I had done virtually no yoga before hiring Allie to help me work on back pain issues related to…read morecycling. I cycle quite a bit (road and MTB) and started getting significant back and neck pain near the end of the 2018 season. I went to my doctor, did stretches from YouTube, and took pain meds. Nothing really addressed my pain in a significant way. I heard from other cyclists that yoga had helped them with similar issues, and despite it being well outside my comfort zone, decided to try yoga after meeting Allie at a networking event. I signed up for a few sessions, and if I'm honest, wasn't expecting all that much to come of it.
It turned out to be a great decision. In short, I've got almost no back pain after working with Allie for several months. I have much improved flexibility in my hips and legs and can sit in the saddle for 4-5 hours without feeling hobbled by the end of the day. I'm riding more smoothly and with better core strength than ever before. For context, I do quite a bit of core work on my own, usually 3-4 days a week. Yoga pushed in different ways than anything I have done on my own at the gym. Allie also walked me through a bunch of different stretches, all of which have been beneficial.
A surprising side benefit is that I can also breathe better than before, including when riding. I'm getting more air into my lungs with each breath using techniques from sessions with Allie.
Allie is prompt, communicates well, and is a pleasure to work with. She listens well, provides useful feedback, and will help make yoga approachable to a newbie like me. Allie is incredibly knowledgeable and insightful, and has a breadth of experience in Yoga that far surpasses my experience level. She can help people new to yoga like myself, or more advanced folks as well.
Overall, I'm so, so glad I went outside my comfort zone to try yoga. It's helped me with my sport, helped me sleep better, and given me a wealth of knowledge about how my body works and doesn't work that I didn't know beforehand. I plan to continue this journey and have signed up for another pack of lessons with Allie. If you're looking for a yoga teacher, you couldn't do better than Allie.