camclub News

• camexpo latest news
• Institute for Optimum Nutrition Conference 2012
• Selenium-CoQ10 combination cut heart death risk by half
• Can I help you at all? – Harry Hill takes to the tills
• New audit scheme prepares Chinese medicine firms for stricter standards
• Profile | Healthy Sales & Marketing
• Blog Spot | Give yourselves a sporting chance this summer!

camexpo latest news

More new exhibitors confirmed for camexpo 2012!

With camexpo now just under five months away, organisers Diversified Business Communications UK has today announced some exciting new additions to its exhibitor list. Supplement specialist Nutri (Import & Exports) Limited, leading industry association the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT), Backjoy Europe BV, Acupressure Mats UK, Galway Natural Health Company, and Tisso Naturprodukte GmbH, are just a few of the latest companies to have confirmed their presence.

The UK’s only dedicated professional holistic event, camexpo 2012, which returns to London’s Earls Court on 20-21 October, will feature an extensive array of innovative new products, technologies, and services from over 200 of the natural healthcare industry’s leading manufacturers, suppliers and training providers.

Since its launch in 2002, camexpo has established a huge following for being the essential go-to event for complementary practitioners and therapists looking to stay up-to-date with all the latest research and product developments for their clients. Given the success of its 2011 show, which attracted 5,333 attendees and a wealth of positive feedback, camexpo 2012 looks set to be celebrating its milestone 10th anniversary in great company.

“Two glorious days of meeting our delightful FHT members and discussing business and therapy practice in a very pleasant exhibition environment is a pleasure as well as a benefit to the Federation of Holistic Therapists,” says Melanie Prince, the international association’s general manager. “We are always very busy on our stand and the speakers we sponsor always have well-attended sessions. We fully expect camexpo 2012 to be as busy and successful as ever.”

It’s a view shared by many of the show’s returning exhibitors, including Linda Booth, vice chair of ARCH (The Association & Register of Colon Hydrotherapists): “We exhibited at camexpo for the first time last year and had such a great response from therapists that we’ve decided to repeat it again this year. camexpo is a great platform for the UK Colonic Association to get its message across about the safety and benefits of modern naturopathic colonic hydrotherapy, particularly when treating bowel dysfunction associated with IBS, and chronic constipation.”

Asa Enmalm, owner of Acupressure Mats UK, which also returns for its second year, is equally upbeat, commenting that camexpo 2012 is “one exhibition that we could not afford to miss”.

“camexpo is the place to meet people for a company like us,” agrees Bernie Osborne, European sales manager for BackJoy Europe BV (creators of the world’s first Orthotic for backs). “Not only did we sell a lot of products last year but we also got connected to a lot of business-to-business contacts.”

With 96% of 2011’s surveyed exhibitors reporting an increase in brand awareness following their appearance at the show, camexpo offers a unique proposition for manufacturers and suppliers looking to strengthen and expand their trade presence in the UK’s growing CAM market. Amongst the new exhibitors hoping to attract new business this year are Chinese medicine pioneers Acumedic, Anamchara Detox Retreats, global payment processing company Digital Pays, Human Frameworks (sole UK distributor of the Acuball), hair mineral analyst providers Mineral Check, Baby Reflex (which has developed a soothing reflexology technique aimed at babies and toddlers), colon hydrotherapy equipment suppliers HAB Herrmann, and Guernsey-based Channel Island Flower Essences.

“camexpo is perfectly positioned to attract our target audience of customers, practitioners and therapists,” says David O’Connor, managing director of Galway Natural Health Company. “This is our first time exhibiting at the show and we’re looking forward to introducing visitors to ReviveQ10plus, our revolutionary cardiovascular, anti-ageing health food supplement. Its active ingredients include CoEnzymeQ10 and L’Aginine, which both won their discoverers the Nobel Prize for medicine and chemistry respectively.”

camexpo 2012 show highlights include 48 Taster Workshops (sponsored by Balens), 22 free Keynote seminars (in two Revital-sponsored theatres), and two days of lively free demonstrations in the CThA Demo Theatre and on the CAM Stage Live. Full details are available on the show’s website www.camexpo.co.uk.

For further information and to register, please visit www.camexpo.co.uk

Institute for Optimum Nutrition Conference 2012

The Nutritional Needs of Movement

Saturday 30th June 2012, 9:30 to 5:30, Hallam Conference Centre, London

Tickets are now on sale for The ION conference, 2012. The conference will focus on how to ensure healthy bones, joints and muscles throughout life, and how deal with common disorders such as osteoporosis, arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcopenia, ankylosing spondylitis and fibromyalgia. The programme will also include an overview on nutrition for endurance sports.

This exciting conference will explore the key roles of nutrition and the gut in the health of the musculoskeletal system.

The varied programme has a wide range of highly respected speakers, including Professor Alan Ebringer from King’s College; osteopath and naturopath Marcus Webb; Steve Hines, physical performance specialist at Fulham FC; Peter Cartwright, human microbiota specialist; Robyn Mason, specialist in gluten sensitivity; Tom Fox, sports scientist and clinical PNI practitioner from the Natura Foundation; Andrew Thomas, founder and managing director of healthcare company BetterYou; Alessandro Ferretti, clinical nutritionist; Paul Chamberlain, performance nutrition consultant; Stephen Terrass, CEO and Founder of Terranova Nutrition; and Dr Mark Edwards, Clinical Research Fellow at Southampton General Hospital.

