About us

Martin and I discovered Chinese Medicine more than 20 years ago. We were amazed by its natural approach and how it effectively addressed issues that other forms of medicine couldn't solve.

We were mesmerised and made it our mission to learn everything there was to know about it. We were fortunate to learn from some of the best Chinese Medicine teachers in the world (thank you Dr Salustino Z. Wong !)

The more we learned, the more we were in awe of this ancient art, honed over 3,000 years. We spent our time practicing acupuncture, creating medicine blends, participating in and conducting workshops and trainings.

11 years ago, we founded Yao Dao with the aim of making Chinese Medicine products accessible to certified practitioners. It was a thrilling but challenging experience, as we are not the admin type, wy more comfortable with plants than spreadsheets.

But we somehow made it work and are so proud to have assisted thousands of Chinese Medicine practitioners in their daily work!

After this amazing journey with Yao Dao, we wondered what was next. It then dawned on us that the next step was to bring the benefits of Chinese Medicine to everyone, not just professionals.

And that's how Alma Natura was born!

Our goal at Alma Natura is to create a user-friendly and cost-effective platform where you can easily purchase the Chinese Medicine products you need.

We carefully curate only the finest products to ensure a worry-free experience for you. We hope you will enjoy shopping with us!

Meet the team

Vanessa Costa Leite graduated in Naturopathy, Acupunture and Chinese Medicine.

She undertook numerous advanced training lessons in Portugal, Spain, France, London, Vietnam and Taiwan, including trainings with:

- Dr. Viet Tran Dzung from Van Nghi Institute in Portugal

- Dr. Richard Tan

- Dr. Delphine Armand with balance Method Acupunture

- YNSA (Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture) with David Bomzon and Avi Amir

- Philippe Sionneau

- Shaun Goodman

- Dr. Palden Carsen

- Dr. Wang Wei Jie

- Dr. Hu Wen Zhi

- Dr. Lee Guo Zhen

➡️Numerous hospital practice placements in Vietnam
➡️ Study of classical Chinese pharmacology (chuán tǒng zhōng yào yào lǐ xué 传统中药药理学) following the teaching of Dr Salustino Z. Wong.
➡️ Complete Course in zhèng gǔ tuī ná (正骨推拿) with Franck Butler.
➡️ Numerous trainings in acupuncture from the lineage of Master Tung (Dǒng dà shī董大師).
➡️ Student of Dr. Lǐ Guó Zhèng (李國政).
➡️ Disciple of Dr. Hú Wén Zhì (胡文智).

Martin Kountchev has a Master's degree in modern literature and is a
graduate in Chinese Medicine.

Since the age of 14, he has studied and practiced martial art Taekwon-do at a high level, competing in the world championship where he placed second in 2003.

His passion for Asian arts led him to delve into the philosophy and practice of Chinese Medicine.

Since 2011, he has been teaching Chinese Medicine at Lu Men School in Aix-en-Provence (France).

In 2015, he co-founded Zhong Li Chinese Medicine School in the same province, where he continues to teach.

Recently, he has started sharing his vision of Master Dong's acupuncture through the method of "Xun Jing Fa".

Martin is known for his
love of teaching and sharing his knowledge to help others improve. He has been teaching since 1991, starting with Taekwon-do, followed by French literature, and Chinese Medicine.

➡️ Teacher in Tradicional Chinese Medicine, Chinese pharmacopoeia and Master Tung’s acupunture.
➡️ Study of classical Chinese pharmacology (chuán tǒng zhōng yào yào lǐ xué 传统中药药理学) following various teachings including Dr Salustino Z. Wong and professor Huang Huang.
➡️ Complete Course in zhèng gǔ tuī ná (正骨推拿) with Franck Butler.
➡️ Numerous trainings in acupuncture from the lineage of Master Tung (Dǒng dà shī董大師).
➡️ Student of Dr. Lǐ Guó Zhèng (李國政).
➡️ Disciple of Dr. Hú Wén Zhì (胡文智).