An unconventional career switch – from Lawyer to Doula and finding her true purpose

Today I want to introduce you to Clancy Allen – mum, and a Certified Doula with qualifications in yoga, kinesiology and law and one powerful woman. 

By definition “The Switch” series is about: everyday women making radical changes in their life towards purpose driven work and Clancy is a shining example of this pursuit.

These interviews bring to light the unique journey that is our career path. We might have the belief that like our relationships, we want to find “the one” but as Clancy points out, there is beauty in experimenting and ultimately changing your mind.

Clancy and I met through the world of essential oils and that alone is proof that if you say yes to things you love, the universe will put the right people in your path.

Let’s dive right in…

Can you define the moment your heart decided it was time for a career change?

There wasn’t a precise moment, more a gradual dawning of realisation over a number of months, even years (if I’d been listening earlier on!) that the career I trained for at university – for six years – and then worked in for six years – was never going to make me a fulfilled and happy woman.

In practical terms, what first steps did you take towards designing a new career?

I followed my curiosities with no real plan. I studied the things that interested me – yoga and kinesiology etc, but I didn’t really understand why, as I knew I was never destined to be a yoga teacher (full time) or a kinesiologist (full time). It wasn’t until sometime during my pregnancy in 2015 that things started to come into focus a little more about where my path was going.

My journey and timeline for making the switch from civil litigation lawyer went like this –

In 2012, I left my well paying professional career as an Associate Lawyer with a national law firm, to go traveling through South America. It was a bit of a soul searching journey and a soothing balm for my soul and my adrenals (!!) which really needed a well earned rest. Unfortunately, I returned from the adventure and fell back into the safety of my career in a job as a lawyer with a different law firm. I gave it a try there for 6 months to see if perhaps, I just needed a change of career place. In early 2013, my partner and I then had an opportunity to move to Kakadu in the Northern Territory, we lept at that chance! I then worked from home (in the NT) part time for the law firm I left before finally severing ties to law for once and for all in late 2013.

For about a year during our Kakadu time, in 2014, I worked for an Indigenous not for profit as an Office Manager. During that year I traveled to Bali to complete a Yin Yoga Teacher Training. This course was the beginning of my switch!

The following year, 2015, I completed a 200 hour Hatha yoga teacher training and I enrolled in a Certificate of Kinesiology through the Create Your Reality college in Brisbane. I also fell pregnant that year! It was a big year.

I learnt so much about myself in 2015 – the year that I studied yoga, kinesiology and traversed the journey of pregnancy, a rite of passage towards my true purpose and career path. That year I also started a doTERRA business with essential oils which is an amazing compliment to the work I do now, and provides beautiful support and residual income. It’s also introduced amazing women (such as Ruby!) into my life. 😉

I had an inkling during my pregnancy that once my baby was born I may want to work with women preparing for birth, as a doula. I had become very interested in all things relating to birth (to the point of obsession) and felt that maybe this was my calling. For the time being though, I passed it off as a phase and something to revisit once I’d become a mum. I assumed that my interest in pregnancy and birth might just be something that passed.

The interest didn’t pass. It just kept tapping me on the shoulder and quietly demanding my attention. When my babe was 4 months old, I was asked to teach a prenatal yoga class. This seemed to be a nudge and nod from the universe to move towards the birth world that was calling me.

In April 2017, I enrolled to obtain my certification to become a doula. It felt like home. That same year I also completed a prenatal yoga teacher training.

I can say, that now I feel I have arrived at my destination, or purpose, my soul path. I believe we are always evolving and I will forever be a student so will continue to study in this field and learn.

What daily practices allow you to bring creativity into your work and life?

I lean into my essential oils for the emotional support they provide. I get outside and get my shoes off, and stand on the earth, get to the beach. I cultivate play with my little one, he’s 2.5! And I (try my best) to have healthy social media boundaries.

What practices do you use to manage your inner critic as you forge your own path?

If my inner critic is on overdrive, I know I’m ungrounded and the best thing for me to do is to switch off completely by getting out in nature, getting rid of technology and reconnecting with myself. I find that I’m all up in my head when I hear my inner critic, so anything that encourages me to connect with my body is helpful too. Lying on the earth and taking lots of deep belly breaths is great.

Define the purpose of the work you do now – has it evolved over time or did you always know?

My work is for women. All the types of work I do, teaching yoga, kinesiology and doula work intersect at the major transitions of pregnancy, birth, postpartum and motherhood.

I truly believe that pregnancy and birth is a rite of passage through which a woman can experience a transcendence and discover the depths of who she is as she accesses a unique and powerful consciousness to birth her baby. The journey of a woman knowing herself continues throughout motherhood.

I support women to approach their birth with confidence and sovereignty through the intersection of practical education and a journey of remembering that that woman has innate wisdom in her body that knows how to birth.

Name the top thing on your current ‘stop doing list’?

At the moment, I’m exploring the embodiment and expression of my emotions – specifically anger/rage – how this shows up for me and how I repress or suppress it. My challenge, and thing to stop doing is suppressing, or repressing it, and to navigate the expression of these tricky and often overwhelming emotions in a healthy way.

What was the best investment you made in yourself last year?

My doula training course that I completed with Celebration of Birth Doula Academy, and my Bliss Baby Yoga Prenatal Teacher Training. Both programs enriched me in my capacity as a birth keeper.

I also invested in myself in other ways that were more personal – regular therapy sessions to heal from birth and other body based therapies to support this process of healing too.

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to your 18 year old self upon finishing school, what would it be? 

Take your time to decide what you really want to do moving forward. It would be a great idea to take some time and space for fun and travel before committing to a career path! Also, choose to study or learn about the things that light you up, and bring you joy, as opposed to the careers that seem great on paper, or prestigious!