I guide people to heal in a way that honours their body’s wisdom and their unique story. My work blends traditional herbal medicine, clinical science, and lived experience - because healing isn’t linear, and it definitely isn’t one-size-fits-all.
What I do today is deeply rooted in where I come from and is part of my DNA. Long before I studied health science or started crafting herbal formulas, I grew up surrounded by the healing hands of the women in my family - my mother from East Timor, my grandmothers from Goa (India) and Cape Verde (West Africa). If someone in the house was unwell, they wouldn’t reach for a bottle, they’d reach for the garden. Guava leaves for diarrhoea, herbs plucked fresh for teas and tonics. Nature was our medicine cabinet.
Hi, I’m Dora—naturopath, nutritionist, and massage therapist.
In my early adulthood, I found myself in the world of fashion, working overseas with designer labels—until I reached a point where I felt disillusioned, unfulfilled, and lost. Something was missing. I knew I needed a change in direction, I just didn’t know what.
A spontaneous visit to a wellness expo in 2006 changed everything. I stumbled across a few natural therapies colleges and picked up their brochures. Massage was the one thing that jumped out at me and felt right. And as fate would have it, I had just enough money in the bank to pay for the full course. Days later, a change in management at work drastically reduced my hours. It felt like the universe was giving me the push I needed to take a leap of faith. I enrolled full-time at Nature Care College, and it was the best decision I ever made.
I took the leap - and never looked back.
That part of me went quiet for a while - but it never left.
For years I worked hands-on with clients, learning how to read energy, track patterns, and hold space. But it wasn’t until I lost someone I loved to terminal illness that I felt called to go deeper. That experience cracked me open. I didn’t just want to help people feel better—I wanted to understand the mechanisms, the root causes, the systemic imbalances that were being overlooked.
So I returned to study, completing degrees in Nutritional Medicine and Naturopathy—bringing structure and science to what I’d always felt in my bones.
What began as massage became a lifelong path of healing.
Healing starts with understanding, I’m here to walk beside you —helping you make sense of what’s going on in your body, offering tools to support it, and creating space for long-term change. Whether we’re addressing stubborn symptoms or rebuilding your health from the ground up, we’ll do it with clarity, care, and a little bit of plant magic.
If you’re ready to tune back in, take the next step, or finally get some answers, you’re in the right place.
Healing, to me, is collaborative.
My approach is layered and intentional.
My approach is informed by science, shaped by traditional wisdom, and grounded in real life. I bring all of this into my consultations to offer practical, personalised care that meets you exactly where you are
My work is shaped by three pillars:
- Science – Evidence-based practice, functional testing, clinical nutrition
- Tradition – Herbal medicine, ancestral knowledge, holistic philosophy
- Real life – Practical strategies that actually fit your world.
