary issues, anxiety and fatigue.
Tia’s day usually begins with the same routine: wake, exercise and breakfast.
“I am a morning person! I love to exercise in the morning. I either do a Pilates or boxing class, or sometimes take Wilma [her 10-month-old groodle] for a walk. I find it just energises me before I start working with clients,” she says.
But after this Tia says there really isn’t an average or usual day.
“Every day is different because each patient I see will be visiting with their own specific health issues and needs.”
Seeing with anywhere between 6-8 patients, the majority of Tia’s day is spent consulting, with an average appointment running for an hour but an initial appointment up to 75 minutes.
“The time allows the practitioner time to find the root cause of the imbalance rather than just a quick five or ten minutes which only addresses the symptoms,” she explains.
“Within the consultations I go through different questioning of different bodily systems to find which system may be imbalanced and what herb and what nutrient will correct that body system,” she says.
She also comprehensively analyses past and present health concerns and discusses health goals that the patient may have.
From this point, Tia will use this information to tailor individualised treatment program as well as create a specific herbal tonic and nutritional compound to help treat the patient’s root condition.
In addition to her one-on-one appointments Tia also designs her own range of naturopathic support products, running an online shop via her website and Instagram.
Tia not only uses Instagram to successfully market and sell her own naturopathy products but she also utilises the platform to share insights into the world of naturopathy and the treatments and benefits it can offer.
By posting a range of educational content from FAQ Instagram Reels on a variety of topics including adrenal, balance, and herbal nutritional medicine as well as others that showcase her day-to-day work as a naturopath, from mixing herbs inside her studio and scrumptious food and recipes that marry this lifestyle, followers can get an authentic look inside the natural health practice.
Tia also posts some snippets of her personal life, particularly her favourite co-worker (Wilma, her dog!), which if you ask me is reason enough alone to hit follow.
The importance of Instagram in Tia’s business as a naturopath has been significant.
“It has been such a powerful marketing tool that I have never had to pay for advertising,” she confesses.
It has also allowed Tia to expand her client base and help get naturopathy more into the mainstream. With over 21K followers and regular waiting lists for appointments, this is obviously working very well for her.
The end of most workdays for Tia is around 5pm, where she will head home and switch off from social media and business emails to try and achieve a desirable work life balance.
“This is definitely something I am still working on,” she laughs.
Discover the courses you can study online at Endeavour College of Natural Health.
Feature Image: Instagram @tiamiers/Mamamia.