Nutritional Therapist Sam Flower is living proof that
you can swap a job you hate for a career you love.
Her life-changing decision to quit the stressful world
of publishing to start her own holistic health
business has worked wonders for her own quality of life
and the wellbeing of those she now treats in her busy
London practice.
Re-training for your dream job is a luxury few people
can seriously contemplate, let alone go ahead and
realise. Shortage of time, money or both is
usually to blame as well as fear of failure or the
unknown. Thirty-something Samantha Flower - a
former manager in the world of publishing, now a
nutritional therapist - is one of the brave few who've
taken the leap. Firmly established on the other
side of the job satisfaction gap, she says there's no
looking back.
"Working in publishing was stressful at times, but the
worst thing was knowing my heart wasn't really in it,"
says Sam who managed a busy West End bookshop before
running her own department within the Tate Gallery's
publishing house.
"I became known as something of a nutritional expert in
my workplaces, helping colleagues out with all sorts of
problems," adds Samantha whose interest in nutrition
began when, after many years of suffering, she cured
herself of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Chronic
Eczema and Asthma.
Later diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as a
consequence of overwork and exhaustion, she decided to
embark upon an extreme dietary therapy and within the
space of nine months had made a complete recovery from
her debilitating condition.
"Amazed by the rapid improvement in my health, I decided
to dedicate my life to the study of dietary therapy and
the success I was getting with my co-workers, convinced
me to take a step towards professional training.
Looking at me now, you wouldn't believe the problems I
had years ago."
"Looking for a way to formalise my knowledge, I looked
for a suitable course and found the Kevala centre in
Devon, a flexible learning organisation that allowed me
to study my holistic therapy course whilst working full
time," says Sam.
Samantha enrolled on Kevala's Nutritional Therapist
diploma, which she followed with an Iridology
qualification. Studying at her own pace from the
comfort of home with occasional residential tutorials in
Torquay, she passed with flying colours and is now a
Kevala tutor in her own right.
"The busy world of publishing is a far cry," she says,
"these days my time is divided between my clinical
practice working with clients, advising on a range of
conditions and designing diet plans, the rest is spent
teaching students and marking exam papers. I love it."
"To anyone thinking of taking the leap, I'd say: Go for
it! If you have a genuine passion and your
intentions are good, you can't go wrong."
"We're delighted Samantha found our approach so
supportive and life-changing," said Peter White,
Principal at Kevala, "helping people from all over the
world and in all walks of life to connect with their
dream career in holistic therapies without too much
stress is a very satisfying aspect of our work."
Samantha Flower can be contacted at her London
practice on: 07745 578 347 or email:
samantha@sflower.f2s.com
The Kevala Centre can be contacted by
visiting:
www.kevala.co.uk
