LW interviews - Lindsay Wagner's bionic hands have the power to heal

SHE'S fought off Bigfoot, escaped from swamps of quicksand and used her specially enhanced hearing to find out more than her fair share of secrets.

But now Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner has arrived in South Yorkshire with a new mission - to help people realise their full potential.

The Emmy award-winning actress, best known for playing Jaime Sommers in the hit 70s TV series, is set to deliver her 'Quiet the Mind, Open the Heart' workshop at Tankersley Manor, Sheffield, designed to help people deal with negative experiences with inner healing.

The event is only the third to take place outside of the United States, and follows two sessions specifically designed for carers which will take place in Cleveland.

Her visit to the UK came about through a chance meeting with carer Karen Stowe, who was struggling to cope with the demands of caring for her 16-year-old disabled daughter Sophie.

Karen, from Redcar, Cleveland, underwent a course with Lindsay in America and was determined that others in England should benefit from the experience just as she did.

For 59-year-old Lindsay, the courses are the culmination of 40 years work studying both Eastern and Western healing techniques, and aims to change people's perspectives of their problems so they can deal better with their circumstances.

She said: "We have the capability to change the way we feel about things, even if we cannot change the circumstances.

"I help people deal with all kinds of everyday life problems - things we think are so difficult, but which are not really, it's just our perspective of them.

"One of the techniques we use is acupuncture - using our hands not needles - to tap into that negative emotion which pops up in certain circumstances. Another is one I learnt in India, which is a healing meditation to music."

She said psychology was always something she was interested in pursuing as a career - but she chose the acting path because of problems with un-diagnosed dyslexia as an adolescent which prevented her from getting to college.

Although Lindsay said she was not drawn into showbusiness for the same reason as most other actors, she has used her films and TV programmes - including the hit Bionic Woman show - to communicate different messages important to her.

She said: "I wasn't what you might say a traditional actress, I was more interested in getting my message across.

"In the Bionic Woman it was great because it meant I was communicating with kids. It was an action series - with espionage, good guy-bad guy, and we did always have to win each week - but I was always pushing for it not to be so black and white, not just tunnel vision of the good guy, bad guy, but looking at the bigger picture."

But her focus over recent years has been the workshops and she admitted being a TV star has helped generate interest - with wonderful effect.

"One woman I spoke to at the end of a session said she wouldn't have been there if it hadn't been me delivering it. I've built up a relationship with people who have followed me over the years, so they know this kind of thing is not out of character for me.

The woman said she came along because she felt I wouldn’t be shoving it down her throat.

“It’s wonderful to see the effects it can have of people of all ages and backgrounds.”