The Conference will be instrumental to any practitioner that may work with clients suffering from mobility problems, including Nutritional Therapists, complementary practitioners, physiotherapists, sports therapists, osteopaths and chiropractors, and anyone working in the field of personal fitness.

A goody bag from our 13 sponsors (worth £70) and a healthy lunch are also included.

CPD accreditation has been applied for through BANT.

Preliminary programme (subject to change):

Topic - Speaker

• Welcome and overview - Val Bullen
• Early life and environmental determinants of musculoskeletal disease - Mark Edwards
• Maintaining a healthy gut through the microflora - Peter Cartwright
• Fibromyalgia-the gut/brain link - Tom Fox

Break

• The secret life of bone - Marcus Webb
• Magnesium - it’s role in movement and strength - Andrew Thomas
• The overlooked connective tissue - Alessandro Ferretti

Lunch

• The gut connection in Ankylosing Spondylitis - Alan Ebringer
• Gluten and muscles -from gut to gait - Robyn Mason
• Osteoarthritis - Stephen Terrass

Break

• Sarcopenia - Steve Hines
• In it for the long run: Nutrition for endurance sports - Paul Chamberlain
• Summary and feedback - Val Bullen

Booking fee £85

ION members/students £70

Venue:

Hallam Conference Centre

44 Hallam Street

London W1W 6JJ

For further information, please call Olga Hamilton on 020 8614 7800

Email: [email protected]

Register on ION’s website: www.ion.ac.uk

Selenium-CoQ10 combination cut heart death risk by half

Posted on30 May 2012. Tags: CoQ10, heart disease, selenium – www.naturalproductsonline.co.uk

Swedish scientists have shown that supplementing with a combination of selenium and coenzyme Q10 could halve the risk of dying from heart disease, reports the Daily Mail, Daily Express and others.
The Swedish scientists, based at the renowned Karolinska Institutet, led by Dr Urban Alehagen, carried out a study of 443 healthy men and women aged between 70 and 88.
Participants received either 200mg per day of CoQ10 capsules and 200µg of organic selenium yeast tablets, or a placebo, for 48 months.
The scientists found that 5.9 per cent of participants in the supplementation group had died of heart disease after five years, compared to 12.9 per cent of those in the placebo group.

Can I help you at all? – Harry Hill takes to the tills

Posted on22 May 2012. Tags: Fairtrade, Harry Hill, Liberation Foods – www.naturalproductsonline.co.uk

Harry Hill has taken his turn behind the till at Oxfam in London ’s Kensington High Street to encourage Oxfam shoppers to buy the Harry’s Nuts! range of Fairtrade nut products.
Harry’s Nuts! is the successful Fairtrade nuts brand developed by Harry and Fairtrade nut company Liberation Foods. Harry makes no money from this – he came up with the idea to help smallholder peanut farmers in Malawi sell their crops in the UK for a guaranteed fair price – and not at the roadside in Malawi or for a low price at the local market.
As well as being on sale in 200 Oxfam stores the products are also available at Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, The People’s Supermarket and other outlets.
The peanuts come from farming groups in Malawi , Mozambique and Nicaragua . The cashews are from smallholder farms in Mozambique and India .

New audit scheme prepares Chinese medicine firms for stricter standards

Posted on18 May 2012. Tags: Chinese herbal medicine, Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine – www.naturalproductsonline.co.uk
An initiative to improve the quality of Chinese medicine in the UK has been launched.
Under the Approved Suppliers Scheme, companies which supply herbal ingredients or products will be audited by an independent auditor with substantial experience in the pharmaceutical industry. The new scheme focuses on companies that supply raw ingredients (such as dried herbs or concentrated powders) to practitioners or manufactured products, whether made in the UK or imported.
The audit covers a range of aspects and some standards are the same as those required of pharmaceutical companies. There are additional requirements relevant to herbal suppliers, such as labelling ingredients in Chinese and in Latin, and checks to ensure that no banned or endangered plants are stocked.
The Approved Suppliers Scheme has been set up by the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine, the leading professional organisation for the Chinese medicine sector in the UK (RCHM). The RCHM established an Approved Suppliers Scheme in 2004, the first of its kind, and the revised scheme strengthens the original requirements. It is expected that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulation Agency (MHRA) will impose a similar audit for herbal suppliers to coincide with the statutory regulation of herbalists, which is due in the autumn of 2013.
Emma Farrant, ceo of the RCHM says, “This scheme aims to prepare herbal suppliers for the stricter standards that will be required when statutory regulation is introduced. We are encouraging all Chinese medicine companies in the UK to enrol so the sector is fully prepared.”
Although new requirements for manufactured herbal medicines came into force in 2011, these do not cover the whole sector; the Approved Suppliers Scheme aims to ensure that all aspects of the herbal medicine sector are as robust as possible.
RCHM says that two suppliers have so far met the required standards for the Approved Suppliers Scheme – Mayway and Phoenix – and three companies are awaiting audits. Another company was audited but has been asked to address a number of issues before it can be accepted on to the scheme.
The RCHM estimates that there are around 20 herbal suppliers who would be eligible for an audit.
RCHM is offering training to help more companies to meet the scheme’s standards.

