ANGELIKA HUMMEL
HOMEOPATH / FOOT ZONE THERAPIST
Angelika has lived away from her native Austria for 32 years. She decided to retrain as a homeopath and zone therapist at 38 years old and now lives and works in Norway.
CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONALAGE: 50
STATUS: Divorced
CHILDREN: Four
COUNTRIES OF RESIDENCE: Austria, Germany, England, France, Norway
NUMBER OF MOBILE YEARS: 32
WORK
ORIGINAL CAREER: Language teacher - I am fluent in English, French, German and Norwegian.
CURRENT EARNING POTENTIAL: Approximately £20,000 per annum.
BRIEF EMPLOYMENT DETAILS ABROAD: I met and married a Norwegian when working in Paris and came to Norway where I taught German, French and English in a High School for 14 years. At 38 I started studying homeopathy and qualified five years later, since when I have practised this and foot zone therapy. Some people think of this as reflexology but I insist there is a difference.
CAREER PATH
HIGHER EDUCATION: University exams in French, German and English Literature.
OTHER QUALIFICATIONS: Diplomas in Homeopathy, Foot Zone Therapy and Nursing.
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY JOANNA PARFITT
JP: Love brought you to Norway. Would your career have been the same had you returned to Austria after your studies?AH: I only taught because it was a regular and reliable work. I was always interested in homeopathy. In Norway I had to study nursing in order to qualify in homeopathy. In Austria I would have had to study Medicine. So things would have been very different.
JP: What personal qualities do you feel have helped you to make such a huge leap in careers?
AH: I am adventurous and flexible. My hunger for knowledge is immense. I believe that you have to be able to adjust to new situations, cultures and people. This applies to any job you do in a foreign country. I also am a very enthusiastic person, love my job and feel I do it well.
JP: Why do you feel you have been so successful despite being a foreigner? Surely the Norwegians would rather go to a Norwegian homeopath?
AH: People always need 'healthworkers'. Many of my clients are Norwegian, but they are also made up of many other nationalities. My fluency in so many European languages makes me popular with expatriates.
JP: Was it easy to get started here?
AH: It only took me two months to find work as a teacher, in the American School, actually. My homeopath work started immediately I was qualified.
JP: What started your interest in natural healing?
AH: I have never liked the idea of toxicity in my body. When I got tired of teaching I looked around for another profession and this one came 'naturally'.
JP: What was your first step toward this new career?
AH: I contacted a school in homeopathy.
JP: Then what?
AH: In 1990 I took the nursing exam. The next year I qualified to do foot zone and acquired a health practitioner certificate in Germany.
JP: Do you feel that it was really necessary for you to do the nursing qualification too?
AH: Yes. It took a long time, but I understand the body much better now.
JP: So the nursing qualification makes you a better homeopath?
AH: No, I don't think it makes any difference to my work. It makes a difference to me.
JP: You are a remarkable linguist. Do you have to work hard at this?
AH: I think it comes naturally to me. Some people need three months to learn a language, others need three years. It can be an advantage to be foreign sometimes. If I ever make a 'faux pas' people excuse me and blame the fact that I am Austrian. Being foreign allows me to be myself.
JP: So you first went into business as a homeopath then?
AH: No, I actually gave massages first. I thought massage was a very powerful healer. I now know that other methods work better still.
JP: Did you use aromatherapy?
AH: No I did a special massage that is supposed to go deeper still, it is called 'heil' or 'health' massage.
JP: Do you still give massage? I see you have a massage bed here.
AH: No, I just use it as a table now. I'm afraid I believe that massage does not cure anything it only relieves muscle tensions for a short time.
JP: You divorced before you had your career change. With four children to support how did you manage to earn enough money?
AH: I worked as a teacher too during the first three years. Homeopaths tend to find clients purely by word of mouth and I think it must have taken me six years to be fully and comfortably established. I am now fully booked for several weeks ahead.
JP: Tell me a little about homeopathy and how it works.
AH: The phrase 'like cures like;' is fundamental to homeopathy. Homeopathic remedies help to hasten recovery by stimulating the vital force that will rid the body of disease. A person's character, lifestyle, food preferences, medical history and the effects of general factors such as weather are important for finding the right remedy.
JP: You mentioned you were flexible. Do you still do other things than homeopathy?
AH: I give talks but usually on a voluntary basis. I earn a good fee when I speak to the homeopathy schools. Sometimes I teach foot zone to small groups too. I believe that you should always be prepared to do some things for nothing.
JP: Why? When you have been so short of money, how can you justify this?
AH: I believe strongly that you should do things for free. I also treat some people for free if I know they can't afford it. An open hand both gives and receives. Besides when I give a free talk on say health, homeopathy or foot zone I always end up acquiring a handful of new patients from the audience. I know it is extra work when I am already busy but 'to walk the extra mile' has given me more than anything else in return.
JP: What do you enjoy most about your work?
