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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Alice Fisher Lifestyle Editor

‘Afterwards I would feel blissful’: how exercise convinced a psychotherapist to become a personal trainer

Psychotherapist Kevin Braddock and personal trainer Jo Hazell-Watkins in Soma Space, the practice they founded in Oswestry
Psychotherapist Kevin Braddock and personal trainer Jo Hazell-Watkins in Soma Space, the practice they founded in Oswestry. Photograph: Andrei Maximov/Soma Space

Twelve years ago, when he was in his mid-40s, psychotherapist Andrew Keefe found himself in a very stressful job – working with survivors of torture – and really out of shape. Determined to improve, Keefe joined an outdoor fitness class. Hours of burpees and press-ups in London’s Finsbury Park helped him get physically fit, but he was fascinated to discover that his state of mind also completely changed.

“Afterwards I would be incredibly relaxed – blissful,” he says.

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