Georgina Barr started her podiatry career in response to the Christchurch earthquakes after working in the arts sector.

Georgina works full time at SportsMed in Christchurch. She also runs her own business, Barrina Ltd, where she provides a custom pointe shoe fitting service, lectures on anatomy and biomechanical physiology and engages in dance mentoring.

Georgina created the Podiatrist for Dancers Facebook page to allow open connections between dancers and the sharing of knowledge on managing dance injuries.

She also created pre-pointe and dance assessments for ballet dancers wanting to progress to pointe work, and works with the Juon Pointe System.

Georgina is an affiliated committee member of the Christchurch Ballet Society, a Friend of the Royal Academy of Dance, a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, and she has training in the Juon Pointe Shoe Fitting System.

In 2019 Georgina will be starting a Masters degree at Lincoln University in Applied Science with a focus on dance medicine.

My passion for health came while I was in college based on my own health journey. I didn’t have a healthy relationship with food and didn’t like eating my veggies growing up. I was always trying to “diet” at a young age. Being overweight growing up provided its challenges back in the 80’s when it wasn’t the norm. My mother put me on diet before I transferred to a new high school so I wouldn’t be casted out. During high school I learned to love being fit and participated in extracurricular activities because I loved how it made me feel. Till this day exercise is for my mental and emotional health and wellbeing.  

After gaining the Freshman 10, I began to exercise and eat better (what was “better” in the 1990’s..aka fat free fad) and lost 23 pounds that second semester. My love for fitness grew and my major changed from nutrition to exercise science. During my first job after college I began suffering from migraines. I chalked it up as being a monthly thing. Then they began more frequently where I was getting them weekly. 

The stress of my first job caused a domino effect of my health from constipation, mild depression, fatigue, acid reflux and I was only in my late 20’s. I was put on meds for my reflux and migraines.  I had an adverse reaction to the migraine medicine that snapped me into wanting more for myself. I knew back then that it was not normal to feel tired and old before I was 30. After I turned 29 and my husband and I began to talk about starting a family, I knew I had to get myself healthy and well. A dietician suggested I see her naturopathic doctor for food sensitivities. I January of 2006, I was told I had to eliminate gluten, soy and dairy and decrease my intense exercise regimen. So I did, cold turkey. Within weeks my migraines and reflux were gone. I began to feel more energy and had my ah-ha moment. Food really is our medicine if we just listen to our bodies. That began my journey towards digestive wellness.

I don’t beat my body up anymore when it comes to exercise and ran my last marathon in 2003. Too much of anything has its price and not being smart about our fitness is not good either. I listen to my body, I take breaks, but for me, exercise improves my mood and my natural medicine of choice. We all have to find what works for us physically and have to make that time to be fit so we can have a better quality of life as we age.

During this time I’ve grown more into my faith and love to learn more about His word. In fact, I’ve been baptized three different times. I found what is working in my life and integrating it into my family. I’ve studied the Bible for health answers and amazed how He has provided it all in His great book. From parenting, to marriage, He talks about how to live healthy and honor our physical bodies well. It honors Him when we care for ourselves too.