"Why Inverness?" What people want to know from Tatiana and partner Claudio Correa is why exchange the sun and glamour of Rio de Janeiro in their native Brazil to first work and then open their own osteopathy practice in the Highland Capital?

"Was it the weather? No, but having said that, I don't cope well with heat!" Tatiana laughed.

"There are many reasons. I lived for 10 years in France and married a Scotsman, so I have a close cultural background with Scotland. I have a daughter who is French-Brazilian-Scottish, but she lived in France and never lived in Scotland."

Though she never managed to visit Scotland while married to her Scottish husband, Tatiana's own introduction to Scotland came when she visited Edinburgh as a 16-year-old student - earning the admiration of the staff in her hotel as the only Brazilian in her group of 40 to dare try the haggis.

Her appreciation for Scottish culture goes further than a taste for our national dish.

"Every time I hear the bagpipes, I get that feeling down my spine and start crying. It happens every time," she said.

However, it took a return to Brazil for Tatiana to start thinking about a move to Scotland.

"When I moved back to Brazil after 10 years in France, I didn't fit in to the Brazilian style of life and for Claudio, it was the same," she explained.

"We both lived abroad in the past," added Claudio, who previously lived in the south of England and Chicago.

"We were living in Rio and the violence and criminality there was just getting worse and worse."

Nairn beach may lack the balmy weather of the Copacabana - Tatiana is delighted that the family managed one day at Nairn in their bathing suits this summer - but at least they can go there without constantly worrying about their children's safety, just as they can go to the shops without worrying that they are being followed by a potential mugger.

"Women are a target in Brazil, even more than men," Tatiana said.

"My sister, three times in the same week got mugged by the same guy - he had broken glass and tried to slash her face."

She was relatively lucky. As Claudio points out, many criminals have guns and victims are often shot even after they have handed over their money and possessions.

"So weather is irrelevant," Tatiana added.

France, given Tatiana's and her daughter's background was an option, but the decision was made to come to Inverness, a place the couple had not previously visited.

"We wanted a place that was quiet, where it was easy to get from home to work. And here it is beautiful. In five minutes time you can be out in the countryside," Claudio said.

"I can spend more time with the kids, because I don't have to spend so much time travelling to work."

Both children have adapted well to Scotland, but Claudio and Tatiana's son may have had an advantage. Though born in Brazil, he already has a Scottish name - Ian.

"I had an English teacher called Ian and we wanted a name that you could pronounce the same in English, Portuguese and French," Claudio explained.

Three years on from moving to the Highlands the couple now have their own osteopathy practice, Osteocentra, on Ardross Street, where they work with an associate, Nairn-based osteopath David Houe.

There Claudio is able to offer clients a service that is, as far as he is aware, unique in the UK.

Global Postural Re-education (GPR) was developed in France more than 25 years ago and is widely practiced worldwide, yet Claudio was surprised to find that he is apparently the only practitioner in Britain.

Osteopaths Tatiana Castro and Claudio Correa. Alasdair Allen

"I've had patients fly up from the south of England because they know the technique," he said.

GPR is designed to stretch muscle groups rather than the individual muscles and can be used to correct problems and treat complaints such as sciatica and lower back pain, poor posture, stiffness and sports injuries, and is suitable for the treatment of children and pregnant women as well as other adults.

It also manages to avoid the distinctive, if disconcerting "crack" of other osteopathy treatments.

"People think that osteopathy is synonymous with cracking, but it's only one technique among many," Claudio explained.

"Most osteopaths here in the UK use it, but there are treatments we can use with no cracking sound that do the same job. There are a few patients who don't like the cracking sound and are very pleased to come here and get the same treatment without the hassle."

The couple may have moved several thousand miles, but even on different continents, the job is pretty much the same.

As Tatiana points out, we are part of a globalised world and whether in Brazil or in Scotland, people experience the same problems and stresses.

"We see lots of different people," Claudio added.

"I see a lot of people like builders. It's a very physically demanding job and they need to get better quickly because they are self-employed, so I probably see more than I would in a big city."

"What I find interesting to see is the youngsters here and how stressed they are and wound up internally," Tatiana said.

"I think that's because of the state of the world. For the generation coming up, it's hard for them in terms of worries about jobs and so on."

Claudio, who does voluntary work with Inverness American Football club Blitz, has noticed similar issues with the youngsters he treats.

"But it's nice to be there to help them at an early age," he added.

Tatiana agrees and points out that dealings with local youngsters give them the chance to give advice on good posture, exercise and a healthy diet.

"The best approach to health is prevention - learning how to manage your health," she said.

They may no longer regularly treat the professional athletes and dancers they used to in their practice in Rio, but the response to the couple's clinic, which opened its doors in September, has reinforced their feeling that giving up the tropical attractions of Brazil was the right move for the family.

"It has made us realise that professionally Inverness is where we should be," Claudio said.

They miss the warmth and are a long way from friends and family, but as Claudio points out: "We know you can't have it all. You are always going to miss something."

Besides, living in the Highlands has some compensations that even the metropolitan delights of Rio cannot match.

"It is so beautiful here," Claudio enthused.

"I've never seen that kind of nature. This is something that you see once and it stays with you the rest of your life."

c.macleod@inverness-courier.co.uk

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