ABOUT

HOPE YOGA PHYSIO

HOPE YOGA was born in Hope, Derbyshire back in 2016. It was created with the main aim of enabling people to maintain, build and recover physical health and keep getting outside and having adventures.

In 2018 the PHYSIO wing was added, allowing Yoga and Physiotherapy to compliment each other. In 2023, we relocated to the Scottish Highlands!

So now, HOPE isn’t just a place, it represents potential and as Julia Samuel, eminent psychotherapist, eloquently writes, “it is hope that is the alchemy to turn a life around.”

It is through this blend of Yoga, Integrative Physiotherapy and Hope (informed by Mindfulness, Outdoor Philosophy and (outdoor/adventure) Psychology) we offer Yoga Classes and 1:1 Clinical Yoga and Mindfulness sessions.

About Alice McNeil

I’m a Registered Physio with the Health and Care Professions Council and a Registered Yoga Teacher and Continuing Education Provider with Yoga Alliance International. I am specially trained in Mindfulness Yin Yoga and hold my Level 2 Training in Mindfulness Based Interventions and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. I’m also currently a trainee therapist in Somatic Counselling, so expect for somatic movement practices woven in too…

I’ve always had an interest in people, what motivates them, what makes them happy, how can they be well? I also love getting outside, climbing, biking, camping and travelling. So I completed my BA (Hons) in Outdoor Studies then my MSc in Psychology with a focus on how the natural environment can help people cope with stress and anxiety.

Fast forward to 2013, whilst cycling from the UK to New Zealand with my husband Pete (honeymoon!) I sustained a back injury in the middle of Tajikistan and realised that physical health doesn't exist without psychological heath and that the environment you're in helps a lot too. So I took a break from cycling and trained to be a Yoga Teacher in the Himalayas. It solidified the idea that body and mind are inextricably linked, but I still didn’t yet understand enough about the body to know how to sort out my back pain (despite giving up my own bike to join Pete on a tandem for the last 10,000kms of the journey!). So in the true spirit of ‘if you want a job doing, do it yourself’ I applied for an accelerated Masters in Physiotherapy. Had they known I was currently in the middle of cycling across Australia having not showered for weeks, I’m not sure if this would have helped or hindered my case. After 2 gruelling years (far harder than cycling across the world!) a strong foundation in evidence based practice and practical skills I achieved a Distinction in Physiotherapy, including a Distinction in my research on Mindfulness and Persistent Pain. But most importantly, I was finally pain free!

After graduation, I completed my rotations in the NHS and then started a static role. However, as I had added a Physio wing to my Yoga Teaching business , I couldn’t do both. My own business allowed me the flexibility to give more time to clients when needed and to make the journey truly patient-led. As well as teaching yoga classes and seeing private clients, I love holding workshops on my wide combination of interests exploring concepts such as Contentment; Chronic Lower Back Pain; Adventure and Health; and Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation. I teach yoga and mindfulness practices on mine and my husband Pete’s Mountain Biking and Yoga Retreats as well as other Adventure Retreats, holidays and festivals in the UK and overseas. (Although, admittedly, I haven’t done this for a few years as I have been busy with my little 2 and 4yr olds!). I also lecture in Health at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

My physio practice is a blend of all of the above, and I run this under the Integrative Physiotherapy or ‘clinical yoga’ umbrella. I love seeing the potential of people and sharing some simple yet incredible techniques to enable others on a road to recovery.

Now you know my life story, it would be great to meet you and hear yours!

With warmth and light,

Alice