Calm Centre Collective

By Jackie Swanson

Calm Centre Collective is a group of local therapists whose aim is to raise awareness and accessibility to complementary therapies and promote holistic ideals for health and well-being.
The healing day is a bi-monthly community health event that has been held at the Old Police Station on Lark Lane, Liverpool 17 for over two years. For the event the Community Centre is transformed. The youth club becomes the treatment room - decorated with fabrics, candles and incense. Live harp music is played all day by Stan the harpist, creating a fantastic ambient atmosphere for the treatments to take place in.
Treatments offered at the last event were: aromatherapy, reflexology, Indian head massage, Hopi ear candles, kinesiology, seated massage, La stones, Reiki, auricular acupuncture and shiatsu. Usually over one hundred treatments take place throughout the day. The cost of a half hour treatment is £7.50 for concessions and £10 waged.
Upstairs in the 'quiet room', workshops take place such as relaxation, dance, singing, yoga, Alexander Technique, hypnotherapy and we finish with a healing circle.
In the main hall there is a café offering delicious homemade vegetarian snacks and meals with hot and cold drinks. There are also many stalls selling products such as hand made soaps, herbs, essential oils, tarot readings, incense, fair trade and environmentally friendly products. There are also demonstrations and entertainment including Tai chi, yoga, and live musicians.
The children's area offers activities such as art workshops, story telling, yoga bugs and fun and games all day.
Admission is £2 waged, £1 for concessions and children enter free. All profits from the healing day are being used to establish a community complementary health practice in the centre and in the future workshops and treatments will be available on a full time basis.

The next healing day is on Saturday 17th December 2005. For information look at www.larklane.com/smllca website or call 0151 728 7884.