Latest news with #LesleyCanis
Scotsman
07-07-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
First Scottish women's well-being summit announced
Details have been announced of the inaugural Scottish Women's Well-being Summit, to be held at the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews. Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sponsors announced for the event include Biomel, a science-driven health product which supports digestive health and mental performance, and emerging workplace wellness business Calm and Co Office Yoga. Lesley Canis, facilitator and organiser of the summit, who works in advocacy and is passionate about women's wellbeing, said: 'I am absolutely delighted that Biomel, a prestigious brand with a solid following in the wellbeing and health community, has decided to become one of our first sponsors at this forthcoming, landmark women's summit, a one day well-being and leadership forum bringing together 250 women from across Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "This event will present an astounding lineup of world class speakers, and has been designed with well-being woven into every detail of the day. There are numerous sponsorship opportunities available, including exclusive product drop spots, and I would appeal to businesses with a link to women's well-being, to leadership, or to innovation & entrepreneurial spirit, to get in touch. We are having exhibition space as well, which may also appeal. This is a fantastic opportunity to get on board early, as Biomel has done.' Biomel is a major sponsor on board Bringing together a committed and highly engaged mix of leading female professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, and corporate business leaders, the summit will provide them with the opportunity to network, collaborate, and inspire, taking part in pilates and yoga wellness sessions. Exhibitor stalls from many of Scotland's leading wellness and leadership industries will include Love Your Lymph, who will run workshops on lymphatic drainage. Keynote speakers will take to the stage, aiming to attract column inches on what can be done to improve the situation for working women in Scotland. Recently added to the list of inspiring female speakers at the event is Dr. Heather Currie MBE. Scottish National Clinical Lead for modernising gynaecology outpatients, Dr Currie is the Managing Director of Menopause Matters, and a Trustee & past Chair of the British Mnopause Society. She's also Co-Editor of Post Reproductive Health through the Journal of the British Menopause Society. 'We look forward to hearing Dr Currie discussing advancements in medicine for women's health, with the focus on menopause and cervical screening,' said Lesley Canis. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'She's currently doing some amazing work, and we are absolutely delighted to have her join us at the Summit, together with our other incredible speakers, Dr Jo Salter, Britain's first female Fighter-Jet Pilot, Kate Muir, leading Scottish writer, women's health campaigner and documentary maker, Lee Donald, the seventh Scottish woman ever to summit Mount Everest, and Councillor Sally Pattle who represents the Linlithgow Ward on West Lothian Council for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, where she is their Mental Health Spokesperson. Additionally, Sharon Miller, a multi award winning wellness pioneer, and Founder of Joyworks, will also speak to our delegates – what a line up it is!' Calm & Co Office Yoga is also sponsoring the prestigious summit As well as inspiring them in the world of business and achievement, the summit will provide an opportunity for those attending to mentally and physically renew, with a series of immersive experiences, including a group sea dip in the morning on St Andrews West Sands. Fire walking is also lined up to really let delegates break out of their comfort zones for the day. Further details, and to join the wait list or buy tickets for the event on November 15, please check out Please contact Lesley by email at [email protected], to discuss all current sponsorship opportunities.
