Jess Turnbull - finalist in ila's Therapist of the Year Award

At the start of this year Jess Turnbull, therapist at the Flying Boat Club Spa, received the honour of being named one of the finalists of the ila Therapist of the Year Award 2012. Jess tells us a bit about the competition and what it means to her to have been recognised by ila.
I first heard about the ila Therapist of the Year award during an ila open day, and I was really honoured when I was nominated. I spent some time creating a portfolio including evidence of me performing treatments, statements from colleagues and feedback from customers. It was hard work and at one point I didn’t think I would get it done in time but I had lots of encouragement from Hannah, the Spa Manager, and Maria, a fellow therapist.
When Hannah told me that I’d been named as one of the finalists I was speechless. It’s a worldwide award and I was one of five UK finalists. It really means a lot to me to have been recognised by ila because I’m so passionate about their products. I feel like they really stand out among other spa products.
 ila stands for ‘mother of earth’ in Sanskrit and their products are crafted to be beyond organic. ila engages in co-operative farming with indigenous communities from the Himalayas to the Amazon in order to source the purest and most natural ingredients. Denise Leicester, the founder of ila, is a huge inspiration to me, so it was so lovely to receive a congratulatory letter from her after being named a finalist!
When I first arrived at the spa I spent 10 days learning all the specialised ila treatments, and it made me feel like a whole new person! ila treatments are inspired by an Ayurvedic yogic science that go beyond holistic, which combines looking not only at the different energies within the body, such as physical or mental, but also looking at the different bodies that comprise an individual.
I’m so glad that I’ve had the opportunity to use ila here on Tresco, and being named as a finalist for the Therapist of the Year Award has really set me up for life. The Flying Boat Club Spa was one of the first spas in the country to start using ila products as they were relatively new at the time. I really think it’s the perfect pairing. What better place to use such pure and natural products than in such a pure and natural environment like that here on Tresco.

Great February treatments at the Spa, including a Valentine’s Day Special!