Meet Allie Brawley of Northern Life Yoga

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

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
“Why don’t you try a yoga class to relax?” was a suggestion from my mother in 1999 when I was caught up living in a fast-paced New York City lifestyle. Looking back now, I can’t imagine who or where I would be without the practice of yoga. Despite numerous transitions – relationships, job losses, changing careers, moving to new cities, and healing from life’s bumps and bruises – my yoga practice has remained constant through the years and across many miles. What started as a practice to complement my fitness routine evolved into a journey that taught me to embrace opportunity rather than fear uncertainty in every transition…and most importantly, yoga allowed me to find peace amidst the chaos of life. 

From the weekly class, I started at my gym when living in Manhattan, my yoga journey progressed into a significant part of my lifestyle while living in Boston and later, San Francisco. From coastal urban apartments to Midwestern Lake shores, I have happily shared my passion for yoga in both organized classes and impromptu yoga sessions. Recognizing an opportunity to develop community yoga classes in Northern Michigan, I returned to my hometown to live closer to my family and offer yoga to the community where I was fortunate to grow up. Northern Life Yoga launched in 2010, and Northern Life Studio for Healing Arts opened in 2011. I am happy to report that my mom is a dedicated practitioner and business advisor. 

I received my 200-hour yoga teacher training through Yoga Tree San Francisco, a 50-hour Yin Yoga teacher training program (with my mom!) with Bernie Clark at Semperviva Yoga in Vancouver, British Columbia, and my 300-hour teacher training through Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. My teaching style incorporates elements of my personal journey with formal trainings and workshops, plus a variety of yoga styles I have been fortunate to experience in nearly 20 years of practice. 

Always looking on the bright side, my classes are infused with a sense of gratitude, optimism, and enduring strength as I strive to help students develop a strong body, peaceful mind, and healthy spirit. Whether you relax in candlelight yoga or energize in a vinyasa flow, my goal for any yoga experience is to allow you to leave refreshed, resilient, and empowered by your own amazing mind-body connection. 

You are stronger than you even know…come to the mat and experience your own amazing potential – the strength, purpose, and peace that comes from within! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Offering group classes in a community where yoga was relatively unfamiliar proved to be a challenge. It took many years to break through common myths and demonstrate that yoga meets you where you are – whether it’s a chair yoga practice or yoga flow. The best promotion of our studio has always been word of mouth. One client told me that her colleagues noticed a subtle difference in how much more relaxed she was – and she’d respond, “it’s my yoga practice!” I am always grateful for our clients who encourage others to start practicing. 

Cost and motivation are the greatest barriers to our business. Although we are the only studio in our region, the couch or alternative fitness programs are our greatest competition. We live in an economically depressed area so our prices appear cost prohibitive to some people – even though they are within market rates for our region. To combat the cost factor, we have a scholarship program that allows students to name a monthly auto-pay price that works within their budget so they can still experience all the benefits of our classes. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Recognizing an opportunity to develop community yoga classes in Northern Michigan, I returned to my hometown (Sault Ste. Marie) to live closer to my family and offer yoga to the community where I was fortunate to grow up. Northern Life Yoga launched in 2010, and Northern Life Studio for Healing Arts opened in 2011. Our mission is to give the healing space and supportive guidance for students to empower strength, presence, and peace through yoga, fitness, and healing arts. 

Northern Life Yoga is the only health and wellness small business of its kind in the Eastern Upper Peninsula offering year-round classes. Over the past decade, we have grown a yoga community in an area that was previously unfamiliar with the practice. Many of our faithful clients learned about Northern Life Yoga from a family member or friend and can speak to the positive impact their practice has on their lives. 

Over the years, our family has grown to offer a variety of new classes, including belly dancing, Barre, Tai Chi, plus workshops like Yin and Reiki. We have hosted many guest instructors for specialized workshops and service offerings. It is important to us that we provide a variety of classes in order to better serve anyone who walks through our doors, and it is our mission to embody a community focused on both mental and physical wellness. 

As we approach our 13th year, I am most proud of the community we have grown and our family of instructors who lovingly nurture the mind-body connection of our clients. 

What do you think about happiness?
It makes me happy when new clients experience that “ah-ha” moment from a yoga class. Some will say, “this practice is just what I’ve been looking for!” 

It is always fulfilling to hear the positive feedback – whether the result was simply feeling better, sleeping better or perhaps someone just needed the guidance of an instructor to give them the permission to relax and be still. 

Pricing:

• $49 for 30 days unlimited classes – new client introductory offer

Contact Info:

• Website: northernlifeyoga.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northernlifeyoga/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northernlifeyoga/

Image Credits
Yoga Journal photographer
Tony Felgueiras Studio
photography by Christina Baird