Finding Your Voice In Wellness

You can feel successful on paper and still crave something truer. Allison joins us to share how she went from being born and raised in Toronto to building a new life in the San Francisco Bay Area, following community, coastline, and the creative pulse of innovation. Along the way we talk about what it really takes to restart in a new place, especially when you do not arrive with a ready made network, just a suitcase, a plan, and the willingness to figure it out. 

Allison Coleman

• Website: http://www.acespayments.com/
• Email: hello@northstarsanctuary.net
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/allisoncoleman1

From there, we get practical about launching a yoga business in the Bay Area wellness world where options are endless and standing out is tough. Allison explains how she builds trust with new students by finding her voice, not copying the market, and teaching what people actually need: breathwork, slow flow, yin yoga, restorative yoga, and yoga nidra for stress relief, better sleep, mobility, and longevity. We also explore her “strength and stillness” retreat approach, plus how she uses seasons and lunar themes as simple prompts for micro shifts that stick.

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Transcript

Welcome To Friends From Wild Places

Voiceover 0:03

Tales from the Wild. Stories from the Heart. A journey into the mind and soul of FIDE business professionals where they share their vision for the future. And hear from a different non-profit organization every month as they create awareness of their goals and their needs. Dive into a world of untamed passion. As we join our host, Shireen Botha, for this month's episode of Friends from Wild Places.

From Toronto To California

Tanya Scotece 0:36

Yeah, it's fascinating, Elton. So I have just a question as far as how how did the journey, if you want to take us back there from uh from Toronto, right, born and raised Canadian, to moving and transitioning. Did so I think Shireen had mentioned earlier in your introduction that you had navigated different spaces here in the United States. How did you end up in California?

Speaker 4 0:59

Uh, good question. So if any of you are astrology geeks, I'm a Pisces with a Gemini Rising. So sometimes you swim in different directions, but um, we're known to be very flexible and adaptive. And one of my best friends in Toronto, Nadia, told me that she sees me living in two or three places in the world. So while I love Toronto, I think I had this very global perspective that I wanted to discover the rest of the world. Um, so that led me, you know, blame it on a New Jersey boy. A New Jersey boy took me to the U.S. Um, for whatever reasons, I've stayed in the U.S. and found great community. Um, but you know, in New Jersey, I was working in New York, later living in New York. I fell in love with Manhattan. Um, I lived down near Wall Street, near the water. And um I love the energy of this city. Uh, I think people, if you haven't lived there and experienced it, sometimes you can uh just listen to stereotypes, but fell in love with the city. Um, but I had a longing for the ocean, for the coast, for the mountains. When I lived in Toronto, I thought it was going to be British Columbia or Vancouver. Um, but ultimately, you know, through New York and Chicago, which is more Midwestern, very Canadian-like city, great metropolis. Um, eventually I just put it on the line and moved to the Bay Area. Now, my only exposure to that, I'd come out here for different courses, so I knew a few people, but it was really taking a pretty big leap of faith that I felt that the weather and your access to trails and to the ocean was going to be a game changer for me. And the fact that it's kind of the heart of innovation to a large degree in the US and in the world, um, I just wanted to be at the pulse of that. Um, so hence the big move, but I really didn't have community. I lived out of a suitcase in North, you know, in North Beach for a few months and just started to pave my way. And it's been the longest I've lived anywhere since leaving Toronto. So um, and a big thing, even though I grew up in hockey ranks, I I did have a hard time with the winters my whole life. And so California weather works for me. Um but that's kind of and I think I have aspirations to go everywhere globally like Shereen and others, um, but with a dog that keeps you a little bit more uh grounded in one place. But uh yeah, but that's kind of my path. But it came from, I think in my early 20s, I thought it was gonna be British Columbia. I considered some uh I considered Australia, Singapore, I considered going to other places, but ultimately I think I found a great place. And even though there's many Californians leaving the state, um, I still have found incredible community and joy just with what I have access to and the life I've been building.

