The 48-year-old opened a shop called Natural Possibilities in Uppingham 15 months ago and the business is doing well despite these troubled economic times.

Performing the Japanese healing treatment of reiki or the soothing practice of Hopi ear candling on customers is a far cry from the high pressure world she used to inhabit as manager of one of London's busiest banks at Charing Cross 20 years ago.

"Running this business is a completely different feeling to being in amongst what was a very competitive crowd in the banking industry in the late 1980s – the age of the yuppie," said Heather, as she relaxed at her shop in High Street East.

"People were heading off for jobs which paid three times what I was on and it was a world of Champagne and Porsches.

"Now I consider myself to be very, very lucky. I have always had an interest in complementary therapies and I love what I do. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever about changing my career and my lifestyle."

Heather was a fast track graduate who became the only female branch manager for Lloyds in their 15 west London banks after joining in 1985. She had 62 staff and initially enjoyed a great buzz about her career in the financial sector.

"I was only 30 when I became manager of the Charing Cross branch," she explained. "It was a very busy branch because the big train station was just 100 yards away and we were just down the road from Covent Garden. I would get the train into the city and literally trip down the stairs from the station in the excitement of going to work."

A combination of factors influenced Heather to change her life. She began to have less autonomy as branch manager and lost her motivation to advance in the industry. Personal tragedy also had an impact – her father suffered a heart attack, her father-in-law developed a brain tumour and her sister's twins died.

She recalled: "I had an epiphany. I started to look around at things in life." Long discussions ensued with husband, Geoffrey – a town planner, before Heather decided to take the plunge and accept voluntary redundancy from the bank a decade ago.

It meant a massive reduction of the family's income – around 60 per cent – and they could no longer afford the nice house and the nanny.

Heather wanted to work with complementary therapies and she learned reiki (using the hands to balance energies in the body) and reflexology (a therapy related to pressure points on the feet).

She can also practise Hopi ear candling, which uses special candles in the ear to sooth and help earache and headache, ear noise, stress and nervousness. Another new skill she is learning is crystal healing, an ancient art of channelling positive energy to treat a range of ailments.

These are just a few of the treatments offered at Heather's four-storey premises by a range of therapists, who also help out in the shop, selling products, books and CDs six days a week.

"When we first opened people used to come in and say 'I never expected to find a shop like this in Uppingham'," said Heather.

"My intention was that people would not feel intimidated when they come into the shop. It is a very relaxing place to come. Customers sometimes get very emotional and it is not unknown for us to hand out tissues to them."

Heather has three children and they have all benefited from the treatments she and her colleagues practise. Zoe (20) almost died from a wasp sting when she was younger, 13-year-old Eleanor has autism and learning difficulties and her other child is Alice (12).

"My autistic daughter was pushing me away when I suggested reiki but she absolutely loves Hopi ear candling," said Heather, who has also done volunteer therapy work at a hospice for the terminally ill.

"I have used lots of complementary therapies on Eleanor and she gets real benefits from some of them. I am not against using more usual types of medicines and I see what we do as working alongside those."

A website promoting the business was started in September and, surprisingly, 60 per cent of the people logging on live in north America. Products are shipped around the country and abroad. Crystals for one of the healing therapies they specialise in are in big demand – some sell for hundreds of pounds and Heather sources those from wholesalers and a contact in Indonesia.

Customers who book therapies come from a variety of backgrounds. "Yesterday I was giving reflexology to a lady in her 20s whose baby was overdue to try and give the baby a bit of a push.

"People who come through the door will have an ailment like really bad insomnia or stress and ask what we can we do for them. We have a therapist who specialises in deep tissue massage. A high proportion of her clients are men and many of them do sports like triathlons or marathons. We have also started tarot card readings, which were very popular at the start of the new year."

Heather's life now is a million miles away from the high-powered career she had in the City, when she had responsibility for huge sums of money and the power to grant or refuse mortgages, loans and overdrafts.

But she has no yearnings for her former career. "I have a completely different lifestyle now and I am delighted with the way the business is going," added Heather. "People are still booking workshops and treatments for themselves or friends and coming in to buy products despite the recession."

To find out more about Heather's business log on at: www.naturalpossibilities.co.uk