About Tania & Amor

Hi, I'm Tania Cottew, the Director/Owner/Operator of Amor Aromatherapy Ltd.

I initially set up Amor Aromatherapy in 1994 and became incorporated in 1998 with the desire to produce my own products as I felt there was a real need for pure aromatherapy products instead of the current mass marketed hype of "pure essential oils" in chemical bases. In 1999 www.AmorAromatherapy.co.nz was born. Here is a brief background on how I arrived here!

The Beginning Years
I was first introduced to Aromatherapy in 1987 when I did my first massage course through the Auckland College of Massage. From there I went searching for every book I could find on the subject and continued learning, receiving my NZQA Diploma of Aromatherapy in 1998.

My journey with my fertility issues and my son (who is now 27 years old - where did the years go!) and his unusual form of asthma (allergic to ventolin, triggered by humidity) as well as being galactose intolerant, allergic to wheat and being diagnosed with ADHD & ODD at a very young age made me want to learn more about what I could do for us, rather than having to rely on only the orthodox medical system. Due to his health and my sensitivities to drugs, I had been using aromatherapy on him as a baby and before I knew it I was making blends for friends and family, developing my Babycare, Childcare and Mothercare Ranges - each remedy has its story on the page.

My initial training of 825 hours included Medical Aromatherapy, Herbal Fundamentals (60 Herbal Remedies including Rongoā Māori), Therapeutic and Sports Massage, Infant Massage, Fascial Release, Fascial Kinetics (a derivative of Bowen Technique), Energy Balancing, Lymphatic Drainage, Anatomy & Physiology (including Biochemistry and Nutrition) and Pathology (bone and joint disorders & musculoskeletal injuries, cardiovascular disorders, neurological pathology, dermatological pathology, and gastrointestinal pathology).

When I first qualified, my clinic work specialised in Paediatrics and Women's Health, particularly in the areas of fertility and infertility, pregnancy and miscarriages, hormone imbalance conditions (including early menopause) and utilising essential oils, herbs and diet to help rebalance the body because of personal experience. I also studied Bioregulatory Medicine through Brauer and Heel.

During that period I also worked as a volunteer and facilitator for Miscarriage Support Auckland, as well as Eastern Bays Hospice with cancer patients, and nursing close family and friends through terminal illnesses and permanent disabilities due to accidents (my mother became a paraplegic).

To feed my Yang personality, I also work in construction (my money-earning qualifications being quantity surveying, construction programming, construction management and salutogenic design). My husband is now the director of the company I started and runs it every day with me providing input as required.

The Life Changes
In May 2006 two weeks after setting up Amor's new website I had a nasty fall whilst shopping, going over backwards and landing on my head, then my sacrum and finally my shoulder. I managed to dislocate my shoulder, as well as fracture my skull and sacrum/coccyx which weren't diagnosed at the time until 4 weeks later (and 2 days before we were relocating to Northland). It turned out 6 weeks later that I had a MBTI (mild brain trauma injury) caused by cumulative concussion (my 8th head injury - the others as a child) affecting my ability to speak or interact with people and the loss of use of the right side of my body.

So whilst in recovery mode, Amor was expanded into raw materials (because minimal concentration is required to bag and bottle raw materials), and I discovered that standing or sitting for periods of time during a consultation/massage was unfeasible.

With my brain still messed up, I decided to go back to Wellpark College in 2009 to see what I could (or couldn't) remember and discovered that memory storage and recall was an issue so sat the papers I wanted to upgrade in - Microbiology, Biochemistry, Nutrition and Naturopathy, Flower Essences, Homeopathy, and that Researching to Research was just too "out there" for my comprehension and my concept of completing the Bachelor of Health Sciences in Naturopathy went west.
On the upside, during my time there, I was diagnosed as a Coeliac with Malabsorption Syndrome and used it as my research assignment and started ticking many boxes in relation to my health all my life... and now my health interest has moved into Digestive disorders, Auto-immune disorders and Brain chemistry.

In 2010 we bought an amazing leaky home property at auction (which we have since sold) and relocated back to Auckland for our construction management consultancy. In 2013 I joined the Facilities team at Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) as a Project Manager, along with running Amor as a web only small business, processing orders after hours (between 8-10pm) and during the weekends.

My Big Adventure
In 2016, I embarked on one of my biggest dreams and ticked off a very large section of my bucket list - I explored Europe for 3 months inlcuding a portion of the Camino Primitivo (until I got really ill), spent a month in Spain, then onto Andorra, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Switzerland, and Austria. All of these places have been on my "must visit" list since my grandparents did a 2 year trip around the continent with a caravan in the early 70s. I still have their travel diary, slides and projector! My ideal trip would be to repeat theirs when my husband and I have both retired.

Late 2016, Amor relocated to Red Beach on Auckland's Hibiscus Coast and 2017 was a very busy year juggling Amor and my work at Auckland Hospital with the Cosmetic Kits being very popular.

My Rebirth
In 2018, I left ADHB and the focus is on Me, Workshops and Perfumery, along with a new clinic focusing on my passion of auto-immune disorders which also offers 30 minute free "Meet Me" sessions on Wellness Wednesdays.

2019 has been the year of upskilling again, including updating my Bioregulatory Medicine and Nutrition training, adding SmartDNA and BioScreen Testing to my skills repertoire.
For 2020 whilst we were going through a fun year of lockdowns, I studied PreKure's Certificate in Advanced Nutrition for Practitioners with my focus being on Keto, Low Carb Healthy Fat, Allergies and Coeliac's Disease, and graduated - if I'd done within the 10 year time frame, I'd have a degree... but that's a whole other story!  On the more exciting front, I collaborated with National Women's Hospital to create a Birthing range for them based on the latest clinical research combined with the historical use of essential oils - did I mention up there that I was the first woman to give birth at North Shore Hospital using aromatherapy...? that was back in April '94, so it's rather lovely to be full circle again.
2021's educational upskilling is Advanced Aromatherapy Chemistry... yay me! along with joining Salvatore Battaglia's Masterclasses, and that was AMAZING!.
For 2023-24 it's been all about the Chakras - with the Archangels, Leylines, Planets, and the Fae around us... a wonderful journey into my inner and outer self. Combine that with more upskilling in Bioregulatory Medicine, Chronic Inflammation and the Vagus Nerve, and it gives an interesting insight about what makes us tick and why we are susceptible to certain things.

How does all the above help you?
It's 2024 - time for #Health, #InnerHarmony and #EnjoymentOfLife! If you're feeling overwhelmed by your health, feel like your going around in circles looking for answers, have food intolerances and/or allergies, or some other auto-immune disorder/disease, and feel from reading all or any of the above that it connected with you and what's going on in your life, call me, book a 30 minute Wellness Wednesday consult for only $23, text me, email me, message me through FB Messenger, contact me in any way you can, as I love meeting new clients like you, and together, we can get you on the path to being the best that you can be!

With the advent of Covid-19, most of my naturopathic consultations are now online, however I've been using Skype as my remote medium for years so it's no different for me, and I can see you whereever you are in the world. I prefer Teams as I can record our consultation and spend more time focusing on you and watch your video afterwards as well as send it to you for your reference on what we have discussed.

Tania  

Phone: 0276298928
Email: Tania@AmorAromatherapy.co.nz
https://www.facebook.com/AmorAromatherapy/