At Red Tent Health Centre they are passionate about providing support that focuses on fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, children’s health and women’s health. They also pride themselves on treating different types of pain, be it muscular or abdominal, assisting with complex cases, calming the nervous system and providing oncology support. They are empathetic and care about improving your wellbeing by helping you restore balance and harmony, allowing you to flourish and achieve your goals. Their practice is founded on the principles of East Asian Medicine, and is influenced by Daoism, meditation, yoga, psychology and their own journey as women and mothers. Here, co-owner Rebecca Mar Young talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind Red Tent Health Centre, the challenges they have overcome, and their hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
In early 2009, my first child was about nine months old and I was utterly sleep deprived. At that stage, I’d already been running an acupuncture business on my own for about four years. Then Naomi (my now-business partner) asked if I wanted to join her to create a healthcare centre for women together. She was keen to make sure we could support each other through our pregnancies, while supporting the women who came to see us to conceive and to help them through their pregnancies and beyond. It was a dream come true! That was also a vision I had, so naturally I was in.
Naomi had read the book The Red Tent and suggested I read it too. Gosh, what a gem! I couldn’t put it down. It’s an epic journey into the pain and joy women go through: births, miscarriages, struggles to conceive, motherhood, sisterhood, marriage, love… and all set in ancient times. Naomi was a doula and was regularly attending births, so we decided to name our clinic in honour of that book – so The Red Tent Health Centre was born.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Naomi already had a great space in Woollahra (Sydney) with multiple rooms, so we started there and handpicked some incredible therapists to complement our work. It was a time of blossoming growth. We had three acupuncturists, a couple of massage therapists, psychotherapists and a naturopath.
We started teaching ‘acupressure for birth’ courses to couples, which we called Acubirth for Couples, as well as a course for midwives (Ancient Secrets to Better Bumps, Births and Babies). We got those courses accredited with the Australian College of Midwives and American College of Nurse Midwives and still run those courses today. Acubirth for Couples is on our homepage and free of charge – so spread the word! The business was fueling my soul at the same time as helping other women. Naomi and I loved working together. It truly was an incredible time.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Family always came first for us both and we knew we shared the same values. The needs of our children were great and we wanted to be able to fulfill them. Being clear on that allowed us to understand what energy and time we had left, so we could decide how to use it. There was always a fun workshop to plan or something more to work on for our website, or promotional materials that needed creating. Life was full but because we kept checking in with our values, it felt right and we felt good about it.
If ever one of us was wanting to do more, we’d check in with our values first and the time we had, to see if that’s truly what we wanted. We’d work it through, talk about it and make peace with the balance. We have a wonderful partnership. In those early days, it was like a second marriage and it kept us on the best path at work and at home.
