HOLISTIC HEALTH FAIR

On Sunday 26th DH and I went to the Holistic Health Fair that was organised by Jan, my Herbalist, as a fundraiser for the local Samaritans. We got there between 11 - 11.15 am, as planned, and, after showing our tickets and having the backs of our hands stamped with a little flower image, had a slow once around the room to suss out where things were. Being a not overly huge room it didn't take long. :0)

The first thing I did was head for Jan's own stall to have a quick natter with Anne, the receptionist, who is currently off work due to recuperating from a knee operation. She looked well, despite still being in a reasonable amount of pain and discomfort, though she was glad to have the Fair as an excuse to get out. Jan came over to ask how I was going on the new meds and I fessed up that I'd stopped taking them as they seemed to be making the stomach problems worse. As it happened it was a good choice - I was supposed to have stopped taking the Candigest tablets before taking the new tablets as they don't work together. So I had to remain relatively tablet free (just taking the medicine before meals, the Chromium Complex first thing and the Acidophilus last thing) until Tuesday, then start taking the L-Glutamine before each meal from then on. Am I glad for that: it was getting a bit much trying to remember what to take and when! LOL I then bought some more herbal teas to replenish my stock.

Next up was the belly dancing demo, by Shimea and The Shimea Dancers, which took place on the small stage within the room. That was toe-tappingly good and the outfits the ladies were wearing were gorgeous, all jewel bright colours and lots of jingling coins. It was also good to see that there were a range of body shapes and sizes amongst the performers - no need for me to be self-conscious at all, if I start going to classes! LOL Later in the day I managed to have a quick chat with one of the ladies to find that regular classes are held out at a local village and a beginners session is on Friday nights - I grabbed a leaflet, to get the details of the lady who takes the classes, so I can find out more.

As it was getting close to the time for the first talk of the day, DH (who had been to the hotel's conference room for meetings etc before) took me through, to show me where to find it. Good job he did as it was at totally the opposite end of the hotel to where the Fair was being held and I doubt I'd have found it on my own - there was a distinct lack of signage. As it hadn't started yet we decided to head back to the hotel's reception desk and ask about meals: the Carvery had to be booked in advance, so we duly booked for 1pm.

Back to the conference room and the door was open. Surprisingly, DH said he was interested in the subject - Singing Bowls and Sound for Healing - and would stay.

Good job he did as, initially, there were just the two of us in there before two other people joined us. The talk consisted of a brief history on Tibetan Singing Bowls, how they are made and the uses to which they are put, such as religious purposes, meditation and sound healing. John Thornberry, the guy giving the talk, uses them as musical tools and as sound therapy to treat a variety of illnesses and also uses them to clear houses, including clearance of unwanted spirits/ghosts! It was interesting to see the tools used to make the bowls sing and the different sounds and resonances each bowl produced when "played" - the resonance could be felt through our feet and within our bodies, an odd but not unpleasant sensation. We were then invited to have a play. DH dived up straightaway to have a go and was soon making his chosen bowl produce lovely sounds..... it took me a little bit longer to get the knack but when I did it was singing quite well and it was a lot of fun. As John - or rather Jet, as he's known professionally (his initials) - doesn't sell the bowls I'm now looking forward to the next M,B&S event, as I'd like a bowl for use as a meditation tool and for clearing the house when needed. It's such a shame this workshop wasn't better attended - it deserved to be. Later we visited Jet's stall and bought some of his CD's:

The top CD is relaxation music and, boy, does that work well! Himalaya Song uses the bowls, synthesised sounds and Jet's voice chanting, which is good for meditation (tried it - it is), and Voices of the Bowls is of the singing bowls and is another one for meditation, though I haven't tried it out yet.

After the talk we returned to the main room to have a better look round the various stalls. We talked to quite a few of the stall holders and picked up leaflets for various alternative therapies and also some free samples of a natural skin care range to try out. The aloe vera stand was quite good and DH got to try out some of their cream for aches and pains - I didn't try it because I'd already got some moisturiser cream on my hands from the other stall and didn't want to mix the two. DH was so impressed with the aloe vera cream that he went back later and bought some.

By this time it was almost 1pm, so we headed for the restaurant. DH had soup and carvery while I had a herbal tea and carvery. The young waitress was very helpful when I explained I was on a special diet and was dairy intolerant - she brought some unbuttered potatoes from the kitchen for me. We were quite impressed with the food, helpfulness and surroundings and will go there again some time. :0)

Another walk round the event room later and it was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to get a tarot or angel card reading of any description from any of the readers in the hall - they were busy all of the time. No problem, as I didn't really feel the need for one. We don't usually have therapies at these events either, as there's no way you can relax when you're on view, with people walking past. I did manage to have a word with John, the Reiki Practitioner who treated my Dad, and thanked him for the help he gave - Dad really rated him and I told John so. He actually remembered us which was nice. I took one of his leaflets, explaining that though I went to Aureen for my treatments I thought DH would benefit from having Reiki and would be happier seeing a chap, so I hoped to get him to the Clinic soon. It was an interesting chat: it seems John was once in Aureen's Development Circle and benefited much from it. :0)

At 3pm I headed off for the second talk I was interested in: Connecting to the Shamballah with the Archangels and Ascended Masters. DH popped out to the car for a sit down and chill with his laptop, muttering something about Grand Prix as he went. LOL The talk was taken by a chap called Wayne and was better attended - around 8 or 9 of us, all sat in a circle of chairs. After the talk there was a short guided meditation. Unfortunately it all seemed a little rushed, so I didn't get fully into it (have found I need to do some relaxation techniques before attempting to meditate and to take things slowly - guided meditation CD's don't work for me because of this). I did come out of it feeling uplifted though, so something had obviously worked at some level. I came away with another leaflet: Wayne will be running a two-weekend Master Healer workshop at the Clinic later in the year and participants will gain a 13d Master Healers certificate that's recognised by the British Complementary Medicine Association. Jan was right, I would enjoy it and am mighty tempted, though unsure if I can justify the cost at this stage.

Back to the main room again and I indulged in a little more retail therapy when I spotted these:


Who can go to any of these type of events and not come away with some kind of crystals? Certainly not me. LOL I also bought a nice ethnic style bag from another stall - lots of embroidery with shisha mirrors incorporated into the patterns and added shell embellishments. Ideal for taking the bits I need to the Clinic with me and much nicer than the small plastic bag I usually use.

Finally I had a natter to the Acupuncturist from the Clinic, Janet Mort. Interesting, to say the least. After taking my pulse and asking me several health questions, making notes as she went, she told me that she felt that underlying much of my health problems was something from the past. She wouldn't pry but felt I'd experienced something that I'd kept bottled up inside me for a long time and, though she felt it had been released at some point, it had left behind its impression - when "the lid occasionally popped off " that, it upset the balance of my body and caused further problems. That totally floored me! I know Jan doesn't discuss her patients with any other practitioner (unless given permission to do so and I hadn't) and I'd never met the Acupuncturist before then, yet she'd hit the nail on the head: I do bottle things up, specifically the deaths of my parents and my anger at the medical negligence that led to both - then the feeling that I'd let something go in my recent Reiki treatment. She picked up on this just in that short while - impressive! I gave her permission to talk to Jan about her findings, so that Jan can use the information she gives her to help pinpoint the tweaks she may need to give my medicine. I also took a leaflet with her details, with a view to hopefully having a course of treatment at a later date - those needles are nowhere near as scarey as I'd imagined! LOL

By this point the event was drawing to a close, with many of the stall holders packing up, so we said our goodbyes and went home - tired but happy after a very enjoyable and interesting day.