AH: Homeopathy is very exciting. When I find the right remedy and it works is a bit like being a detective. I find the human psyche very exciting. I meet new people almost every day and I am able to help them get well. It takes my breath away sometimes.
JP: What was your greatest moment?
AH: Every time a patient gets well it is a wonderful moment. How many jobs allow you that many 'highs'?
JP: What effect have the people you have met had on your life?
AH: I learn something from everyone I meet. As a homeopath you have to have a good knowledge of people and it is important to be aware at all times.
JP: What do you find hardest about your work?
AH: I am impatient so it is difficult for me to cope when a patient does not get well really quickly. The fact that I never can know how long it will take for a cure to work is very frustrating.
JP: Do you have any regrets at all at the way your life has turned out?
AH: None at all. I would change nothing. Living abroad has given me so many opportunities. As I said, I could never have worked as a homeopath in Austria.
JP: Your potential salary does not seem so high.
AH: I only work six to seven hours a day on four days a week. My children are no longer dependent I just need enough money for myself now. For the first five years I took no holidays. This year I visited Ireland by bicycle and I also try to go to homeopath conventions whenever I can.
JP: You have a day off each week. What do you usually do then?
AH: I play tennis, paint, go for long walks and bike rides. I am in a bible group, love reading and studying health related topics. I would love to have the time to do more research. I believe that I can fit anything I want into my life. I have enough time, it is just a question of managing it properly.
JP: Do female and male homeopaths earn the same?
AH: They do.
JP: At last I have found a career that does not discriminate.
AH: Yes, but I still earned more as a teacher. But it was never as satisfying to me.
JP: Now let's talk about the foot zone for a while. We seem to have concentrated solely on homeopathy. Tell me about it. AH: The method is based on the holographic principle, also called ecivo (CHECK). This means that the whole body is mirrored in every cell of the organism. By pressing certain points on the feet (reflex zones) that represent the organs, hormonal system, blood circulation, immune system and nervous system you can influence their effectiveness and efficiency.
JP: How do you find these two practices compliment each other?
AH: They just work beautifully in tandem. Foot zone therapy gets the blood circulation, lymph system and endocrine system going, while homeopathy works on a deeper level. This influences the mental state of the person. Patients receive both foot zone and homeopathy at their sessions with me. I think I may be unique in this.
JP: How does your work influence your own life and attitude to illness?
AH: I do not accept illness. This is for me an unnatural state, which I have to do something about. I know that every thought I think triggers off a biochemical reaction in my body. Therefore I influence my body through my mind. Recently I hurt my back quite badly. What did I do? I asked a foot zone therapist to come and work with my feet and it worked. You cannot always do foot zone on yourself.
JP: Which of your skills do you feel would be most useful to a woman anticipating a life on the move?
AH: All of them! Teaching, homeopathy, foot zone and languages are all tremendously useful.
JP: And what of the future?
AH: I would like to learn osteopathy but fear new studies would take me away from homeopathy too much. I have recently been on an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Progamming) course in England and I would do any course that would help me to be a better therapist. I would like to travel, do research in the field of natural therapy, teach . . .
JP: What are your greatest influences?
AH: My faith. My teachers in homeopathy and every person I meet who has goodness and knowledge.
JP: When have you been happiest?
AH: Now. I have never been happier. My work is my life. I will never return to Austria for more than a holiday because I could not be a homeopath there.
Angelika would like to share the following with you:
BooksHomeopathy, the Principles and Practice of Treatment
Dr Andrew Lockie and Dr Nicola Geddes
ISBN 07513 02090
Minding the Body, Mending the Mind
Joan Borysenko PhD
Bantam New Age
ISBN 0 553 34556 7
Homeopathy, Evergreen Medicine
Ronald Livingston
Ashes Ashes Press
ISBN 09515410 05
Working in Complementary and Alternative Medicine - A Career Guide
Kogan Page
Organisations
British Complementary Medicine Association
9 Soar Court
Leicester
LE3 5DE
Tel: (44) (0)116 242 5406
Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Park House
206-208 Latimer Road
London
W10 6RE
Tel: (44) (0)181 968 3862
Open 10-5 Mon thur
British Homeopathic Association
23a Devonshire Street
London
W1N 1RJ
Tel: (44) (0)171 935 2163
Faculty of Homeopathy
Hahnemann House
2 Powis Place
Great Ormond Street
London
WC1 3HT
Tel: (044) (0)171 837 9469
Association of Reflexologists
27 Old Gloucester Street
London
WC1N 3XX
Tel: (44) (0) 990 673320
Society of Homeopaths
2 Artizon Road
Northampton
NN1 4HU
Tel: (44) (0) 1604 21400
Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope
Contact Jo Parfitt: Generaal Spoorlaan 24, 2252 TA, Voorschoten, Netherlands - Tel: +31 (0)71 561 6857 - www.expatrollercoaster.com