Tells of my journey from traditional western medicine through speech language pathology, to natural therapies through yoga teaching, birthing education, massage therapy and hypno-therapy and how this came together in the writing of "The Story Behind The Story' a biography of a Navajo Medicine Man with a lifelong paraplegia. This book lead me to working with Indigenous communities in North America and Central Australia and my current book in progress One Voice Medicine: A Collection of North American and Indigenous Healers.

1. One Voice Medicine

2. In 2006 I visited
Kenyan villages and
learnt “women’s
business” which I
incorporated into
Honoured Birth

3. In 2009 I
had the
priveledge
of working
with Indian
obstetricians
in rural
Rajestan
and then
presenting
at the Indian
Caesarian
Awareness
Week
Conference.

4. H O N OU RE D
BI RT H

5. A Natural Therapies in Birthing Programme
equipping and empowering women, their families, and practitioners, whose
vision is safe best practice holistic birthing experience.
Honoured Birth
is research based and
is accredited with the Australian College of Midwifery & The American
College of Naturopathic Medicine for continuing education midplus points
for practitioners.

6. Research shows:
Women and their partners were often intimidated by medical, familial and cultural
stereotypes, expectations and information
Lacked the knowledge and therefore the confidence to assert their birthing needs, have them met and
create the birthing experience they wanted
Were often overwhelmed and confused with the huge choices of birth information, practitioners and
environments in which to birth.
Wanted a safe, creditable, professional forum in which to explore the knowledge and
wisdom of both midwifery and complementary practices for all their prenatal, birthing and post-natal needs from physical to spiritual
Honoured Birth offers a relaxing day or weekend offering you, or you and your partner, either individually or
in a small group, a relaxing, nurturing experience and positive structures within which you can move forward into
motherhood and family and realize your potential as individuals and parents. The experiences available are holistic
combining yoga, naturopathy, reflexology, massage and more, while also exploring the age old traditional
knowledge and wisdom of midwifery. All therapists and educators are experienced & caring professionals.

7. Honoured Birth:The Philosophy
Women both want and need
holistic support during their
pregnancy and birth.
Holistic Support encompasses:
The Birthing Body
Mental & Emotional Calm
Spiritual, Familial, Cultural Social
Needs
Leg Strengthening Warrior Pose
Breathing Visualization Practice
Honoured Birth
addresses these elements of holistic
maternity care and birthing needs
through
Birthing Yoga
Birthing Massage
Hypno-Visualization
Honouring the Sacred of Mother.
Honoured Birth Retreat
Smiths Lake NSW 2006
Birthing Yoga: Pelvic Floor & Breast Health

8. Smiths Lake Retreat NSW 2007 Sole to Soul
Reflexology Session
Retreat Byron Shire NSW 2009
Northern
Beaches Sydney
Retreat 2006
Pre-Natal Belly
Dancing
Honouring the
Sacred of
Mother

9. Holistic
Spirituality
Healing
Health Care

10. Harmony
completion
wholeness -all aspects of self accepted
unity
peace
at one with self
feeling acknowledged and valued
feeling connection with those in our families, communities, work environments
living gently, at one with mother earth
Our spirituality is the way we feel connected with a greater spiritual presence
and how we express that.

11. Healing
and
Health Care
Professional, research grounded services and technology in line with occupational health
and safety standards
In A healing environment
Given with Compassion
And Empathy – having our all health needs listened to, acknowledged and accepted
Care of and to care for whole person needs -physical mental emotional and spiritual
Respect for cultural and religious needs
Connection between the healer and the patient.
Feeling that everyone concerned with our care shares a health care philosophy

12. Bringing it together
R E S E A R C H

13. SEARCH FOR MOTHER
By
Valerie Albrecht
Published Inkwell Productions
Arizona 2010

14. SEARCH FOR MOTHER BOOK TOUR:
ALFACULTURA SOCIETY OF AUTHORS ALGARVE PORTUGAL: 2008
Reading and radio reading from “Search for Mother”
“Search for Mother” Australia BOOK TOUR 2010:
RIVERSIDE BOOKS MACLEAN: May 2010: Australian Launch
LISMORE WORLD FAIR TRADE EVENT: May 2010 Signing
COLLINS BOOKS GRAFTON: May 2010
SYDNEY MIND BODY SPIRIT EXPO: May 2010
NEW YORK BOOK EXPO: May 2010
DALTONS BOOKS CANBERRA: June 2010
BOOKWORMS & PAPERMITES BOOKSTORE BANGALOW NSW July 10
YAMBA BOOKSTORE: October 2010 Signing
EAST WEST BOOKSTORE SEATTLE: Feb 2011 Reading & Signing
BELLINGEN LIBRARY: Oct 2011
US Book tour “Search for Mother”: Feb-April 2010
US Book Tour “Search for Mother”: February 2011
Scottsdale AZ Reading & Signing
Phoenix AZ Signing
Sedona Signing
Jerome AZ Signing
Phoenix City Police Event Angels on Patrol Signing
Houston Texas Bookstore reading & Signing
California Village Books Mt Shasta reading & signing
Portland Oregon National Librarians Conference Signing
Medford Oregon Public Library: Reading & Signing
University of Washington Seattle Signing
Oregon Books by the Bay Bookshop Reading & Signing
Phoenix AZ South West healing Place Reading &
Signing
Seattle Book Summit
University of Washington “Lifelines Journaling”
University of Seattle School of Theology & Ministry
Search for Meaning Conference Speaker
East West Bookstore Seattle Reading & Signing
National College Naturopathic Medicine Portland Oregon:
Feb Search for Mother Workshop
Portland Birthing Way Lecture
Seattle Women’s Business Exchange Freelancers
US Book Tour “Search for Mother”: November 2011
Washington University Faculty of Nursing Lecture: “Search for
Mother”
Bastyr University Seattle: “Search for Mother”

