Helen Goodwin, botanical artist, is now showing her beautiful and lifelike pictures at Vitality +. Her pictures really look great and fit well with the rest of the shop. The pictures to the right show just some of her pictures - for more you can go to Helen's website at http://www.helen-goodwin-art.co.uk/ - or pop into Vitality + to see them for yourselves - But be careful, you may be tempted to buy one!

Dawn Howorth, one of our Psychotherapists will be delivering her highly successful Hypnobirthing course at Vitality + starting in April and run over 5 weeks. 

The Mongan method of HypnoBirthing is a philosophy and technique for achieving a satisfying, relaxing and stress-free birthing. HypnoBirthing teaches you, along with your birthing companion, the art and joy of experiencing birth in a more comfortable manner.

Both the mother and birthing companion attend group antenatal classes once a week for 5 weeks.  Each session is 2½ hours.  These sessions are very supportive, making time for discussion, demonstrations and practice.  Some birthing mothers and companions prefer one-to-one sessions; private sessions are available.

HypnoBirthing Antenatal Classes can…

• Reduce the Fear-Tension-Pain Syndrome before, during and after birthing
• Eliminate or greatly reduce the need for chemical painkillers
• Shorten the first stage of labour by several hours
• Eliminate fatigue during labour, leaving you fresh and awake
• Promote family bonding
• Foster more rapid postnatal recovery
• Return birthing to the beautiful, peaceful experience nature intended
• Creates a more integral role for the birthing companion

To find out more about this course or to book your place, visit Dawn's website here

Thank you to Stubbins Primary School  year 5 & 6 pupils who did Mother's Day Cards for our competition and well done to our winner, whose winning card can be seen in the shop window. He wins a selection of cosmetics from our range for his mum. 

Thanks also to the head and year 5 and 6 teachers for their co-operation and help.

A selection of the cards, shown here in the photo,  can be seen displayed in the shop. 

And a big well done to the Winner, 11 year old Daniel McKinnell who can be seen with his mum, Abigail, in the picture below and the winning card. Daniel wins a Vitality gift set for his mum and a World Cup sticker book for himself.

The Second Ramsbottom Chocolate Festival is nearly here and if last year's is anything to go by, it should be a busy, fun packed two days.  See the video for last years event. 


The dates for this year's festival are the 27th and 28th March and there will be lots going on to see and buy and of course, lots of chocolate! You can download the programme and trail leaflet below.


This will be Vitality's first festival and so we are celebrating with some special edition chocolate remedies, together with our usual chocolate soaps and shampoos from Essentially Natural and Faith in Nature.


We will also be putting on a series of demonstrations on how to make you own chocolate based remedies:


Sat 27th March and Sun 28th March
 
11:00 a.m. - How to make a Chocolate Tincture and the medicinal benefits of chocolate: Watch our qualified herbalist make a tincture made from raw chocolate and try a little for yourself. Find out how herbalists use the tincture and the medicinal benefits of your favourite food.
 
1:00 p.m. - How to make a Chocolate-mint lip balm. A demonstration of how to make a delicious and simple chocolate and mint lip balm made from natural ingredients that you can make for yourself at home.
 
3:00 p.m.  - How to make Cocoa butter hand cream. Watch our herbalist make a natural and nourishing hand cream from cocoa butter and find out what herbs you could add to treat dry or damaged skin.
 



And look out for our stall on the Sunday. See you there!

A big thank you to everyone who attended the two Heartstart courses delivered by The British Heart Foundation at Vitality +. These 2 hour courses are designed to give people emergency life saving skills; they teach CPR, how to help someone who is choking and how to recognise and treat someone having a heart attack . Serious and important stuff indeed, and yet judging by the laughter coming from our training room whilst I've been in the shop, still fun to do! Everyone who attends comes away with a certificate and more importantly, a set of skills that may save someones live one day.  So a big well done to all those who attended.

p.s. And a special thanks to Pat, who with help from the BHF, decorated our window to tie in St Valentines to make February 'Big Heart Month' as Dawn Taylor from Heart Start East Lancs says:  "An inspired combination, and we offer our sincere thanks to Tim and Tracey for the use of the window and for organising not just one, but two training sessions in the treatment rooms over the shop."



 

Look out for our new window display for Mothers Day and the Chocolate Festival!