Profile | Healthy Sales & Marketing

Posted on28 May 2012. Tags: Cliff Miss, Clipper Teas, Green & Black’s, Healthy Sales & Marketing – www.naturalproductsonline.co.uk

Healthy Sales & Marketing is one of the health food trade’s best-kept secrets – yet the brands it represents have sales of over £30 million. Here, Natural Products editor Jim Manson talks to HSM founder Cliff Moss about what it takes to succeed in today’s congested and competitive natural products sector.
You eventually get to the head offices of Healthy Sales & Marketing when you reach a converted barn at the end of a long, winding lane in deepest rural Sussex.
But that’s the not the real reason why the company remains one of the health food trade’s best kept secrets. That has much more to do with HSM’s style of operation – a hard-working, behind the scenes business with the focus on delivering value for its clients. And by all accounts that is also the style of Healthy Sales & Marketing’s founder Cliff Moss.
Comments one industry insider: “Cliff is well known and respected in the trade but he’s actually quite a modest guy. He’s much happier putting his energies into the brands rather than blowing his own trumpet. It’s served HSM and those brands it represents ¬– big and small – very well.”

Strong focus
So, what is it that makes HSM stand out in the natural products arena? The evidence that it does, incidentally, can be seen in its client list – Green & Black’s, Clipper Teas, Tom’s of Maine, Urtekram, Lifestream, Pai, Tints of Nature and USN Sports Nutrition being among the roll call of leading natural and organic brands on its lists. Our industry insider again: “HSM’s specialisation in the health food trade is certainly one factor. But the company also has a very strong focus on the last part of the chain. Lots of agencies will get you listed by a wholesaler but HSM has a reputation for physically going into stores and getting products on shelves.”
HSM offers a flexible range of services – everything from sales representation through to the fully integrated running of a UK business, for an overseas company. But it prides itself on being able to get products into the marketplace quickly, and pull them through at the retail level thanks to its sales team. And the company’s feet-on-the-ground way of doing business has helped it forge a unique relationship with both health food retailers and wholesalers.

Healthy Sales & Marketing was formed in 1995 by Cliff Moss, a natural products industry stalwart who previously held senior positions (managing director of Whole Earth Foods and Green & Black’s among them) with several leading brands. In just 17 years he has built a solid, respected business. The HSM group also owns a range of new and heritage brands which complement rather than conflict with its client offering – among them PLj Lemon Juice, Honegar, and Free & Easy

Experienced team
So, what is it that makes HSM’s offer so effective? Moss tells Natural Products: “It’s a mixture of things. We’re a very hands-on company and I make it my business to regularly call on clients and retailers, and the whole team here stays very close to the industry – and at the forefront of industry developments. As well as having access to key buyers – a challenge often for companies coming into the UK – our turnkey approach includes an importation and logistical function for the UK wholesalers. So we are able to consolidate supply to wholesalers of a number of products. Simple things like product labelling can be a real challenge unless you have an experienced partner to work with like HSM.” And Moss stresses the experience and industry knowledge of the whole team – “even our accountant has a qualification from ION”.

While HSM represents its brands in the fine food, multiple retail, pharmacy and online (it even has its own selling site – grumpygorrila.co.uk) channels, its main focus has always been on the natural products sector.

Operating out of a dedicated site in Cheshire, the company works with all the specialist health food wholesalers in Britain and Ireland. Its sales team meets with 300 independent health food stores every six weeks and holds very regular meetings with Holland & Barrett.

Inside track

HSM is able to offer its clients an inside track by virtue of that specialist knowledge and engagement with the health food trade. Moss explains: “Taking a brand to market is tough – and the UK health food sector is probably the most congested in the world. Part of my job is giving new entrants a bit of a reality check! To succeed in the sector you need to understand how it works, you need to allow time to grow – it’s not instant sales like the multiples, it can take a year or so for volumes to grow. You’ll need genuinely innovative products, not a ‘me too’ range. You’ve got to keep talking to retailers and be actively using PR to drive customers to your products.”

A recipe for success? Well, proof of the pudding can be seen in the individual brand successes. Even well-established brands in the HSM fold have been recording strong growth in recent years. Clipper Teas is one example, where that growth is the product “of getting the legwork done”. USN has also seen good growth thanks to work done to strengthen distribution. “Supporting well-known brands with distribution of core products translates directly into more SKUs on shelves.”

Take it seriously
The health food trade is different, says Moss. “You need to treat the sector seriously and understand that it’s an ethics based sector. You need to understand the issues that drive consumers into these specialist stores – health, free-from, organic, Fairtrade, wholefood.
“And you’ll need to understand how the wholesalers work in the natural products channel – where you have up to 20 specialist wholesalers servicing probably no more than a thousand health stores. Do you know what listing fee to expect, what type of wholesaler promotion will serve you best?
These are all areas where HSM has extensive experience. ‘We’ve got a bit of traction, and that can help new brands get established more quickly and more sure-footedly.