Edinburgh Reporter
06-07-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Sponsor and speaker announced for first women's wellbeing summit
A science driven health product which is said to support digestive health and mental performance, Biomel contains diverse fibres, together with billions of live active cultures and carefully selected vitamins and minerals. The company says it has been proven that a balanced gut is important for overall well-being, including digestive and immune health. Biomel joins Calm and Co Office Yoga as a sponsor, with other businesses currently being sought to come on board. An emerging business, which has a vision to become a leading provider of workplace wellness in Scotland, offering practical tools that will create lasting change, Calm and Co Office Yoga encourages businesses to think about workplace wellbeing in a new way. Believing in the transformative power of yoga and mindfulness to enhance workplace well-being, it provides tailored practical yoga solutions that fit seamlessly into the workday, with its mission being to help employees overcome burn out, anxiety and stress, while boosting resilience and fostering a positive workplace culture. The company operates in person in Fife, Edinburgh, Dundee and all across the Scottish Central Belt, or online globally. Facilitator and organiser of the Summit, Lesley Canis, who works in advocacy and is passionate about women's wellbeing, said: 'I am absolutely delighted that Biomel, a prestigious brand with a solid following in the wellbeing & health community, has decided to become one of our first sponsors at this forthcoming, landmark women's summit, a one day well-being and leadership forum bringing together 250 women from across Scotland. This event will present an astounding lineup of world class speakers, and has been designed with well-being woven into every detail of the day. There are numerous sponsorship opportunities available, including exclusive product drop spots, and I would appeal to businesses with a link to women's well-being, to leadership, or to innovation & entrepreneurial spirit, to get in touch. We are having exhibition space as well, which may also appeal. This is a fantastic opportunity to get on board early, as Biomel has done.' Bringing together a committed and highly engaged mix of leading female professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, and corporate business leaders, the summit will provide them with the opportunity to network, collaborate, and inspire, taking part in pilates and yoga wellness sessions. Exhibitor stalls from many of Scotland's leading wellness and leadership industries will include Love Your Lymph, who will run workshops on lymphatic drainage. Keynote speakers will take to the stage, aiming to attract column inches on what can be done to improve the situation for working women in Scotland. Recently added to the list of inspiring female speakers at the event is Dr. Heather Currie MBE. Scottish National Clinical Lead for modernising gynaecology outpatients, Dr Currie is the Managing Director of Menopause Matters, and a Trustee & past Chair of the British Mnopause Society. She's also Co-Editor of Post Reproductive Health through the Journal of the British Menopause Society 'We look forward to hearing Dr Currie discussing advancements in medicine for women's health, with the focus on menopause and cervical screening,' said Lesley Canis. 'She's currently doing some amazing work, and we are absolutely delighted to have her join us at the Summit, together with our other incredible speakers, Dr Jo Salter, Britain's first female Fighter-Jet Pilot, Kate Muir, leading Scottish writer, women's health campaigner and documentary maker, Lee Donald, the seventh Scottish woman ever to summit Mount Everest, and Councillor Sally Pattle who represents the Linlithgow Ward on West Lothian Council for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, where she is their Mental Health Spokesperson. Additionally, Sharon Miller, a multi award winning wellness pioneer, and Founder of Joyworks, will also speak to our delegates – what a line up it is!' As well as inspiring them in the world of business and achievement, the summit will provide an opportunity for those attending to mentally and physically renew, with a series of immersive experiences, including a group sea dip in the morning on St Andrews West Sands. Fire walking is also lined up to really let delegates break out of their comfort zones for the day. Contact Lesley by email at [email protected], to discuss any sponsorship opportunities. Dr Heather Currie Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
24-05-2025
- Edinburgh Reporter
Entrepreneur launches first Scottish Women's Wellbeing Summit
Lesley Canis, from Kennoway in Fife, is looking to help women to make real change by staging an inaugural Women's Wellbeing Summit at the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, later this year. Motivated by her own incredible life journey, which has taken her from Fife, to the Caribbean, and back to Scotland, she has become a fierce advocate for women's wellbeing in the workplace along the way. Once declared homeless, following the break-up of her first marriage, Lesley fought back by achieving a degree in English and creative writing, and became a lecturer & journalist. The whole experience demonstrated to her that childcare provision was woefully inadequate for working women, and especially for single parents. At the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, she was isolated alone with her young child. Taking a huge gamble, as a result of seeing the Welcome Stamp Visa Programme, she moved to Barbados to work as a freelance writer, staying there for a year before returning to Scotland with a new husband, with whom she now shares young twins. She was then working for an advocacy charity called Voiceability, in Fife, and she found that very little progress had been made in addressing the mental and physical needs of women facing obstacles to study and work. The Scottish