Out & About February 2017

In the hustle and bustle of Newbury town centre, Dan Cooper discovers an oasis of calm at Soulstice Wellbeing

corporate career and originally planned to take 12 months off to spend time with her husband Russell, who suffers from anxiety. “I must admit I didn’t always understand what Russell was going through,” she says. “Sometimes I used to tell him ‘pull yourself together, there’s nothing wrong with you’, but now I know that’s just about the worst thing you can say to someone with anxiety. “Unfortunately, there is still this stigma attached to mental health and because you can’t see it, a lot of people just don’t understand. “Russell calls it ‘the black dog’ on his back. “For many people with anxiety it feels like there’s a cloud hanging over them and a lot of people lose interest in the things they love. They have absolutely no energy and don’t know how they can get through the day. “Sometimes people find excuses not to have to go out or do things. “There’s the physical side too, such as the panic attacks, sweating and heart palpitations. It can be incredibly frightening. “For some people, they can just wake up feeling anxious and for others there are certain triggers, like something in their childhood or even something silly like an argument. “All you can do is try and encourage someone with anxiety, don’t tell them to pull themselves together or keep asking what’s wrong. “For Russell, music really helps and he’s very passionate about it. “Meditation also helps, just being able to sit quietly and relax. “What’s nice is that people have told me they can sit on their own quietly at Soulstice and not feel weird or like they are being judged. “After I left Vodafone, Russell and I attended a lot of meditation classes together and we also got our Yorkiepoo, Bert. It is a breed which really helps people with anxiety.” Little did Sandra know that this career break would ultimately lead her on the path to a new venture.

Sandra Weir

S oulstice Wellbeing, located in Newbury Town Hall, opened in October 2016 with the aim of helping people unwind and to raise awareness of mental health issues. Sandra Weir, who runs the centre with her husband Russell, explains: “We all work incredibly hard and lead stressful lives. So much is expected of us and that can be overwhelming. “This is about taking some time out to relax, maybe take a class, have a massage or a cup of tea and cake and just talk or listen to music.” Sandra believes that in a world of appointments, deadlines, targets and meetings we seem to be forgetting to take time out to look after ourselves.

That is why Soulstice is such a breath of fresh air. It might sound like a cliché, but from the moment you step inside it really does feel as though you’ve left all your worries behind you. The centre offers a range of holistic therapies, including yoga, aromatherapy and massage, while visitors can also sip herbal tea or simply sit quietly and reflect in the ‘secret tea room’. Sandra and Russell have decided that 10 per cent of all profits from the secret tea room will be donated to the mental health charity MIND. There’s a personal reason behind this and why Sandra and Russell decided to embark on this adventure together. Sandra worked for Vodafone for 17 years, but says she became tired of the pressures of a

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