And when it comes to wholesaler marketing and promotions, brands need to spend money, says Moss. “There’s a temptation in austere times to batten down the hatches. But the brands that are doing that are the ones currently losing market share. The people who are investing in the health food channel at the moment are reaping the rewards – Green & Black’s being a good example.”

Moss believes the perennial ‘independents versus multiples’ debate is unhelpful. “It’s a false comparison to make. The evidence shows that virtually every brand that has a multiple offer has seen its health food trade sales increase as a result. And the problem for brands who are only in the health channel is that they peak quickly and peak smaller. Our approach is to create a bespoke offer to the independent trade to help ensure brands enjoy growth in both channels.”

A changing retail landscape
HSM’s long-standing and regular contact with the independent retail trade provides it with some unique insights into the changing retail landscape – and the challenges facing the independent sector. Comments Cliff Moss: “There are some very good retailers out there. But there are also a lot who have not moved on. There really are some stores that still look like they are firmly stuck in the seventies! There’s often a lack of clear merchandising so you end up with an incoherent jumble of products. And while they may be offering new product categories, like high-end natural products, the selling environment is still low-end. Facias need to be updated to reflect that style – and price points – of these products.

“Most stores could make simple improvements that would help drive up average basket spend. There’s a case also for thinking more strategically. We try to offer lots of promotions to independents and we do it to build brand awareness, not increase sales. Unfortunately very few retailers pass on the discount to their customers, so that opportunity to grow footfall by getting people through the front door is being lost.

Building relationships
Moss attaches high importance to relationship building: “We’ve been working with some of our brands – for example, Toms of Maine, Green & Black’s and Lifestream – virtually since we started. It’s a very relationship focused trade.” Working with the right people in the first instance is also important,” he says. “We’re strict with ourselves about who, and what, we work with. We’re looking to work with businesses that show a real commitment and who have a consistent message – those are things we pride ourselves on too. And for our part we try to avoid competing brands – so, for example, we don’t work for any other chocolate brand.”

HSM is also undertakes bespoke PR and marketing campaigns for its brands, offering everything from advice on strategic direction to full implementation of multi-channel campaigns. “We were delighted recently to bring Stephanie Matson on board. Stephanie has an excellent track record and understanding of health sector PR. She’s a great addition to the team here and one which means that we are the only sales and marketing operation in the natural products sector offering a fully integrated PR, sales and marketing service. As well as being a unique feature, we think it’s an essential one for brands in the current economic climate”.

It’s good to talk

One of the ways that the company ‘talks’ regularly with retailers is through its quarterly 8-page magazine Healthy Talk. Produced on a non-profit basis – and raising money for charities – it’s distributed to 1000 health stores and aims to be informative as well as functioning as an effective sales tool.
Healthy Talk is just another way that Healthy Sales & Marketing aims to set itself apart. But I ask Cliff Moss if he could pick out the single most important ingredient of success in today’s congested and competitive health food trade. “There’s always a case to be made for working smarter, not harder. But this is very much a relationship-focused trade and you’ve got to get the legwork done. You’ve got to put yourself and your brands in front of people. Face to face is still so important. “

MOSS OBSERVATION
Get the legwork done

This is relationship-focused trade and you’ve got to get the legwork done. You’ve got to put yourself and your brands in front of people. There’s no substitute for face to face.

Remember, the health trade is different

You need to treat the sector seriously and understand that it’s an ethics based sector. You need to understand the issues that drive consumers into these specialist stores – health, free-from, organic, Fairtrade, wholefood

‘Independents versus multiples’?

It’s a false comparison to make. The evidence shows that virtually every brand that has a multiple offer has seen its health food trade sales increase as a result. Our approach is to create a bespoke offer to the independent trade to ensure brands enjoy growth in both channels.

You have to invest!
It’s tempting in austere times to batten down the hatches. The brands that are doing that are the ones losing market share. The people investing the in the channel are reaping the rewards. You’ve got to spend some money!

The short CV

Business name: Healthy Sales & marketing

Locations: Billingshurst, West Sussex; Wardle, Cheshire

Managing Director: Cliff Moss

Staff: 45

Client brands: Green & Black’s, Clipper Teas, Schwabe, Toms of Maine, USN Sports Nutrition, Tints of Nature, Pai

Distributor brands: Lifestream, Urtekram, Healthy Foods Brands (PLJ, Honegar, Free & Easy)

Blog Spot | Give yourselves a sporting chance this summer!

Posted on30 May 2012. – www.naturalproductsonline.co.uk

Robert Taylor – vice president at Vitabiotics and HFMA Council member – urges health food retailers to make the most of the opportunity presented by this summer’s London Olympic Games.

With the London 2012 Olympic Games just around the corner, there are huge opportunities for health retailers and businesses to capitalise on what will be the biggest UK sporting event in our lifetimes. The UK will be a magnet for millions of national and international visitors for the duration of the games and retailers will be among the first to benefit from the massive spending power. But how can health retailers take full advantage of the Games in their own communities?

