IAN SOUTAR, 41: WAS managing director of a family grain business in northeast Scotland for 18 years. IS a body stress release practitioner, which he practises from home.

“It all happened very quickly: within four months of reading an article on this little-known therapy in Body&Soul just over a year ago, I had given up work, the family business was up for sale, and I was in South Africa on the five-month training course. The article caught my attention because it said that body stress release — a gentle technique using light finger pressure to find and stimulate the body to release stress — could help with cramps. I broke my leg a few years before and I was still getting excruciating shooting pains at night, so I decided to try it.

“By the third visit the cramps had virtually stopped. I had also had a bad back for years and visited chiropractors and osteopaths, which gave me some relief, but nothing helped quite like body stress release. As soon as I experienced the simplicity and gentleness of it, I thought, ‘this is what you’ve been looking for’. I’d had an interest in complementary therapies for a long time, and was intrigued by the idea of helping people. But with two daughters, one at university, the decision was not one that I made lightly.

“I was under no illusions that there would be considerable financial pain in the short term, because I would have to plough all my savings into the course and the practice.

“I’m aware that some people thought it was a midlife crisis; I was approaching 40 after all. But I didn’t really care because I felt in the long term that things would turn out for the better. My wife was 100 per cent behind me. The rest of the family wanted me to delay leaving the business for a year, but I felt that would be a year wasted, so I gave eight weeks’ notice.

“I don’t regret the change for one second. Already I’ve had some quite amazing results with clients, although because I still have a corporate kind of brain I sometimes find it hard to believe. Just before Christmas I treated a 72-year-old woman who had been housebound for weeks and could walk only with a stick. The next day she was walking unaided and drove for the first time in six weeks. That gave me the kind of satisfaction you can’t put a price on.”

For further details, www.bodystressrelease.com

Dispensing comes naturally

MARGO MARRONE, 39: WAS a pharmacist for 15 years. IS founder of the Organic Pharmacy, the country’s first pharmacy to dispense homoeopathic and herbal remedies and skincare over the counter and online.

“There is nothing worse than getting up every morning and going to a job you don’t like. When I first qualified I had lots of ideas and enthusiasm and I really wanted to help people. But working in conventional pharmacies, hospitals and the industry I discovered how hard it can be to maintain your ideals. I often had to dispense medicines that I didn’t believe would really help. I kept thinking there must be a better way.

“I started reading a lot about herbal medicine, but that didn’t go far enough for me. Then about ten years ago I read a book about homoeopathy, which changed my life. I decided to train part-time as a homoeopath and went to work in a homoeopathic pharmacy. My daughter Roksana’s birth, halfway through the four-year course, made it ten times more important to find genuinely pure products. But the crucial turning point came when I read The Safe Shopper’s Bible , by David Steinman and Samuel S. Epstein, on toxic chemicals in skincare and household products.

“I did my own research and found that the authors were right. It was a huge disappointment to discover that some ‘organic’ and herbal creams contained toxic preservatives. I felt I couldn’t recommend them and I started thinking about ways that I could scrutinise the labels on behalf of the customer. I came up with the idea of an organic pharmacy where people could get advice over the counter without needing a full consultation.