Kara Myles opens Body Stress Release Edinburgh on Manor Place in the West End

Not many people swap a finance career at one of Edinburgh's best-known tech companies for a hilltop training retreat in South Africa. Kara Myles did, and she has now opened her own practice, Body Stress Release Edinburgh, at Mulberry House on Manor Place in the West End.

Kara's route to the practice was a long one. After graduating, she worked in her family business in Broughty Ferry while studying for a Master's degree, then joined Deloitte's audit division and qualified as a chartered accountant. She later moved to Skyscanner as a finance business partner for marketing.

She has spoken openly about how the pressure of that work took a toll on her. She had been a client of Body Stress Release for eight years, first trying it on her mother's suggestion, and it was her own practitioner who eventually asked her a simple question: what have you got to lose?

At 31, she decided to retrain. Rather than study closer to home, she travelled to the BSR Academy's base in Rondevlei, South Africa, set on a hill overlooking a lake. In a twist, her mother, then on the cusp of retirement, joined the same course. The cohort had 26 students from around the world, and Kara has described the experience as terrifying to commit to but the best decision of her life. Her mother now practises in Broughty Ferry.

Body Stress Release is a complementary technique that aims to identify and release tension stored in the muscles and connective tissue. It uses light pressure rather than forceful manipulation, and clients stay fully clothed throughout. Kara is clear that it is a process rather than a quick fix, and that every client's journey is different.

The practice is around ten minutes on foot from Haymarket station and close to the tram network. Kara sees clients on Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons and evenings, with flexibility by arrangement.

It is a story of a big career change that has brought a new small business to the West End.

To find out more or to book an appointment, visit the Body Stress Release Edinburgh website.