“Legacy benefits” of hosting the Games were at the heart of London’s original bid – to deliver nationwide objectives in the form of economic, social and health benefits for the UK. With a commitment to help at least two million more people in England lead a more active lifestyle in 2012, the unique and distinguishing feature of this Olympic Games has been the emphasis on the effects of physical activity and sports participation on the wellbeing of the population.

In the run up to the Olympics, there is a unique opportunity for retailers and manufacturers to engage with new and existing customers to promote sports and health products. Highlighting specific sports-related health products is essential so imaginative sports themed window displays provide an ideal starting point, showcasing what’s on offer to support active lifestyles. The Games are inspiring so capitalise on this with displays and promotions in-store or special events and evenings aimed to motivate and encourage consumers to get involved in sports or fitness. Perhaps see if a local Olympic hopeful will do a store visit. The key is to remember that health products and supplements are no longer niche products that only target professional athletes and ripped bodybuilders. They are increasingly popular among your mainstream customers seeking to improve their physical health. It’s therefore recreational and lifestyle users that can continue to drive growth in this market, even after the Olympic show is over.

It’s equally important for retailers to maintain a high level of technical knowledge regarding the sports products which they carry. In some cases, you may be required to reassure customers that the sports vitamins, supplements and whey protein formulations that you stock to help support individual training programmes, are suitable for use by athletes and do not contravene any rules in sport on testing or banned substances.

With obesity on the rise, the Olympics also stand as a rare opportunity to motivate the nation, especially young people, to try new activities and sports. The Youth Sport Trust Young Ambassadors programme is a movement of inspirational young people who encourage other young people to take up sport and physical activity. Central to the programme is the principle that young people can drive opportunity, engagement and change for all young people to be involved in sport. They are selected as role models by their schools and School Sport Partnerships and share the Olympic Values by organising workshops, assemblies, practical sessions and informative talks. See if there are any Ambassadors in your area and if not, team up with local gyms and together, start encouraging and supporting schools and communities to nominate young people for the role.

At Vitabiotics, we’ve embraced this with the launch of Team Vitabiotics, supporting some of the UK’s top Olympic hopefuls including triple jumper Nadia Williams, long jumper JJ Jegede and hammer throwers Mark Dry and Sophie Hitchon while also introducing Wellman Optimuscle Whey Protein formulations into the Vitabiotics range.

There is no doubt that the London 2012 Games are a unique, once-in-a-lifetime national event, and health retailers and manufacturers can and should make the most of the opportunities that hosting them will bring. Take at look at your existing sports range and plan how to expand and make the most of showcasing it in store. There is still time for retailers to tap into and capitalise on the Olympics with the right in-store promotions, sampling and displays which inspire and encourage consumers to get take an interest in their own health, while promoting the importance of an active lifestyle.

Take Away Points:
• There is still time for retailers to tap into and capitalise on the Olympics.
• Imaginative sports themed window displays, promotions in-store and special events and evenings are ideal starting points.
• It’s essential for retailers to maintain a high level of technical knowledge regarding the sports products they have in-store.
Robert Taylor is vice president/marketing director at Vitabiotics and an HFMA Council member. An edited version of this article appears in the HFMA Bulletin page in the June issue of Natural Products magazine

<strong>camclub June Articles</strong>
<ul>
<li><a href=”#healing”>Healing hands - Angie Buxton-King</a></li>
<li><a href=”#Gill”>Predictions, Crystal Balls and Buying Patterns - Gill Tree</a></li>
<li><a href=”#CNHC”>CNHC register opens to reiki</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><strong><a name=”healing”></a>Healing hands - Angie Buxton-King</strong></h2>
<em>Angie Buxton-King provides an introduction to healing, before discussing its benefit as a supportive tool when used alongside conventional medical care.</em>

Healing is based upon the principle that the physical body is surrounded by an energy field and when a person becomes unwell physically, emotionally or mentally, this has an unbalancing effect on the energy field. Sensitive to energy flow and intuitive to areas of imbalance, a healer aims to facilitate the rebalancing of the<img title=”Angie Buxton-King for website” src=”http://www.camexpo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Angie-Buxton-King-for-website.jpg” alt=”" width=”165″ height=”200″ /> energy field by channelling energy through their own hands gently placed on – or just above – the client’s body. In turn, this may help to ease physical, mental and emotional symptoms.

<strong>A state of balance</strong>

There are a number of different modalities of healing and the ability to succinctly categorise these is often the source of much conflict and confusion. For this reason, it may be easier to focus on the similarities instead of the differences – healers do not under any circumstance diagnose specific medical problems, but aim to treat the individual with a view to alleviating physical, emotional and spiritual distress.

Relaxation is the main benefit of all healing modalities, as this opens the doors to further multi-faceted benefits on a number of levels. Many of us understand that our emotions can have an impact on our physical self, therefore healing may act as a preventative approach to healthcare by helping the body to achieve a state of balance needed for good health and well-being. Healing can provide very useful support to people affected by health issues, most notably in stress-related illnesses and in mental and emotional health, as relaxation can help to alleviate some of the associated stress and anxiety. It can also potentially help people to cope with some of the physical symptoms of illness and side-effects of conventional medication and treatment.

