By Ilona Cabral

The South Wales Wellness Show united curious Cardiffians, young and old, in a transformational event which celebrated holistic health and wellness. With over a hundred retailers, healers, free talks and workshops the show was dedicated to raising awareness and educating people about holistic healing.

As show organiser Gaia Love said in an interview with Quench: ÔÇ£The event aims to evolve consciousness, raise awareness & create further opportunities for heart focused community building within South Wales.ÔÇØ

Though fairly knowledgeable about holistic healing, the event introduced me to numerous new practices and I found it easy to lose myself in conversation with the stall holders.

At the Shiatsu School Wales stall I was able to learn about, and experience, this traditional oriental therapy. Shiatsu is a form of physical and spiritual form of healing which focuses the energies in the body to support healing. Relying on similar principles to acupressure, Reiki and massage it is a ÔÇ£dance of the energiesÔÇØ which balances out the body.

Chatting with each of the stall holders I spoke to ÔÇ£ClairvoyantsÔÇØ, ÔÇ£Tarot Card ReadersÔÇØ, ÔÇ£PsychicsÔÇØ and many more. Each person had an incredible backstory, including one vendor who said that she has been able to ÔÇ£see ghostsÔÇØ since she was four years old. Also, whilst I am sceptical about certain aspects of spiritual practices, her description of the ÔÇ£ghostsÔÇØ around me did give me Goosebumps.

Across the festival other experiences were available, such as ÔÇÿAura photographyÔÇÖ, massage and ÔÇÿPsychic ArtÔÇÖ which looked interesting but unfortunately were outside the budget. This would be my only point of criticism about he festival as, considering the venue and the clientele, it was a shame that each stall charged around ┬ú20 per half-hour for their practice. I do recognise that each practice is a skill but, simultaneously, this festival was about education and the prices did limit engagement.

Nevertheless, the event was also a shopperÔÇÖs paradise with beautiful gifts and knick knacks galore. A ÔÇÿReiki TeddyÔÇÖ stall sold cute Bears infused with Reiki master symbols, for an ultimate feel-good hug! There were also numerous gorgeous smelling stall selling natural oils, butters and creams. However, my favourite stall had to be the ÔÇ£Chakra Project StallÔÇØ, which sold beautiful and intricate yoga mat holders. The stall owner explained to me that the project is dedicated to up-skilling disadvantaged women and teaches traditional Kashmiri needlework to allow a creative and therapeutic outlet.

After the extremely difficult task of looking around the stalls, it was time for lunch and I decided to get food from ÔÇ£Babitas Spice DehliÔÇØ, an Indian Street Food stall which had making my stomach grumble all the way round the fair. It was worth every penny! Every mouthful was packed full of flavour and filled me to the brim.

All in all, the South Wales Wellness Show was an entertaining an interesting event which showcased an abundance of talented individuals. It educated attendees; included some incredible food and one of the Tarot card readers presented me with a card which legitimised my procrastinating tendencies! If this show, or a similar event, comes to an area near you I would definitely recommend attending.