Allison’s yoga journey began after a back injury as a performer in the off-broadway show De La Guarda. Unable to move around at a young age, she took to the philosophy of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras for comfort and perspective. Recovery took several years, and allowed for her eventual asana practice to be rooted in and emphasized by India’s wisdom systems.
A student since 2001, and a graduate of The Body Therapy Institute, Allison completed well over 1000 hours of formalized yoga teacher trainings (Sivananda, Jivamukti, Krishnamacharya) before opening Heart of Yoga School in Carrboro, NC in 2010 which is also the year she met her primary mentor K. Sridhar and began studying with him. She has a BFA in Musical Theater from East Carolina University.
Allison designed an 800 hour Yoga Teacher Training program dedicated to the foundational texts of yoga which offered textual study, introduction to the language of Sanskrit, harmonium instruction, chanting, and the development of a daily prescriptive sadhana.
As an event organizer, she focused on bringing people together at Heart of Yoga School to enjoy her favorite teachers and artists; K. Sridhar, Dr. Robert Svoboda, Sharon Gannon, Edwin Bryant, Prem Sadasivananda, and more. She led a weekly kirtan for five years, and also organized a week long Classical Indian Music Festival. Check out her three kirtan albums here on Spotify. Her original music can be found here.
Allison chose a mostly nomadic lifestyle back in 2016, and has travelled nationally and internationally as a solo woman and with groups. She's led cultural tours and retreats in India and Bali, which has allowed her students to experience first hand how ancient Vedic philosophies and practices can be infused into our daily life. In recent years she's presented with the Telluride Yoga Festival, Grand Valley Yoga Fest, and the Stroud Sacred Music Festival in UK. In 2023 she will present her research on how the ragas of Indian music can be used as Jyotishical remedies at the Vaidyagrama Healing Sound Retreat in India with co-presenters Dr. Robert Svoboda, Shantala Sriramaiyah, and Nina Rao.
Allison closed her brick and mortar School in 2018 so that she could travel as a teacher, meet the wider community, and simultaneously focus her attention on being a dedicated student of Jyotish and Indian music. She now offers these Vedic teachings on an online platform which allows for the cultivation of community, healing, and mentorship to a broader student population. You can check out her Vedic online courses here.
From 2020 until the summer of 2022 Allison worked diligently at recording and compiling a variety of Vedic teachings into an online library of courses on subjects like Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Indian Music, The Ramayana, and more. These courses will now be offered as additional support for her upcoming containers. In 2020 Allison became a Teaching Assistant for her Jyotish teacher Steven Highburger, and continues this role as an assistant and tutor for students in his level 1-6 programs.
Allison is excited and eager to use her 20+ years of experience with Vedic wisdoms to work in dedicated ways with sincere spiritual practitioners. She enjoys combining group and individual work and is grateful for the tech enabling people from all over the world to join in her programs. Allison's signature courses Voice of the Heart and An Ocean of Sound are the best way to get the most out of working with Allison both individually and in a group, however she does offer limited number of private Jyotish sessions each season. Her ongoing astrology update Follow the Moon is a great way to stay connected as well.
