A FORMER call centre manager is turning to ancient treatments to help her customers cope with the very modern trials of the credit crunch and the stresses they can bring.
Julie Rennie, who worked as a facilities manager specialising in health and safety for more than a decade, used alternative therapies herself to deal with the stresses of her job.
Now she is hoping to help de-stress the North East via her company Reiki River, which is based in Stanley in County Durham.
She trained for several years to reach the highest level of Reiki Master Teacher, for her skill passing on her skills in the school of Japanese massage, and she is also a meditation teacher and qualified EFT (emotional freedom technique) therapist. The workload and hours of her previous job in the call centre industry turned her towards using complementary therapies to manage the stresses associated with her career.
She said: “Having used the therapies myself and helped friends and family, I am well aware of the positive results from complementary therapies, so I decided to move away from the negative working environment and chose to start my own business doing something I am passionate about.
“The thing I most look forward to is working with different people who want help in de-stressing and relaxing. We live in a world where we don’t seem to have the time or space to relax and unwind, and it is important for our own health and well-being that we take time out to recharge our batteries and rebalance our own life.”
In addition to learning ancient therapies, Ms Rennie studied the fundamentals of running her own business. She has gained the New Entrepreneur Scholarship from Durham University and the CDC Enterprise Agency and received funding from business start-up organisation Emerge, while Business Link provided marketing support. She now aims to provide training as part of the Reiki River business, and says the therapies – especially reiki – can be easily taught.
“This is a wonderful self-help tool and once someone is trained in reiki, they can continue to help themselves whenever they need to do so. Reiki is non-intrusive and gentle, yet powerful,” she said.
“My future plans are to train more people in the complementary techniques and to host more workshops in the North East and North Yorkshire.
“I shall also be flying out to Japan to receive further training on the latest complementary therapies and techniques to share with everyone in the region.”
Her one-to-one sessions and group workshops include reiki, meditation, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), how to read angel cards, crystals and positive thinking.
