Next up in the Do What You Love Interviews is Victoria Cunningham-Downey, entrepreneur and owner at StretchBodyMind (based in Glasgow), Yoga and Pilates Trainer & Teacher, Business Mentor ‘helping people in healthy careers to live healthy lives and full time themselves’ and a full time student.
The reason I asked Victoria for an interview was because of her the path: many taken but all leading her back to her first love of Yoga.
If you are in the middle (or start) of a career change/transformation…
and you are asking the, ‘What is my thing?’ question. Ponder this one: is there a thread tying your story together? Is there a common factor in all that you have been doing up to this point. Is there something so simple, you could maybe be missing it because you think it’s too easy? That thread, it could be trying to tell you something.
Victoria, introduce yourself and tell us what ‘doing what you love to do’ means to you?
Okay, I’m an avid yogi, aspiring writer (I will write my book in 2014!) and trainer for people who want to become Yoga Teachers or Pilates Instructors.
I have been practising yoga for over 25 years and teaching for almost 15: teaching Pilates since 2005 and training teachers since 2010. I am a Senior Yoga Teacher (1000+ hours) and because of my own training and practice you’ll find me teaching Yoga and Pilates at all levels.
For me, doing what I love means that in addition to my business, teaching, training and coaching I can keep on learning, right now I am also currently studying Complementary Therapies at college here in Glasgow.
What were you doing before this?
This is a difficult question for me because I have been practicing yoga since I was 13, I was asked to do teacher training at age 18.
At that time though yoga did not have anything like the popularity it has now, and so my reaction to my teacher asking was, ‘No thanks. I’m off to uni to study and then I’ll get a real job.’
Little did I know that yoga was eventually going to become my real job!
So, after 10 years of being youth worker by day and teaching yoga by night I developed successful charity Stretch & Play for children and young people back in 2006.
I then created Stretch NI (Northern Ireland) in late 2009 to work specifically with adults, late 2012 we left Northern Ireland and moved to Scotland to create Stretch Scotland.
In the last 9 months I have expanded this into online and offline personal and professional development through StretchBodyMind.com.
How did you make doing what you love to do happen?
It was a scary step to move from full-time employment into self-employment even though I had been teaching Yoga part-time for over 5 years.
I had a great idea to work with young people when they were children to address their low self-esteem and rising obesity levels so I created Stretch & Play to provide yoga and drama to kids.
This award-winning charity was ahead of its time in its aim and its scope, but I ended up overworking so much so that I had a nervous breakdown in 2008.
However, I picked myself up, made the difficult (and yet right) decision to let the charity go and started teaching adults again – my love – and I’ve been doing that ever since.When I began training people to become Yoga Teachers and Pilates Instructors it felt like I’d finally “come home” to what I was meant to do.
Can you share the good, the bad and the ugly when you made the decision do what you love to do?
The good.
Was winning an UnLtd Level 2 grant, worth £20,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to Tamil Nadu in India to watch entrepreneurs from another culture in action – one of the best experiences of my life.
The bad.
Being on my own and knowing that if I am not present I don’t get paid. I have addressed this by offering my online courses such as the 21 Day StretchBodyMind Body Bootcamp or the Stretch & Play Facilitator Training course.
The ugly.
My breakdown in 2008 and subsequent diagnosis of bipolar disorder was pretty hairy.
It took me some time to accept that I could be a Yoga Teacher and Pilates Instructor and encourage healthy living, while at the same time taking medication to safeguard my own mental health. Today, I am entirely open about my health issues and my clients appreciate my candour, when I tell the story it somehow opens up others to share theirs.
What were the biggest hurdles, challenges and barriers you had to overcome?
My biggest hurdle was allowing myself to let go of my parent’s expectations of me.
I have an MA Honours degree in English Literature and Sociology as well as an MSc in Marketing and a number of diplomas and certificates and I think my parents were expecting me to have some sort of corporate career.
I did try it initially and worked as a Consulting Associate with a very large corporate company, it only lasted 9 months (and it still feels like the longest 9 months of my life).
What led you to this love specifically?
I am obsessed with yoga and have been since I started practicing when I was 13. I can’t imagine yoga not being part of my day so I am thrilled to be sharing my love of yoga with those with the same passion.
What would be your top 5 pieces of advice, or suggestions, words of wisdom you would like to share?
My favourite piece of advice would be from that seminal classic by Susan Jeffers “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”.
It can be scary to leave the comfort and relative security of a so-called real job but in my story it has allowed me to have experience I would never have dreamed of if I had stayed ‘safe’ (like my trip to India or you know, even a client’s look of joy when she successfully attempts a challenging yoga pose).
I love being able to do what I love on a daily basis.
While I may not have the security of a pension plan, I have the freedom and flexibility to choose my next move, some of which has been quite lucrative.
Another piece of advice I would give is to never stop learning.
All of my courses have an element of personal development in them, even if they are career courses such as Pilates Matwork Instructor training and in my last Yoga Teacher Training course I had a couple of students who attended simply for their own development – I LOVE that!
What has been your biggest learning in your journey so far?
Throughout my journey I have constantly upgraded my skills and knowledge through all sorts of training, including my current Complementary Therapies course which is putting me back into the role of student after being the teacher and trainer for so many years. This has been a huge learning curve for me and one which will, my wish, a better teacher.
What’s next for you on this path?
After being a lone wolf for over 8 years I am planning to do much more co-operative working, setting up a new Yoga Studio & Complementary Therapy Centre with a colleague from my course as well as offering more face-to-face personal and professional development training with a fellow Yoga & Pilates teacher.
I have also committed to writing my first book by the end of this year for the Stretch Barre Method – my unique blend of Yoga, Pilates and Ballet Barre exercises.
What was the biggest piece of learning you picked up and ran with?
Self care is essential – in life and business.
Having worked myself into a breakdown in 2008 I gently picked up the baton and started again in 2009 and now I am so much more careful about taking time for me.
My self-care routine includes a little bit of yoga (10 minutes maximum) in the morning and maybe meditation or tapping, depending on what mood I’m in. I also switch off the computer an hour before bed so I can get a good night’s sleep, which is essential for a person with bipolar disorder.
Pick a quote for life, and explain why it hits a home run for you?
My quote is one I found on a calendar back in 2003 and I can’t find the person who said it but it goes like this:
“It is a great relief when we find that we cannot, nor should we be able to, control everything in our sphere of operation.”
This is perfect for me! If anyone knows who said it please let me know.
Lastly, where can people reach you?
If you are interested in Pilates and Yoga Teacher Training, workshops and classes, the best place to get me is on the StretchBodyMind website. On Twitter I’m @victoriastretch and here on Facebook.
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