North The Golden Retriever Steals Focus

Tanya Scotece 4:00

That's beautiful. That's beautiful. And so, and did I catch is it your four-legged? Is it north? Is that his name? Oh, okay, okay. So I want to hear a little bit more about that. I'm I'm very uh passionate about the four legged. So I have one arriving in a half an hour.

Speaker 4 4:17

Oh my gosh. I uh I'm gonna try and pull up a picture of uh Sharreen and North. What did oh his new nickname is Northy or yeah, Norty or Northy, because uh he he just fell in love with Shereen. It was a little ridiculous.

Speaker 1 4:34

Um I've got yeah, you have to see this dog.

Speaker 4 4:39

He he had a way of attaining when uh Shereen took him out on walks. It was the shortest walk because he was looking for where I was, which is crazy. But Shereen was great. She rolled with it as the surrogate mom. Yes.

Shireen Botha 4:54

Uh listeners, so we're talking about North. Uh this is Alison's beautiful four-legged baby. Uh he is a my gosh, he looks like a um a golden retriever, but he's actually a uh English cream golden retriever. English cream golden retriever. Uh beautiful dog. Um, but before we continue, I just want to jump in here with a little bit of a buzz sprout

Buzzsprout And Building A Safe Space

Shireen Botha 5:23

ad. You know, listeners, you know Friends from Wild Places is a safe space. It is a safe space for business owners, it is a safe space for entrepreneurs and professionals from all stories and walks of life to come and share their wild hearts. This is the place, this is what we want to create for everyone just to come and talk, come and and be raw and real. Um we also create a space for non-profits every month so that we can really lend a hand and um and help someone in need if possible, because we believe in giving back. It's a really big thing in in life, is is giving back. Um the question is do you have a message that you want to share with the world, or maybe you just think it'll be fun to have your own talk show? Podcasting is very easy, it is actually very inexpensive and fun uh to expand your reach online. Uh to start your own podcast, uh, we recommend using Buzzsprout. We love the platform, it's very user-friendly. You load your podcast up in one place, in one place, and it takes it all over to every platform that live streams. Um that's where it gets uh put up on. So it's very easy, very user-friendly. And uh if you go to the show notes, this lets Buzz Sprout know that we sent you and it really does help support the show. And just remember, Buzz Sprout is passionate about helping you and us succeed. So with that said, you know, back to you, Alison.

Standing Out In Bay Area Wellness

Shireen Botha 7:08

You know, taking a leap to start a second business is a wild move. Let's talk about building a brand from scratch. When you are trying to get a new yoga business off the ground, standing out can be tough. Because you're in an area where there is a lot of different people giving yoga lessons. Um very self-aware area, if I can say that. The Bay area is all about health. Um, if and I stand to be corrected, it's something that I observed. Um, people are very into their health, people are very into looking after themselves. Uh so you do find a lot of healthy restaurants um and a lot of places to stay fit, it's access to trails, hiking, biking, you name it. It's a lovely area, as you've just heard Allison say. Um, it's absolutely beautiful. That's why I love it, is because everything is there. You have exit access to all of it. Um, but with that being said, standing out can be really tough. So, how are you bringing your unique voice to the wellness space? And how do you build that initial trust with your first clients?

