In a world increasingly focused on quick fixes, Anne Archer offers something profoundly different: a deeply personalized, integrative approach to holistic health that brings lasting change. As the founder of Anne Archer – Holistic Health, she combines the best of Eastern and Western medicine to create bespoke treatments tailored to each client’s life history, genetic makeup, and lifestyle. Anne’s journey into holistic health began with a deeply personal mission. When her daughter Helena faced significant physical and emotional challenges, Anne’s determination to find natural, sustainable solutions ignited her passion for integrative medicine. This experience not only transformed her daughter’s life but also reshaped Anne’s own, inspiring her to leave a successful career in jewelry design to help others overcome their health obstacles. In this exclusive Mystic Mag‘s interview, Anne shares the insights behind her innovative practice, her transformative journey, and the principles driving her commitment to holistic healing.
Your journey into holistic health started with your daughter’s challenges. How did that experience shape your perspective on traditional versus holistic medicine?
When my daughter was born, I was already part of a family deeply immersed in the western medical perspective. My father was a GP, and my mother was a nurse, but they always encouraged us to let our bodies initiate their own healing. They urged us to get outside, breathe in fresh air, and let our bodies have time to heal naturally. Growing up, I developed a fascination with the body’s ability to heal itself.
When my daughter was born with cerebral palsy—a neurological condition affecting her physical form, cognition, and emotional well-being—I sought ways to support her to the best of my ability. I didn’t want to pursue surgeries and medications; that didn’t feel like the right approach for her. Instead, I wanted to explore more holistic ways to support her well-being. This led me into the world of holistic health, where I discovered a modality called the BodyTalk System.
The BodyTalk System approaches health from both a western medical perspective and incorporates ancient wisdom traditions, including Eastern Chinese medicine. It considers how emotions, lifestyle choices, and life experiences affect different parts of the body and influence their functions.
I took a one day course called BodyTalk Access, an introduction into the BodyTalk System to teach the 5 self-care techniques. I then studied BodyTalk Fundamentals for a further 2 years to become a certified practitioner. Over the last 8 years I have continued my studies of the advanced BodyTalk System modules in areas such as the microbiome, epigenetics and the macrocosmic bodymind.
The most empowering aspect was that I now had tools to support her myself, without relying solely on specialists. However, the biggest transformation was with myself.
I had previously held onto beliefs about not being good enough or capable. As the youngest of four girls, I often felt inferior, and having a child who wasn’t developing like others added another layer of self-doubt.
This journey led me to realize how holistic therapies could influence my physical well-being, too. In Chinese medicine, the lungs and large intestine are associated with processing grief, letting go, and moving forward. I had unknowingly held onto grief for the child I had expected—dreams of her going to university, learning to drive and other milestones. When she was born, I had to let go of that path. Until I accepted and processed this grief, it manifested as the physical symptom of constipation. I had plenty of fiber in my diet and stayed well hydrated so I knew that wasn’t the cause, it was that my body wasn’t able to let go.
Recognizing that my daughter’s journey—and my role as her mother—was meant to be different allowed me to move forward with a clearer mind. – After I was able to digest life’s processes, my body no longer needed to give me a symptom of constipation.
Another insight for me involved my shoulders, which symbolized responsibility. You often hear phrases like “shouldering responsibilities” or “carrying the weight of the world.” I had taken on the role of being not only my daughter’s mother but also her physio, occupational therapist, and speech therapist. I was responsible for everything. My body was giving me shoulder pain to remind me I couldn’t do it all alone. Once I acknowledged that others wanted to help, I allowed them to step in. I accepted offers to pick up my son, prepare meals, and share some of the responsibilities. As I unburdened myself, my shoulder pain disappeared.
In these ways, I learned that listening to my body could guide me toward emotional and physical well-being. By addressing emotions and recognizing the body’s messages, true shifts in health can happen.
Epigenetics and neuroplasticity are central to your approach. Can you share a story where understanding these concepts led to a breakthrough for one of your clients?
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s remarkable ability to adapt and reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. This capability isn’t just a characteristic of the brain; it’s a powerful tool for personal transformation. Neuroplasticity plays an essential role in mental health because it can reshape the brain’s responses to emotional triggers, stressful situations, and negative thought patterns, helping to replace harmful thoughts with more positive ones, especially in areas where patterns may not be functioning as expected. To illustrate, I’ll use the example of my daughter, Helena, because it’s so personal to me. Helena struggled to learn basic motor skills, such as sitting up and rolling over, due to the compromised areas in her brain. Through physical and speech therapy, combined with mind-body medicine, we helped her brain form new pathways, enabling it to compensate for underdeveloped areas. By repeating specific exercises, neurons in unaffected parts of her brain reorganized to help improve her gross motor skills—like balance, posture, and coordination—as well as her cognitive and emotional regulation.