Therapists in private practice are afforded greater flexibility in working and can gear the environment more to reinforce relaxation and healing than those in a hospital setting. However, although the therapy environment may enhance the client’s receptiveness to energy channelled from the therapist, a healing session can be just as therapeutically effective in a clinical setting. Clients in both settings commonly report feeling the energy moving within their bodies, seeing bright colours, and experiencing a twitching or movement as the energy rebalances. It is very common for a client to experience a change in temperature, and often to feel heat from the therapist’s hands.

<strong>A supportive tool</strong>

Complementary therapy has progressed enormously following the House of Lords Select Committee report in 2000 which placed healing in the Group Two category of therapies ‘which are most often used to complement conventional medicine and do not purport to embrace diagnostic skills’, alongside others such as reflexology, aromatherapy and massage. The report recognised that many of the therapies in this group provide a supportive tool when used alongside conventional medical care, and may help relieve stress, alleviate side effects, provide support for the elderly and play an important role in palliative care.1

Healing can be very beneficial alongside conventional medicine, and my clinical experience within the hospital setting allows me to say that the therapy can be used to:

• assist anxiety management;
• aid pain management strategy;
• provide a supportive measure through unpleasant and/or painful procedures, such as lumbar puncture, bone marrow aspirate, liver biopsy, and so on;
• reduce chemotherapy/radiotherapy gut disturbance;
• reduce nausea and vomiting;
• reduce pain associated with sore mouth;
• engender a sense of control;
• enhance compliance with treatment regimens;
• enhance coping;
• enhance the immune response;
• improve quality of life;
• increase confidence and self-esteem; and
• assist the patient in the dying process.

There is no ‘one tool fits all’ for healthcare, however by providing conventional medicine and complementary therapy alongside each other we can facilitate a more holistic path to be taken by the client /patient .We must not ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ but allow people to choose for themselves how they wish to approach their health care.

<strong>Case study</strong>
Dr Anil Wijetunge was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2005 and was seen by a healer on the hospital ward at least twice a week for 30 minutes, sometimes more when he was experiencing a great deal of pain. Anil offers this patient insight:

‘When I was diagnosed with leukaemia in May 2005 my world was turned upside down. I had worked as a hospital doctor for 17 years in most of the medical specialties, including cancer. I knew from the early signs that the disease was very advanced and I was in a poor risk group where the chances of survival were only approximately 35 per cent. I had to face – and come to terms with – the possibility of death, and accept whatever treatment and consequences arose.

‘I experienced the most appalling pain in my back and throughout my body, especially in the muscles. There were infusions of very powerful drugs to keep my circulation and heart going, and it was a very difficult time being in an isolation room, month after month. I started my first healing sessions having known absolutely nothing about the therapy before; even when I had worked with cancer patients myself. I closed my eyes as the healer placed his hands over specific areas of the body, starting at the head and making gentle contact. I was immediately struck by how hot his hands were; they radiated heat. The healer slowly changed the position of his hands to cover and pause over different parts of the head and face, then the trunk, arms and legs, down to the soles of the feet. Gradually my mind calmed and I became less tense. For the first time I felt someone was helping to fill the massive gap in modern medical care where holistic care should be.

‘The healing sessions I experienced allowed me to fully relax, close my eyes and let my mind drift, out of the isolation room to a calm, quiet place that made me feel as if I was walking through a beautiful, sunny garden where I was reassured and spiritually nourished.

‘By the end of each session I was physically more comfortable and emotionally relaxed and stronger. As a hospital doctor I would never have realised how healing could benefit a patient. As healing defies detailed analysis of its mechanism of action in conventional medical and scientific terms, it is too easily dismissed by most physicians. My experiences as a leukaemia patient have shown me how important it is to provide holistic care that supports a person emotionally, mentally or spiritually. This is virtually absent in medical care today and I believe all sick people are suffering to some extent because of its absence. Healing provided an important part of that missing element of care and it helped me face up to and survive the physical and mental challenges.’

Working in the healthcare environment
Therapists who are keen to work in a statutory setting must develop the skills required to work safely and competently in such an environment. Further training can help the therapist to successfully integrate complementary therapies into the field of conventional medical care, taking into account how to:

• approach and present themselves and their therapy work to hospitals;
• describe complementary therapies to medical and nursing staff;
• use language to bridge the gap between conventional medicine and complementary therapies, as this can make or break your career at this stage;
• protect patients – and yourself – from the risk of infection;
• measure treatment outcomes, as gathering an evidence base is very useful in our field;
• gain support through clinical supervision; and
• gain funding (therapists often have to rely upon themselves).

