Young entrepreneur swaps medication for meditation and realises business dreams
A young entrepreneur from Cardiff has been inspired by her own health experiences to establish a meditation business designed to improve wellbeing and productivity for both corporate and education clients.
Siwan Reynolds, 24, founded Cardiff Meditation following a personal battle with epilepsy, which saw her spend years looking for ways to reduce her seizures, before eventually discovering the benefits of meditation and mindfulness.
While studying Psychology at Exeter University, Siwan spent her spare time testing ways she could decrease the number of seizures she was having while also looking for ways to successfully decrease the amount of medication she was required to take to manage her condition. As well as changes to her diet including cutting out gluten and dairy, Siwan started meditating with life-changing results.
After observing the marked difference that meditation was having on the number of seizures, Siwan implemented a regular meditation schedule into her day to day life. As well as the improvement in her condition, Siwan also credits meditation with improving her relationships, giving her more energy and having a positive impact on her university grades.
Now a graduate, Siwan has also qualified as a trained meditation coach with the British School of Meditation, and is keen to share the benefits of the mindfulness exercise with others by offering sessions to both businesses and school pupils.
She said: “Discovering meditation has completely transformed my life and I felt there was a great business opportunity to share my experiences.
“Meditation can have a really positive impact in schools, especially around exam season helping to tackle stress and behaviour overall, while in businesses it can reduce anxiety levels and promote a healthier and happier working environment.”
Having already built her client base with schools including Ysgol Melin Gruffydd in Cardiff and Llancarfan Primary in Barry, Siwan is now looking to make contacts within businesses who feel their workforce would benefit from the meditation sessions.
Siwan continued: “Although I’m still developing my business, I’ve been lucky enough to have the support of a business adviser from Big Ideas Wales, Chris Howlett, who has given me great guidance on marketing my company.
“I also attended Big Ideas Wales’ Bootcamp to Business event late last year which provided me with a lot of clarity on how to build and sustain a successful business.”
In the future, Siwan plans to expand her business by offering a global service online covering meditation webinars and courses, accessible through her website.
Siwan said: “Managing many journey with epilepsy has felt like a roller-coaster ride at times, but thanks to meditation I have really turned a corner and lead a much healthier and happy life. However it’s important to remember that everyone, regardless of health, age or profession, can benefit from meditative practices and applying mindfulness to their day to day lives.”
Economy Secretary Ken Skates said:
“Businesses such as Siwan’s are a wonderful example of those Welsh Government strive to support.
“Set out in our recently-launched national strategy Prosperity for All: economic action plan is a commitment to promote health, including a special emphasis on mental health, skills and learning in the workplace.
"Cardiff Meditation embodies our focus on improving mental health, and I am very proud that Siwan has been able to call on the support offered by Big Ideas Wales to transform her personal journey into a venture that will go on to help so many others.”
For more information visit www.cardiffmeditation.com