Speaker 4 8:27

Yes, it's been a journey, you know, initially as part-time, it's still something that I'm kind of in the early stealth stages of building. I have my first local retreat. I'm two or three weeks away. Uh, I wish you were the two of you were here because it's set on a woman's property about 30, 40 minutes away. And um, I've I've coined it as strength and stillness. So it's a day really in the red woods, um, and pretty excited. But how do I differentiate? So I think uh the Bay Area has been seen as a capital for yoga and wellness. There is many, many studios, many different types of practice. I'm blessed that I was trained and was a student and uh a member of the Meta Yoga studio, which has three locations in Sauselito, Cordermadeira, and San Rafael. Um I think it was just listening to the heart. Um, you have to find your voice, just like the two of you in your respective businesses. It's not about being a copycat, it's listening to how you really, I think what motivates you. And for me, it's the seasons. I love astrology, I fall in love with the moon, I like the lunar calendar. So I think my unique spin is that I focus on while I do a fiery flow and a lot of other practices, um, I do feel everyone, there's a a calling to some of the slower practices, whether it be slow flow, yin yoga that gets more into your connective and fascia tissue, which is pivotal as a longevity um recipe for reversing aging, uh, restorative yoga. I'm studying nidra, which is almost like a sleep meditation with some Canadian teachers. So I would say in a city or in an area where everyone is kind of going, going, going, very serious athletes. Um my studio was mainly a vinyasa flow studio, which again is more that fast pace. And I knew my calling was I wanted people to slow down. I want them to reset, come back into their body. So it's a lot of breath work, it's some of these different practices, but I feel it appeals to all ages, men and women. Um and I think it's just finding your voice. So, you know, I picked my teachers. There's a lot of people I study online, and just dropping into the area. I live on the creek. Um, you know, I have no my street got flooded months before Shireen visited. So I'm in a flood zone. So even if you don't believe in the lunar calendar, we get hit with the tidal waves, right? With the king tides, and that's all around the full moons. And so I like weaving that into my class and give themes so that my students have something to consider in terms of making maybe micro shifts to their habits. And I don't know, I think it's just, you know, uh, I think it's just comes from the heart. Uh, I love all my students dearly and I see the changes, whether someone's an athlete and you know, this one woman, you know, studying and attending Harvard now, to some people that have had injuries for life or for a long, long time that have been in discomfort, and hopefully they're just adding different practices into their day so that they're finding more comfort and flexibility. But I think ultimately it's it's really finding your own voice. And I think that hopefully you've got to stay very young at heart and keep growing and learning and just don't be afraid of being who you are. And so uh I think that's what I bring. You know, I bribe my students to cheer for Canada today in a few hours for the World Cup. But um it's just, you know, they say if you can find something you love and you would literally do it for free. Um, obviously all of us are living in places and have economic realities, but I think it comes from that sort of passion.

Tanya Scotece 12:38

Alison,

How Often Should Beginners Practice Yoga

Tanya Scotece 12:39

and for someone new to yoga, I've only actually I think I've only done yoga like twice in my life, as far as an actual class, like two, you know, two classes. What would you recommend? Is there like a recommended or suggested, for example, like two classes per week? I'm sure there's people that do it daily, like yourself, but what is what is the starting point? Is it once a week, twice a week, three times a week? What's the suggested?

Speaker 4 13:06

Gosh. I think if you really open yourself up, it could even be, you know, that maybe you're taking 10 minutes or 15 at night or in the morning, right? Where I think we can talk ourselves out of a new activity if we put this milestone that we have to go daily or three or five times a week. I mean, the more consistent you are, I think you will see the differences physically, emotionally, mentally. I would say, you know, two to four times, you know, two to three, four times a week is phenomenal. But the more you build that rigor, um the difference you will see it. And to me, it's it's physically the changes are one thing, but mentally, emotionally, I've never left any kind of yoga practice stressed. It's like, again, you just lay it on the mat. Um, and I think people are seeking that, right? And to me, it's not free, but it could be free if you're practicing in your own home, right? You maybe you have a deck or you put your mat next to your bed, or you're reading or listening to a podcast, right? And even if you're starting to make a practice and a commitment, could be 10-15 minutes a day. That could be a game changer for your flexibility, your balance, your strength, just um having that reset. So uh the more the better. But I'm a believer in atomic habits, you know, that 1% shift, not this grandiose, Allison. Okay, I'm gonna do an introductory membership and show up at the studio every day this month. That, you know, I would love that. But even if you tell if you told me I'm going to practice even 10 to 20 minutes, you know, a few times a week, and you really commit to that, um, that would excite me.

Tanya Scotece 14:56

So

Yoga Compared With Meditation And Pilates

Tanya Scotece 14:57

how how do you um I would say like if you had to like compare or contrast? Um, so I'm curious because for example, so I do like a daily meditation practice, approximately 20 minutes, right? I've been doing that for probably since 2016. So some days could be more, some days could be less, but it it's averages about 20 minutes a day. Silent meditation, I did start off with guided, but I've I quickly evolved into the silent realm. I also do um Pilates, I do stretching, I do uh pole conditioning. So I do do my own version of practice as far as flexibility goes. So my question is how does the quote unquote yoga term correlate with what I'm doing?

