Sandra Gustafson bio

A true citizen of the globe, Sandra was born in Melbourne, Australia, and grew up in South Africa, where she graduated from nursing school and became an ICU nurse. In her twenties, while traveling through India, Sandra’s eyes were first opened to natural medicine. Her travel companion was taken severely ill, and made a full recovery thanks to the local villagers' Ayurvedic and homeopathic remedies. Later, Sandra fell ill, which led to her own healing experience: she watched Tibetan lamas chanting and rolling medicine into little balls—medicine that ultimately facilitated her cure.

Upon her return, and still working as an ICU nurse, she explored natural therapies more extensively, culminating in four years of naturopathic medicine training in Cairns, Australia. It was then that she realized healthcare needed the integration of the best of conventional medicine with traditional/complementary medicine. More than 20 years later, Sandra is still pursuing this path. She recently graduated with a Master of Heath Sciences degree, with a focus on Integrative Healthcare.

Sandra has been a part of the Farmacopia practitioner team since 2002, to which she also brings her unique gift as an internationally-recognized specialist in Bowenwork, a soft-tissue bodywork that releases patterns of tension. A senior instructor for the Bowenwork Academy USA, she is a regular presenter at international Bowenwork conferences and has taught Bowenwork classes throughout Australia and Europe. In the US, Sandra has presented Bowenwork to the Integrative Medicine faculty at the Mayo Clinic, and regularly teaches Bowenwork classes at Bastyr University in Washington.