Success Journey — Alice Banting.

This is a picture from the graduation of my first TT training in 2012 with Clare Missingham.

Halfway through my teacher training, I tore my meniscus in my right knee and crashed out of my nursing job. Dependent on crutches to get around.

For me at the time, this is the worst thing that could possibly have happened. Everyone else in my teacher training was flipping into the handstand doing all these advanced intermediate postures. And I was just floor based doing downward dog with bent knees.

At this time it was the first time I came into contact with the energy of Ganesha. The picture of Ganesh in this photo. I found it in a London charity shop. It was from here that my interest in the symbolism & mythology of the deities ignited.

Ganesha, the Lord of new beginnings. He is the remover of obstacles, but actually he also puts the obstacles there. So we can transform.

At the time, I thought this was the worst thing that could have happened to me. I was distraught. But with hindsight, I now can see that this was such an opportunity for me to grow. I was never going to grow whilst I was working as a nurse. And actually the time off that my injury gave me gave me the time to realise that this is not what I wanted to be doing anymore.The shift work, the chaos & stress of the night duties.I really didn’t like the night duties.

You know, it gave me space to review and the injury itself made me really connected to my body.

I developed a practice with another teacher ‘Martha’ that I could do with a damaged knee.

It was when I got my knee injury that I got my personal practice nailed . I’ve been pretty much practising every single day since I injured my knee.

So my message to anyone today is that if you're in one of those points when the worst thing could have happened, you know, maybe reframe it because the big stuff the big challenges are actually just massive opportunities. For growth. And transformation..