Speaker 4 15:41

Uh Dreen knows because she saw my reformer. I'm finishing a Pilates reformer certification in a few weeks, but um, so those are all incredible practices, your brength, your str your strength, all of those pieces. I love the meditation practice. That that is something that a lot of yoga student or teachers bring into, you know, their practice, into the class. I think the breath work, conscious breathing, even if you're doing it a few times a day, where you, I mean, there's so many different types of breath you can choose from, but that's a game changer in any situation. So I love your meditation practice. Everything else sounds phenomenal. Um, I think it would be an extension of your meditation, especially the fact that you said you do more of a quiet meditation. And fortunately, um, if you don't have access to a studio, your time schedule is pretty committed, you know, there's a lot of great content on YouTube and other platforms, right? I think it's finding what would be complimentary. Maybe you're in the mood that you want something a little bit more of a flow, right? You could do a 15, 20 minute flow to your, I would probably say more morning or midday versus late at night. And then maybe some nights you play with more of a gentler slowing down to really kind of kick start a really good sleep. So um I think there's a lot of rooms to play, you know, and experience it. And everyone's personality is different. Maybe, you know, for the summer you're all go, go, go, and coming off of your Plotties, you want something more intense. But um maybe you start playing around with something like yin, which will complement your other uh activities. And yin, again, if we don't, it's like flossing our teeth, if we don't kind of drop in and give some TLC to all the fascia and the connective tissue that basically surrounds all of our ligaments, our organs, then to me, um, to me, it's kind of like a an unknown vitamin, like a multivitamin. Um, but I would love to uh coach you and throw you content and and see what what sticks and what you know what you're loving. But I love what you've already shared.

Tanya Scotece 17:57

Thank you. No, I really, I really appreciate you um shedding light on yoga because um many of our listeners, you know, over time we do bring in wellness aspects and you know health benefits and things of different types of modalities that people can try. And um that's super exciting.

Pilates Reformer Certification Choices

Tanya Scotece 18:14

Do you mind if I ask you which under which like is there is it a brand for the Pilates Reformer certification? Because I was interested in actually pursuing that with my local one, which is Club Pilates, but I know there's different names.

Speaker 4 18:26

Yeah, there's actually a Club Pilates near here. I did a lot of research and being from Toronto, there's STOT, there's so many, you know, very classic ones, but after doing all my research and spending a lot of time on it, because it is a significant commitment. I went with a it's Australian based, it's called Breathe Education. And what I love most about this is a lot, some of the in-person ones, you know, you're meeting maybe for a weekend. This one, it's a longer format, very deep dive in all the areas, but you are getting the most teaching experience in that you are online virtually every week. Um, they just throw you in, just like the quote, you know. Um, as well. So if you had no Pilates experience and you jumped into it, they would have you out of the gate in in the live sessions with people all around the world, right? Teaching even very, very early. So I think that kind of gets you. It is scary, right? Um, because you're on the hook uh and and live, but I think it gives you that rhythm that wax on, wax off, right? So that you find your voice. I mean, I think I'm gifted that I've been teaching for a while and I have past teaching and coaching experience, but for a lot of people it's uh it's a lot. But um I think it's a Pilates is something men and women love it, all ages. And as you've discovered, right, the the strength and conditioning and um people really, really enjoy it. So I think there's an important place, and yeah, I can connect you to people, but um I think you can look in once what is local, but if you have found a love with it, I I'm gonna nudge you to really consider going for it.

Tanya Scotece 20:16

Yeah, no, no, you've inspired me because I it's I was kind of you know, I mean, it is a big commitment, both um, you know, energetically, financially, time, you know, it just kind of it touches on all the points. But yeah, no, congratulations. It sounds like you're doing amazing things and uh, you know, really just keeping yourself uh accountable for everything that you're choosing to do.

unknown 20:36

Yeah.

Shireen Botha 20:37

Absolutely.