Neuroplasticity and epigenetics are closely intertwined. Moving on to epigenetics, this field studies how environmental factors determine whether a gene is turned on or off and influence cell differentiation, like whether a cell becomes a heart, muscle, hair, or nerve cell. Essentially, epigenetics sits “on top of” the genes, regulating which parts of a gene will be expressed based on various environmental influences.
Lifestyle factors and life experiences play a key role in gene expression through epigenetics. For example, in cases of digestive system imbalances, stress could be the environmental factor impacting gene expression. This stress might be due to workload, toxins, or other stressors that affect cells in the digestive system. Epigenetic changes in these cells could lead to issues like inflammation in the gut lining, contributing to digestive conditions such as IBS, Crohn’s disease, or acid reflux. Through mind-body medicine practices, we can work to identify areas of imbalance and employ various techniques to counteract these epigenetic effects.
For instance, we might focus on improving blood, nerve, and lymph circulation in the affected area. Alternatively, we might incorporate the earth element from Chinese medicine, which supports the gut microbiome and hormonal balance. The stomach and spleen meridians, which are connected to worry and overthinking, influence inflammation. By addressing these elements, we can potentially reverse epigenetic impacts, thus supporting the body in addressing digestive concerns.
Epigenetics can also affect metabolism. For example, some people struggle with weight loss because their genes are “programmed” to conserve fat. This may be due to ancestral experiences, such as living through periods of famine, which can lead to a metabolism pattern that prioritizes energy storage. Addressing these epigenetic influences can unlock new possibilities for transforming health and well-being.
What type of services do you offer?
I offer BodyTalk, Body Intuitive, Source Points Therapy, lymphatic drainage, Indian Head Massage. I do group retreats and ceremonies in collaboration with Christine Holt. These retreats bring together both of our experiences and include various modalities, yoga, meditation practices, and more. We provide individual one-on-one treatments, group retreats, and well-being days.
You emphasize getting to the “root” of symptoms. How does this approach differ from what clients typically experience in conventional healthcare settings?
BodyTalk, for example, uses structured intuition. Practitioners are trained to integrate the use of the right, Intuitive brain, and the left, logical, structured aspect of the brain. This offers clarity of thinking that is beyond the normal way of perceiving.
This involves drawing on learned knowledge of organs, systems, body parts, chakras, meridians, reflex points, and other knowledge bases to support the bodymind.
Through applied kinesiology, we use muscle testing and a structured line of questioning, combined with intuitive capabilities, to find the root cause of imbalances. This questioning helps us identify which areas of the body are out of balance, where communication has broken down, and the correct sequence of healing steps.
The body has an innate wisdom to heal and knows precisely how each system should function and communicate with others. However, communication can break down due to environmental stresses, toxins, and various external factors. This process allows us to pinpoint personalized root causes. With muscle testing and specific questioning, we can identify what is out of balance for each individual, their unique environmental stressors, and the necessary healing sequence. Then, we bring in targeted techniques to restore balance.
The approach is highly personalized. For instance, two people may have high cortisol levels, but the reasons behind it could be entirely different. Each person’s life story, lifestyle, genetic makeup, and history are considered to develop a truly individualized approach to healthcare.
Many people struggle with making health a priority. What advice do you give to help individuals see the value in investing in their well-being?
Taking control of your health is incredibly empowering—you’re not a prisoner of your genes or circumstances. There are things you can do to transform your physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I’ve put together a few tips that may help:
Breathing techniques – These can help rewire the brain to react less intensely to stress.
Mindfulness, meditation, and yoga – These practices enhance connectivity in brain regions that control emotional regulation, which can improve resilience and overall stress management.
Learning new skills – Challenging the brain with new and complex tasks creates new pathways, increasing gray matter density.
Establishing a good sleep routine – Quality sleep is essential for neuroplasticity, as the brain consolidates memories and clears toxins during sleep.
Positive self-talk – This can create new mental patterns, encourage self-confidence, and release limiting beliefs. Engaging in positive self-talk can also activate the heart chakra to boost oxytocin, and stimulate the solar plexus chakra for confidence and self-esteem.
Accessing emotionally charged memories – Working with the areas of the brain where these memories are stored can help release limiting beliefs that hold you back.
These are some simple yet effective ways to support neuroplasticity and foster a mindset that empowers growth and healing.
