Meet Allie Bourgeois of Allie’s Yoga

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allie Bourgeois.

Allie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I found Yoga when I was pregnant with my now 25-year-old when I was living in England. My teacher, Yvonne Moore Changed my life. The teacher seems to show up when you need them most.

When I arrived back in Atlanta I loved taking classes with the Pierce Program. I then moved to Madison Georgia to bring our boys of 3 and 5 up in a small, sweet town with my Husband Paul. But, it was a Yoga Dessert. The closet class was in Athens, 30 minutes away. I had my home practice and it got me through. My sister called me one day and asked if I would keep her company in a Yoga Teacher Training in Hilton Head. I said sure! I was going in unprepared to become a teacher and just had fun and was super silly! When I arrived back I asked 2 friends of mine if they would let me practice on them and just see what I thought of teaching. I am very shy and could not imagine myself in front of a group of people! The craziest thing happened!!!

My friends’ bodies started to change for the better! I was hooked. I did a free class daily for a year at my church in Madison. I have been teaching now for 12 years. I was teaching a 40-hour week in Madison and loved every minute of it! I also have a school and had 3 teachers that I left behind to take my place in Madison when I moved to Atlanta 1 1/2 years ago.

My favorite class that I had in Madison was my Compassion for Cancer Yoga. It was free to anyone with Cancer and all of their caregivers. The place was packed with students and people from the community that came to help with arranging the poses and giving foot massages. The town donated money and props to make this class happen. It was one of those bonding moments I will never forget. The volunteers usually left after having a big cry. I started a class here in Atlanta at Family Life Center but it was not needed here. It is still running in Madison by one of my Student/Teachers. I am a Private Yoga teacher, which means I go from house to house with my home-made “love” cookies and my Herbal Hot Tea with Essential Oils and I teach 3 days at Family Life Center in Atlanta. I also teach Gentle Yoga at Miami Circle at Sally B’s Skin Yummies on Monday Mornings at 8:30 am and a Yin Yoga class on Thursday at 5:30 pm. This is a great place to teach because of the smells of the Organic Skin products being made in the back. I have been teaching, thanks to Sally since I first moved here from Madison. What a gift!

When moving from a small town where I was teaching out of my own studio and at a local Gym, it was a Godsend to have Sally offer the space to me! When I moved here I also had NO idea that there was a Yoga teacher on every corner. I had been teaching everything from power/Hot Yoga to Compassion for Cancer Yoga. I had to find my niche. I decided that my power as a teacher is a healer, not an exercise teacher. So, I now teach beginners/gentle Yoga all over town. I want to make sure people are safe and comfortable in Yoga. I am a Yoga-Master after much training with FANTASTIC teachers. I continue with 2 training’s every year to satisfy myself and Yoga Alliance.

Yoga will change your life if you let it. I know this firsthand.

Has it been a smooth road?
Teaching Yoga in a small town was difficult at first because of the Churches view that Yoga was not ok with Christians. But I knew all of the ministers (my Father is a Retired Presbyterian minister) and they trusted me and it helped. But, when the question is asked, it still makes me sad.