1. House of Lords Select Committee (2000). UK parliament Science and Technology Sixth Report. Source: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldselect/ldsctech/123/12304.htm

Biog box
Angie Buxton-King is a reiki master, spiritual healer, tutor and a council member of the College of Medicine. She regularly speaks at medical and holistic conferences, is the author of The NHS Healer, and runs training in Delivering Complementary Therapy in a Statutory Setting. She has been employed for 12 years at the University College London Hospital (UCLH) working with cancer patients as part of an integrated holistic package of care. In 2003, she was promoted to manager/healer of the complementary therapy team, leading the acceptance and development of healing and other complementary therapies within the trust. Angie and her husband, Graham, are the founders of The Sam Buxton Sunflower Healing Trust (SBSHT), which helps to fund healers to work within the NHS with cancer patients. They set the charity up in memory of their late son Sam, who had Acute Muyeloid Leukaemia and benefited enormously from healing before he died in 1998 aged 10. In 2008, Angie and Graham created The Guild of Professional Healers to represent healers and provide a body of healers that embraced the different modalities within one organisation. www.cancertherapies.org www.angiebuxton-king.com

This article was first published in International Therapist (October 2011, issue 98), the membership journal of the Federation of Holistic Therapists (www.fht.org.uk). Reprinted with permission of the FHT and Angie Buxton-King.
<h2><a name=”Gill”></a>Predictions, Crystal Balls and Buying Patterns - Gill Tree</h2>
<img title=”Gill Tree website” src=”http://www.camexpo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Gill-Tree-website.jpg” alt=”" width=”158″ height=”220″ />

One of the keys to a successful business plan and therefore a successful business is the ability to fairly accurately predict your sales over the next 12-36 months. Whilst a fairly easy task when established, when you are a new business having a crystal ball would be really helpful to be able to make such predictions.

However if you are willing to play detective to establish your potential customers buying patterns with some market research, you will be able to start working on sales projections fairly quickly.
Going on a fact finding mission will allow you to start to define how your business is going to take shape. You need a several pronged strategy:

<strong>1/ Network with other therapists</strong>
Join a professional association that has regional group meetings that you can attend. When you are established in the group ask the questions in number 3.

<strong>2/ Call up 10 therapy centres and ask</strong>:
If I book a course of treatments what discount do you give?
Is it common to book a course of treatments?
How quickly can you see me?
I’m new to this- do people usually come weekly/ fortnightly/monthly?

<strong>3/ Find a successful therapist who is out of your area, offer a free treatment as a swap for their information and advice on:</strong>
How long it took them to get established
What successes they had, what failures
Their clients buying patterns;
<strong>How many: </strong>
come weekly
come fortnightly
come monthly
come as one off’s or on an occasional basis
Any seasonal fluctuations
Hints and tips

<strong>Repeat this several times with other therapists</strong>

Think up your own questions to ask also. Once you have completed this task, I guarantee you will have a much clearer idea of how your potential clients are going to buy from you. You will also be able to work out exactly how many clients you are going to need to fulfil your goal.

For example lets imagine your goal is to have by the end of year one, a full clinic of 20 hourly clients per week, paying £50.00 an hour and working 46 weeks per year.

Having done your market research above, you established that you will get approximately 30% of your clients coming weekly, 30% coming fortnightly, 30% coming monthly and 10% coming as one off’s or on an occasional basis. (this is for illustration purposes only- you need to do the research in your area to find out what is true for your market).

If this was the case you would need:
<table border=”0″>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Type of client</td>
<td>Number each week</td>
<td>Total number of unique clients required per annum</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Weekly</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fortnightly</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Monthly</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>24</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ad hoc (twice year)</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>52</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Total
</strong></td>
<td><strong></strong></td>
<td><strong>94</strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
This is an illustration only. You need to come to your own conclusions about how many clients you want coming on a regular basis and with what frequency. However if this was my business, I would look at the figures above and say, “<em>hold on a minute. I only need 40 regular clients for the whole year, that’s achievable, but the 52 adhoc, that seems like a lot of work to get them. Let me rethink my percentages and also think about how I can ensure repeat sales</em>”.

I mentioned above that it is a good idea to network with other therapists, but to be really successful but you need to expand your network far beyond that group of people.

<strong>Get Networking</strong>
Networking is going out to business breakfasts and meetings and specific networking events to meet many people, swap business cards and help support each other with business leads.
I think networking is an extremely important business activity, but it needs to be done selectively. I am quite a social animal and have really enjoyed going out and networking and meeting interesting people. That in itself served a purpose. It kept my energy high for my business and I would come back with some new ideas. There are lots of networking clubs and groups. the local chamber of commerce will have meetings and the virtual networking club ecademy <a href=”http://www.ecademy.com/”>http://www.ecademy.com/</a> will have local meetings.
<strong>
However did it bring me any business?</strong>
No! Not until I was clear about who I needed to network with and collaborate with. (More about collaborations in a future step).
Listed below are guidelines for making the most of networking.
<strong>Network with Purpose</strong>
Before you sign up for a networking event, think about reason for attending. Decide your goals and what you hope to accomplish. You may not achieve them straight away but thinking this way really gets your prepared and you will improve with networking practice. Often what happens at networking events is that you develop stepping stones to where you want to be.
<strong>Goals may be:</strong>
• To get ideas for how to run your business
• Find out about opportunities for working in clinics and centres in the community
• Practice giving an elevator pitch (giving a short promotional presentation)

