FROM FUND MANAGER TO YOGA GURU

Clare FreeMan, 35, pictured, teaches yoga through her company, Clare Freeman Coaching & Yoga. She lives with her husband, Fabrice, in northWest london. She says: IN 2015, I took a two-month sabbatical from my job at a City pension fund — I desperately needed a break.

After studying business and finance at university, I’d trained as an accountant before moving into fund management. At first I loved the hustle of corporate life, and working on the front line of the financial crisis was fascinating.

But with my £100,000 salary came huge pressure. I was responsible for billions of pounds in corporate bonds and carried around the weight of expectations of me all the time.

I began to suffer constantly from viruses, anxiety and insomnia. Taking time away made me realise I had to leave — although it was incredibly hard to come to terms with my disillusionment. I even sought therapy, and it took a further six months before I resigned. Leaving the office for the last time was exciting and terrifying. For seven months I travelled around Asia, training to be a yoga teacher in Bali before moving to Edinburgh to train as a counsellor and life coach, living off savings. In January 2017, I returned to London after meeting my husband and started teaching yoga in businesses. In the first year, I took a 99 per cent pay cut. It was hard to miss expensive meals with friends, but all the sacrifices were worth it. When I see shattered corporate clients, I feel grateful I’m not in that world any more — and glad I can help them.