15. W O R K S H O P S

16. Soon to be released:
“T H E S T O R Y B E H I N D THE S T O R Y”
Told by Elroy Begay Medicine Man Bamboo Springs Arizona
Crafted by Valerie Albrecht Biographer Indigenous Peoples
& Practitioner Eastern Western Natural Healing”

17. Between 2009 and 2013 I lived for extended periods on the Navajo reservation at Chinle Arizona, writing “
The Story Behind the Story”, Elroy Begay, Medicine Man’s biography, and learning his medicine, ceremonies
and beliefs. I learnt that spirit and medicine are in all beings, and that for the Native American, healing cannot
happen without including the spirit of the person, the spirit of the healer and the spirit of the land.

18. “The Story Behind The Story”
Told by Elroy Begay Medicine Man Bamboo Springs Arizona
Crafted by Valerie Albrecht Australian Biographer & Health Practitioner
Soon to be released.
The Story Behind The Story is a human historical biography of a
practising Navajo Medicine Man who has a lifelong disability. It is told
by both Medicine Man and myself, an Australian biographer and health
practitioner who met by a series of synchronicities in Monument
Valley in 2009. He tells the story of his two lives, one with a white
family and the other with his Navajo family; of being cared for by both
Western medicine and Navajo medicine throughout his disability;
of the origin of his clan The Deer Spring Clan, not previously
written; of his “modern history” with The Long Walk, Code Talkers,
The Native American Religious Freedom Act and Rough Rock School
Education Philosophy; of his ceremonies, beliefs and “pieces of hope”
for his people. She tells of “Things That Happened” as she wrote with
Medicine Man. The Story Behind the Story is one of acceptance and
belief from personal to cultural, from First World to the
Worlds Still to Come. It brings humaneness and spirit together
reminding us all of our divinity.

21. In April 2013, whilst living on the Chinle Navajo reservation Arizona writing Elroy Begay medicine man’s biography, I
presented Cultural Awareness and Writing workshops at Rough Rock Navajo Immersion School. This opened up a
whole new exploration for me – shared ONE VOICE MEDICINE of North American and Australian Indigenous Healers.
It is my hope this book will further unity of health consciousness through offering a “voice” for Indigenous Healers.

22. Since then I have been working, writing and researching Indigenous Healers in the Australian outback of New
South Wales and Western Australia, and in New Mexico, Idaho and Dakota USA for “Medicine, Ceremony, Belief:
An Intertribal Collection”.
Darling River Australia
Sturt Desert Pea
Western NSW
Australia
Writer in Residence
At The Mission
El Morro New Mexico
Gathering of Nations
Albuquerque NM 2013
My writing cabin Canyon de
Chelly Arizona 2013
Rocky Mountains Colorado
On Mootawingee Road NSW Australia

31. • European Invasion
• Land Stealing
• White Australia Policy
• Missionaries
• Stolen Generation
• Australian Reservation Life
• Health Education Unemployment
• Loss of Culture, Language, Self Identity Self
Esteem

32. R E
F I N D I N G

33. S o r r y

34. • Back to Country
• Story Writing
• Elders Groups
• Tribal Councils
• Community Engagement
• Cultural Awareness

35. Paediatric
Caseload
• Babies: failure to thrive, feeding
• Developmental delayed language & articulation
• Developmental disordered language & articulation
• Social Pragmatic Language Disorder
• Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• Hearing Cleft Palate Congenital Disorders
• Fluency Stuttering
• Voice Disorder

36. T h e r a p y Strategies
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Early referral
Person Centered
Family Centered
Hierarchy of Needs
Weekly fortnightly
Clinic school home
Modelling
Expansion
Praise
Trans disciplinary
Multi-sensory
Make it real & culturally appropriate

37. My experiences in health and education service
delivery for Indigenous communities, and in
communities where there are Indigenous and nonIndigenous people sharing
facilities, both in
Australia and in America, has shown me that a
broader vision; a non-traditional trans-disciplinary
approach based on cultural knowledge; a hierarchy
of needs based approach established through
inclusion of community; and co-creative thinking
and problem solving, are all required for potentials
to be achieved and programs to be established.

38. What does it mean to deliver a
Culturally Sensitive & Culture Based
Service using “Native Ways of
Knowing”?
A culturally sensitive and culture based
service is one which incorporates Native
ways of knowing and learning. Research
shows that Indigenous ways of knowing
and learning are based on the spiritual
beliefs of:

39. Knowledge is wisdom
Knowledge is innate and natural
The spiritual system is not
separate from the knowledge
system
Both the seen and unseen worlds
are knowledge bases
That knowledge has come from
inter-generational
historical
trauma.

40. My work experiences have shown
that establishing health and
education
programs
WHICH
TRULY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN
NATIVE
PEOPLES
COMMUNITIES is directly related
to a HOLISITIC SPIRITUALLY and
CULTURALLY
SENSITIVE
approach involving COMMUNITY
engagement.

42. Valerie Albrecht
Biographer Indigenous Peoples
Author & Practitioner
Western Eastern Natural Health
Speech Pathologist
Yoga Teacher
Childbirth Education
Massage Therapist
Hypno-Visualization Practitioner
Reiki Master
www.theoceansofenergy.com
valerieyoga@optusnet.com.au
M: + 61 0406052339