Women's Wellbeing Summit, or SWWS, is aiming to ensure meaningful change in this area starts to happen now. It will be held on 15 November at the Old Course Hotel. Bringing together 200 women, a committed and highly engaged mix of leading female professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, and corporate business leaders, the summit will provide them with the opportunity to network, collaborate, and inspire, with exhibitor stalls from Scotland's leading wellness and leadership industries, along with networking sessions and workshops to attend. Keynote speakers will take to the stage, aiming to attract column inches on what can be done to improve the situation for working women in Scotland. Additionally, the summit will provide an opportunity for those attending to mentally and physically renew, with a series of immersive experiences, including ice bathing, yoga, and even fire walking. For delegates who chose to stay overnight, they will have access to the hotel's swimming pool, hot tub and sauna. Having qualified as a Kundalini Yoga Teacher back in 2022, running Living Fierce Yoga in the community, with chair yoga and mum & baby yoga classes part of her repertoire, Lesley took the logical next step, given her passion for wellbeing in the workplace, and launched her own yoga business, entitled calmandcofficeyoga, which, although still in its infancy, and run alongside her current advocacy job, is attracting businesses to think about workplace wellbeing in a new way. Lesley explained that facilitating and staging this important summit is the realisation of a long-held dream: 'This summit, a combination of a wellbeing & leadership summit for women, means the absolute world to me. I have wanted to do something like this for a long time,' she said. ' 'I know there are a lot of local summits doing great things and driving change, but with SWWS, I want to get in front of women who are in leadership roles or entrepreneurs in wellness. As a group of women sitting down together, they can facilitate change at high levels, and raise incredible awareness that drips down through their organisations, and onto their customers.' Lesley went on to say that other aims of the summit were to directly discuss the issues that matter to working women, 'whether they have been affected by menstrual issues, menopausal concerns, or pregnancy. There are so many innovative, non hormonal, treatments for women's health issues, such as menopause, that can be accessed in non medical settings if more women knew about them, for example. Sadly, they tend not to be available in traditional settings.' 'But, even more importantly for me personally, is my hope that this summit will be profitable enough for me to use some of these profits to start a childcare charity within Fife, not dissimilar to Flexible Childcare Services Scotland. I'd also like to run luxury wellbeing retreats for women in Barbados that allow for two funded spaces for women who financially wouldn't be able to access them otherwise. Doing what I did was life changing in so many ways, and I want other people to experience that.' Describing the childcare provision across Fife, as 'shocking', Lesley said that 'as a mum of young children in the workplace twenty five years ago, and a mum of young children in the workplace now, not much has changed at all. I know what it's like to be down on your luck, and to feel that you're not valued in either the workplace or society, just because you're a single mother. I felt I had nowhere to turn at that point in my life, so I want to make a difference.' Lesley explained that staging the summit was 'at a very high cost to me, with huge risks and outlay. It's a wellbeing summit that is also a luxury retreat, partnering one of Scotland's premier Hotels. 'I wanted to make it as luxe and commercially appealing as possible, in order to attract the level of corporate sponsorship and support I need. I have negotiated special overnight rates with The Old Course Hotel, for summit delegates who may wish to stay overnight on the day, which would certainly give them the very best experience. Staying overnight gives them exclusive access to a networking Drinks Reception, plus the exclusive Leadership Dinner afterwards. I want to make the summit an unforgettable and empowering experience that could well become a regular fixture in influential women's yearly calendars.' 'I'd like to thank The Old Course Hotel for its assistance, and support so far,' continued Lesley. 'They have been absolutely fantastic in seeing my vision for this event.' Facing, what she calls, 'a full on summer ', Lesley is now busy securing summit speakers, tweaking the itinerary, and seeking key sponsorship. 'Any sponsors or exhibitors who would like to get involved, please reach out to me at [email protected],' said Lesley. 'I am delighted to say that I have already secured Biomel UK, a prestigious gut health brand, on board as a sponsor, along with the incredible Viking Heat Retreat in Cupar, so things are starting to move. Fife based Vivimus Water has agreed to supply the water for the event too, which is fantastic news. 'JoyWorks!, one of Scotland's leading holistic teambuilding companies, has been confirmed as our first speaker.' 'I always felt like a square peg in a round hole in the workplace,' finished Lesley. 'I've always been a bit rebellious, not seeing the point in a lot of structures. This always made me feel like a failure because of it. It took me a long time to realise that a lot of women felt the same in the workplace, as its structure simply isn't set up for single mothers, or for women in general.' 'This summit is for women tired of asking for approval, or trying to make changes within the current system. It's for the rebels and the changemakers who aren't asking for permission anymore, for people who know there's a better way to lead. If Covid proved anything, it's that there are other ways to work that still work.' Tickets for the Scottish Women's Wellbeing Summit are now on sale through the website Like this: Like Related
