Like so many others I decided my carer at the age of 16 before I even knew what other opportunities were out there or what kind of person I was going to grow up to be. The one thing I knew at this young age was that I wanted to work with people, I wanted to help others and I wanted to be challenged... and so my journey to Physiotherapy began. I have now been practicing as a Physiotherapist for almost 10 years and decided 6 years ago that I was going to specialise as a Neurological Physiotherapist. For those of you that don't know what this entails, I treat and assess individuals living with long term neurological conditions, traumatic and acquired brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.
During my time in London I had an amazing opportunity to work in one of the best (I'm biased) neurological hospitals in the country- The National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery (a mouthful I know). I will be forever grateful for my time spent working here and it was honestly one of the hardest jobs to have to leave.
The reason for leaving was my pull back to the Devon life but I knew I was leaving behind the opportunity for amazing career progression. I wasn't sure if I would be able to find a job in neurology on my return to Exeter, but someone must have been looking out for me because at the perfect time a job came up in the Neuro rehabilitation centre in Exeter. I have now been working here for 2 years part time and have in the recent months started working in a private clinic- Injury Armour.
Around the time that I decided to leave London I also decided to train as a yoga instructor. Two years later and I have completed further trainings in Yin and Rocket. I have two regular community classes, a strong student base full of amazing humans and a personal identity that I can bring to my classes.
I always knew that being a Physiotherapist would make my yoga teacher training easier but what I didn't expect was how much of my yoga training I would take in to my Physiotherapy treatments. Im finding this glorious blurring of lines whereby I can bring my anatomical knowledge in to my yoga classes and bring mindful movement and breath work in to my treatment sessions.
I am aware that this wont work for everyone, but that is the joy, there are so many yoga instructors in Exeter that are amazing in their own ways, If my approach doesn't work for you there will be someone that is the perfect fit for you. The same applies to physiotherapy also.
Im not 100% sure what the purpose of this blog post was if I'm completely honest with myself, but I think I can reflect that leaving London, taking a part time NHS job in Devon and training to be a yoga teacher felt like the biggest risks I could take at the time. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage financially, if these world would compliment each other or if I would be fulfilled. To my joy it has all worked out... and don't get me wrong, the days are log some times and the hours are unsociable but I'm slowly getting there and I will find the balance.
Maxine
xxx