A WOMAN has turned serious illness into a positive experience after she started a healing business.

Sheila Barnes, from Peterlee, east Durham, has launched Eternal Circle Healing after she became qualified in reiki and quantum touch, a technique that aims to combat physical, emotional and stress-related conditions.

She started the business after she reached what she described as a crossroads in her life following time off from a stressful job and problems associated with a previous operation for bowel cancer.

Her fledgling business has been supported by Be Enterprising, which is part of Solutions for Business, the Government’s package of publicly funded business support to help companies start and expand.

She has set up a website – eternal-circle.

co.uk and works from home on a one-to-one basis, but intends to expand the venture in the future to work with community groups and businesses.