<strong>Prepare your pitch</strong>
Often at networking events you will be invited to give a short presentation. Grab this opportunity with both hands. In later steps I will be talking about how important public speaking is to your success (and how many people who would rather die than speak in public have become great speakers!).
Practice in front of the mirror at home a one minute presentation clearly stating with warmth and humour why you are <strong>the person</strong> to book for your particular speciality.
Practice scanning the room and making eye contact and smiling as you speak.
<strong>Be prepared</strong>
Make sure you arrive on time and are armed with plenty of business cards and promotional flyers. If you’ve booked an event be sure to attend- no dropping out because of nerves ort a better offer or feeling too tired!
Make sure if you promise something to someone that you do the follow up within 48 hours of the event. Remember what goes around, comes around and your success is more likely if you are congruent.
<strong>Network and be yourself</strong>
People are more like to trust and warm to you if you are sincere and are being yourself. Be interested, listen, be genuine, honest, friendly and giving

<strong>Network with a view to giving support and help</strong>
When you are networking your thoughts should be on “how can I help” rather than how can I sell my service. If you have this mindset, when you present a particular issue or problem people will want to help you too. So for example, I recently met a woman at an event who I know would really benefit from being in touch with 3 business people I know. I have called them to see if they would be interested in speaking with her and put them together. What I get from that is the satisfaction of helping and knowing that there are other like minded people at networking events who will do the same for me.

<strong>Happy business planning!</strong>
Gill Tree is the Managing Director of Essentials for Health, one of the UK’s leading Schools of Massage and Sports Massage, established in 1992. She is an award winning entrepreneur, therapy business expert, author and presenter at CAM EXPO. Keen to support you with her business acumen and expertise so that you can focus on working you’re your clients, Gill would like to offer you a special 20th anniversary gift. Her E-Business Tool Therapists Business Passport <strong>for free</strong>.

Simply click here <a href=”http://www.essentialsforhealth.co.uk/Page.php?ID=Business_Passport”>http://www.essentialsforhealth.co.uk/Page.php?ID=Business_Passport</a>

Essentials for Health, thanks to Gill’s 20+ years of therapy business experience, prides itself in being the School that <strong>Provides a Career not just a Course</strong>.<a href=”http://www.essentialsforhealth.co.uk”> www.essentialsforhealth.co.uk</a> 01628 476100
<h2><a name=”CNHC”></a>CNHC register opens to reiki</h2>
<img title=”CNHC logo cam” src=”http://www.camexpo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/CNHC-logo-cam.png” alt=”" width=”164″ height=”81″ />CNHC opened its register to reiki on 14th May 2012. This means that as practitioners register, members of the public will be able to search the CNHC register for reiki practitioners in their area.

Practitioners are only admitted to the register if they can demonstrate that they meet national occupational standards and agree to abide by a rigorous code of conduct, performance and ethics. More and more people are searching the register to find practitioners who are properly trained, qualified and insured so this is good news for practitioners who want to sign up.

There has been a lot of demand for reiki going onto the register. CNHC’s Chief Executive, Margaret Coats, commented: “Reiki is widely used by people in services such as cancer and palliative care where it is essential that practitioners have met proper standards. The opening of CNHC’s register to reiki provides this assurance to members of the public and commissioners of services.”

Reiki is the 14th discipline to join the CNHC register since it opened in January 2009. The other disciplines are Alexander Technique teaching, aromatherapy, Bowen Therapy, healing, hypnotherapy, massage therapy, microsystems acupuncture, naturopathy, nutritional therapy, reflexology, shiatsu, sports therapy and yoga therapy.

Any practitioner interested in applying should check the CNHC website for details of the verification process. For further details check CNHC’s <a href=”http://www.cnhc.org.uk/pages/index.cfm?page_id=68″>step by step guide</a> on the ‘How to register’ section of CNHC’s website.

<strong>Reiki advertising wording available</strong>
Now that the register is open to reiki, the therapy descriptor for reiki is available on CNHC’s website.

CNHC has worked with the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Copy Advice Team, in consultation with CNHC’s Profession Specific Boards (PSBs), to produce wording to describe each of the therapies CNHC registers. The reiki descriptor is the latest to be added to the list following work with CNHC’s Reiki PSB.

The purpose of this is to offer wording that practitioners may use to describe their practice in a way that will reduce to a very great extent the risk of a successful complaint to the ASA. CNHC will inform registered practitioners of any amendments to the wording which may result from any future ASA adjudications.

All CNHC registered practitioners may find the wording for their therapy available to download in <a href=”https://www.cnhcregister.org.uk/secure/login.cfm?loc=/my_cnhc/index.cfm&”>MyCNHC</a>. The descriptors are also available on the CNHC website here <a href=”http://www.cnhc.org.uk/pages/index.cfm?page_id=86″>Complementary Therapy Descriptors.</a>

For more information about advertising see <a href=”http://www.cnhc.org.uk/assets/6-063.pdf”>CNHC Advertising Guidance</a>.

For more information about the CNHC go to CNHC’s website at: <a href=”http://www.cnhc.org.uk/pages/index.cfm”>www.cnhc.org.uk</a> , email <a href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a> or call 020 3178 2199