Conrad Freese: Yoga Teacher, Physiotherapist & Cancer Survivor

I began my current career path after following the tired and tested Graduate program – find a management job in a company and wait for something to happen. While I was living my 9-5 life I was also practising Yoga, learning about different styles of massage and generally doing my best to pretend the 40 weekly hours of my life sat behind a desk didn’t exist. It was tedious and frustrating, and it was wearing my spirit down.

Then one night I had a headache – a headache that would come back every night and lasted a little longer each time. Two weeks and a CT scan later and I was being whisked into surgery for removal of a cancerous brain tumour.

It wasn’t pleasant, but it taught me a lot about myself, about the people I care about and recreated the foundation of everything I teach and the way I help people. I started building my skill set, studying various forms of bodywork and becoming a Yoga teacher, ready to take the plunge and drop a job that seemed to be more like a prison every time I set foot inside the office. I desperately needed to use my passion to help people.

I went from teaching Yoga a couple of times a week to being a full time Yoga Teacher and Sports Massage Therapist, using my skills as a life coach to help others develop their strengths and overcome personal barriers to being successful and fulfilled. I made my classes available to the general public, with a donation based class for those that would not otherwise have access to Yoga and the huge benefits it brings to life, as well as a specialised free Yoga Class for Cancer Survivors to help people thrive in the most difficult personal circumstances.

During the Pandemic I turned to studying Physiotherapy and now work at an NHS Trauma Hospital in Birmingham, currently training as a Respiratory specialist.

I am passionate about learning – for me the hallmark of any expert –  continually searching for new information, the ways in which it can be applied and how to combine different streams of information to generate the most effective tools for creating change. I have studied (amongst other things) Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Kinesiology, Sports Massage, Acupuncture, Shiatsu, Thai Yoga Massage and Myofascial Release. The physical work I do with clients is a combination of these. I have studied Ashtanga Yoga extensively (with leading Yogis such as Brian Cooper and Nancy Gilgoff), as well as the modern style of Forrest Yoga, created by Ana Forrest, studying with Brian Campbell, Sandra Heider and of course Ana herself. This wide reaching career has given me an invaluable toolkit to help individuals – and help others wanting to develop their skills as teachers and healers.

Beyond Yoga and bodywork I enjoy the gym, running and climbing. When not on the mat I’m likely gearing up to climb a mountain or Scuba Diving in warm water. 

Five rules I try to live by:

• Your health is the most important thing in your life, and you have power over it
• Every Breath is an opportunity to change
• Action speaks louder than words
• We are all in this together: reach out and help those that need it, ask for help in turn
• No-one makes it out alive, so have fun, do your best, and don’t sweat the small stuff

If you have any questions please reach out and contact me. Namaste.