I'm Dr. Michelle van der Westhuizen— but call me Michelle! I’m a medically trained doctor who took the long road back to vitality by becoming a patient myself. I trained in Cape Town, South Africa, and now live in British Columbia, Canada with my husband Adam, our son Jack, and a baby on the way.

Conventional medicine gave me an excellent foundation.

I trained in Cape Town, South Africa, and worked as a GP for several years, including in high-pressure rural settings where life and death decisions were part of the daily rhythm. But it was my own unraveling—the years of fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, gut issues, hormonal disruption, anxiety, and total burnout—that forced me to reconsider everything I thought I knew about health.

Eventually, I hit a breaking point—my health reached a low I could no longer ignore.

That moment led me into functional medicine over a decade ago. It changed my understanding of illness from "diagnose and treat" to a layered, whole-person model of care. I began to understand the roles of stress, trauma, food sensitivities, chronic infections, toxins, and genetic susceptibility. Functional medicine helped me find answers I couldn't get from the system—and it helped me help others far more effectively.

But I also noticed something: not everyone improved. Some people got better, but not fully. Some didn’t respond at all. That echoed my own experience. Despite doing everything “right”—the supplements, the detoxes, the protocols—I still felt like I was running on 70%. I could function, but it was hard. I was tired. Something was missing.

Interestingly, I had come across quantum biology almost a decade ago, but at the time, I wasn’t ready to receive it.

Isn’t it funny how that works? In hindsight, I wish I’d explored it sooner, but I also trust it came at the exact time I needed it.

Then came motherhood, and with it a whole new physical and emotional challenge. Postpartum depleted me in ways I couldn’t ignore. That’s when Quantum & Circadian Biology landed differently.

This changed everything.

I learned that our bodies aren't just biochemical—they're electrical. That our cells are powered by light, magnetism, water, and electrons. That Mitochondria (the engines of our cells) rely on the quality of light and rhythm we live in. I began to understand why, even after addressing every biochemical imbalance, people still weren’t fully thriving.

Over time, I came to see that real healing requires more than treatment—it requires removing what blocks us: trauma, limiting beliefs, toxins, EMFs, blue light. It asks us to sync with nature through light, water, and grounding. And it calls for restoration—supporting our mitochondria, rebuilding energy, and reconnecting to our own life force.

I began waking with the sun, grounding, getting sunlight in my eyes and on my skin, improving water quality through effective mineralisation, structuring and other techniques, and removing artificial light and EMF triggers. I began using light-based tools like phototherapy patches and red light panels. I started embracing cold as a friend—not something to layer up and run away from. I began to prioritize emotional healing, belief systems, and trauma patterns. Not by bypassing the physical, but by acknowledging that healing has layers—and the deepest ones aren’t found in a lab test.

And something shifted.

I began to feel more rooted. More alive. More open.

I felt the energy and presence I’d been chasing for over a decade.

The missing piece wasn’t more data. It was rhythm. Safety. Simplicity. Trust.

I finally felt like me.

I now feel aligned with how the body truly works—and I’m using that knowledge to figure out how to show up in the world and share it with others in a way that’s relatable, practical, and free from perfectionism.

This website is part of that evolution. It’s not a polished brand or a finished system. It’s a beginning—a way to give back, serve, and connect with others to explore how I can use what I know to make the greatest impact.

Today, I share what I’ve learned with people who want to go deeper.

I share this work for the women (and those they love) who are smart, proactive, and deeply health-aware—but still don’t feel well. You’ve done the labs, changed the diet, bought the supplements. You’re not anti-science, but you’re done outsourcing your wellbeing. You’re tired of chasing protocols that never quite land—and ready for something that actually honours your lived experience. You want to raise healthy families outside the system, but not at the cost of your own energy. You know your body is wise—you just need a way to hear it again. You’re not here for surface-level symptom relief.

You’re here for sovereignty. To take your health into your own hands, to trust your intuition, to think critically, and to reconnect with what’s true—even when it challenges the norm.

For me, this isn’t about building a better plan. It’s about creating a life—one rooted in freedom, integrity, rhythm, and deep connection. It’s about reimagining what health, family, education, and even wealth can look like when built on your own terms. Not in rejection of the systems we came from—but in the quiet creation of something more aligned. More human. More whole.

If any of that resonates with you—you're in the right place. I'm grateful you've found your way here.

In Light & Rhythm,

Michelle