Top 10 Highlights at the Edinburgh Wellbeing Festival

There’s a new event in town! The City of Edinburgh Council and Good Thinking launch the first Edinburgh Wellbeing Festival. The event comprises of interesting talks, fun workshops, and a chance to be introduced to healthy brands you may never have heard of. It takes place this weekend (27th-28th January) at the Assembly Rooms on George Street and we thought we would round-up our top 10 favourite highlights to help you start to plan your day out at Edinburgh’s most exciting new event!

Full schedule and tickets are available at www.edinburghwellbeingfestival.com

1) Jasmine Hemsley

• When:  Sunday 28th January, 5:45pm
• More info: www.usherhall.co.uk/east-west-jasmine-hemsley

This is one for all you foodies out there! Bestselling author, cook and co-founder of Hemsley + Hemsley, Jasmine Hemsley, chats about her new book “East By West” – a modern take on the Ayurvedic principles of eating to nourish, sustain and repair. East by West is Jasmine’s first solo cookbook, and she will be signing copies of her book in the Market Place immediately after the event!

2) Forrest Yoga with Finlay Wilson (Kilted Yoga)

• When: Saturday 27th January, 10.45am & Saturday 27th January at 2pm
• More info: www.usherhall.co.uk/forrest-yoga-finlay-wilson

Finlay Wilson is a certified Forrest Yoga and Senior Yoga Alliance teacher, co-founder, and principal teacher of Heart Space Yoga & Bodyworks in Dundee and a widely sought-after international teacher. You may have heard of him through his massively popular Kilted Yoga video – which accumulated over forty million views online! He has also brought out a book called Kilted Yoga. Finlay will be taking a Forrest Yoga class on Saturday at 10.45am and will be giving a talk on “What Type of Yoga is Best for You?” with Alan Lambie on Saturday at 2pm.

3) How to Lose Weight for Good with Tom Kerridge

• When: Saturday 27th January, 4pm
• More info: www.usherhall.co.uk/tom-kerridge-how-lose-weight-good

Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge knows a thing or two about creating delicious meals. He will be discussing his new book and how he achieved his dramatic weight loss (loosing over 12 stone) by adopting a new and healthy approach to eating. In order to help others loose weight, Tom is turning his chef’s skills to making reduced calorie cooking delicious. As Tom says, “It’s impossible to stick to a diet if the food is boring and doesn’t fill you up.”

4) Bollywood Dance with Rajani Ravikumar

• When: Saturday 27th January, 12pm

Dancing is a fantastic and fun way to get in shape, and what could be more fun than trying out Bollywood dancing! Rajani, a professional dance artist from Dancebase, will be taking a beginners class on Saturday so head along and dance your worries away!

5) The Gut Stuff with Alana and Lisa Macfarlane

• When: Saturday 27th January, 2.30pm
• More info: www.usherhall.co.uk/gut-stuff

Alana and Lisa Macfarlane have always loved food, but only since being involved with the British Gut Project, did they discover how important the gut is to our health and the impact it has on our physical and mental wellbeing. They’ll be giving an insightful talk entitled “Why you should give a sh*t: Look after your gut” to help spread the word on how important it is to have a healthy gut!

6) Browse around the Market Place

As well as listening to talks and attending workshops, you’ll have the opportunity to browse around the “Market Place”, where a host of healthy brands will be waiting to show off their produce to you! There will be free health MOTs from Nuffield Health, discounts on massage from OHM Therapies and Neal’s Yard, herbal remedies from D. Atkinson and Napiers, advice on physiotherapy from The Physio Centre, fitness and nutrition from PureGym, plus delicious healthy food.

The Edinburgh Fermentarium

7) How to Sleep Well with Richard Wiseman

• When: Sunday 28 January, 4.30pm
• More info: www.usherhall.co.uk/night-school-how-sleep-well-richard-wiseman

Many of us have trouble sleeping and with demand for sleeping pills rising every year, and studies showing that even a small lack of sleep can have a detrimental effect on our health and happiness, this is the perfect opportunity to  attend a talk by Professor Richard Wiseman. The author of “Night School” will help you understand how sleep works and how to adopt better sleeping habits and get the best night’s sleep of your life.

8) Fitness Q&A session with Chloe Madeley

• When: Sunday 28 January, 2pm
• More info: www.usherhall.co.uk/transform-your-body-shape-chloe-madeley

Do you have questions about fitness? Well, here’s your chance to get them answered. Chloe Madeley is a qualified personal trainer who specialises in body shape transformation. In this exclusive Q&A session, she explains the exercises you need to do and the food you should eat every single day in order to get yourself in shape.

9) Beat Stress the Natural Way with Dee Atkinson

• When: Sunday 28th January, 3pm

Looking to combat stress using natural methods? Who better to talk this talk than Dee, who is a qualified Medical Herbalist since 1988. She currently runs D. Atkinson, Herbalist(18 Bristo Place) which provides a wide range of health care treatments and practitioners. Dee will be providing Herbal Remedies, lifestyle and therapy advice to beat stress naturally!

10) The Vertue Method with Shona Vertue

• When: Saturday 27 January, 9:30am
• More info: www.usherhall.co.uk/shona-vertue-vertue-method

Last but not least, Shona Vertue is an ex-gymnast, personal trainer, yoga teacher, and creator of The Vertue Method online training videos and book. The Vertue Method features a blend of resistance training to build strength, yoga to aid flexibility and a positive, mindful approach to exercise. Get in the best shape of your life, both physically and mentally, and feel stronger, healthier, and more flexible with this dynamic class.

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