Staying Motivated When Business Is Slow

Shireen Botha 20:38

Uh Alison, thank you for sharing. Um, I have one more question before we move on to the nonprofit. Tanya, you're more than welcome to follow up with any questions you may have. But you know, Alison, your professional profile emphasizes a growth mindset. Um, when a new class launches and it doesn't go the way you'd like it to go, uh, or the you know, a building um or the business just feels extremely slow, not as not as much as you want it to be. Um, how do you keep yourself motivated when you know to keep pushing when business is not going as as well as you'd like it to go?

Speaker 4 21:24

That's a good question. Uh well, I had the pleasure of Sharine staying with North and I. Um here's the thing, at this point in my career, I've had positions, you know, that gave me a really good quality of life. And there was a lot of things very satisfying about them because usually I was dealing with partners and outside clients. But wellness has always been like my absolute love. And probably because of some of those hard lessons early in a home where I did see, you know, I lost my parents very young. And I think it's just the joy, right? Um, but it's it's frightening. You come in, I'm in a competitive space in a studio, you've got all these classes, and a lot of people don't understand yin or restorative, right? Or they think you've got to sweat to have a good practice. I think I just kept showing up. Um, I was myself. I weave in stuff that maybe some people think is woo-hoo. Last night I had a full house. There's probably five or six men, all ages, you know, thank you. Um women of all ages. Uh and I was talking about kind of coming back to balance after the summer solstice, right? We just went through this seasonal change. You've got people practicing at Stonehenge. And I wove into this idea like recommitting, right? Just like you're saying, Tanya, you're doing your Plotties, you're nudging me that you carve that quiet meditation time to come back to the mat to anchor, right? So that you can have the vitality and the momentum. Um, so it's been not scary, but I just realized I didn't want to contain it, Shereen, and that I really want to go for it. And what is that? You know, it's in the early stages, you've got lower numbers, but you just keep showing up. You know, uh, I have this practice from a Japanese teacher that I bring tea every class. And that's different. It takes a commitment, it's an expense, but it builds community. My students love it. I like using oils for breath work. Um, these are things that I just do because they're part of my practice. And I want to, you know, if if I shared a certain aroma like oil with you, Tanya, and it, you know, I shared eucalyptus and you found you went into your meditation and you were breathing better, you know, that's giving you another tool, right, for you to be at your best every day. Um, the other thing I've done that I think is a little unusual, it's my growth mindset or curiosity. Uh, I've been studying with a lot of the top leaders. I've studied under top female coaches, right? Um, in terms of how to really be an entrepreneur, right? And ride that wave. Um, I'm in two AI academies because I I don't have this vision of building a large team. I really want to keep it lean, but I want to I want to be able to teach people locally, but you know, I want to reach the woman who maybe is in the Alps or someone who's, you know, in Costa Rico or they're in a rural area outside of Seattle, right? And and they don't have community, right? And so I think you've got to spend the time to really know your focus. I love teaching students across all ages, men and women. Um, but I am really trying to focus on building curriculum for women over 40. And um, if you talk about kind of a niche, that's part of my intention. But again, it's you know, it's committing time, resources, money to support a vision. And I would say I have lofty goals that, you know, if I can get someone to have more peace of mind, better rest, better energy, rather than, you know, them taking medication or whatever it is, then that's kind of my my mission. Um just to just to instill that confidence, that rigor around a practice that I believe is life-changing physically, mentally, emotionally. You know, if you look at the stats, when people start to decline, it usually comes from a fall. Now I've had some falls, but you know, Tanya, you're a testament of that balance, right? The flexibility, how that can make a difference as we age. And so I've just decided after decades of, you know, pursuing other things that I really want to focus only on things of that kind of stir my heart and uh that you would almost do for free because you just love it that much. And so I'm leaning in, but it's a commitment. It means you're almost living like you were back in high school or college. Uh, and but I'm I feel I'm on my path and my purpose, and that makes me feel like a kid, in spite of yes, the realities of

Part Three Tease And Closing

Speaker 4 26:28

aging.

Speaker 1 26:28

Tune in next week for part three of Friends from Wild Places.

Voiceover 26:34

You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places with Shireen Botha. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast from the links to catch every episode and unleash your passion.