My Story

You could describe me as a natural born mover

I’ve been active ever since I was a young child. I loved to play outside all day and do crazy things like stand on top of the swing set frame and scare the heck out of my parents (not intentionally).

They finally decided to put me in gymnastics after I took the swings off the frame one day and started doing back hip circles (a gymnastics move) around the top bar of the swing set frame.

I think they knew they couldn’t really stop me from doing crazy things so I might as well learn how to do these moves safely.

I absolutely fell in love with the sport of gymnastics and at a young age felt this was what I came here to do.

So I quickly dove into the world of competitive gymnastics and devoted the next sixteen years of my life to this sport. Practicing four hours a day and traveling to a different city every weekend to compete.

Devoting that part of my life to gymnastics gave me a great appreciation for movement and a deeper insight on what the human body is truly capable of. 

After getting injured many times ( knee surgery, low back fracture, ankle surgery, foot and toe fractures) I realized how important having a healthy mindset and a solid plan of recovery was if I was going to ask that much of my body everyday.

Getting injured and experiencing the recovery process peaked my interest in physical therapy. I was awarded a gymnastics scholarship to Radford University and decided to major in pre-physical therapy there.

After a few years, I realized physical therapy wasn’t really what I wanted to do. I wanted a job that would allow me more freedom to help people the way I wanted to help them.

So I moved to Atlanta and graduated with a degree in Exercise Science from Georgia State University.

I soon discovered I loved teaching adults how to move and perform better through my personal training and coaching practice.  

Fast forward to when my first son was born, I decided to take a break from personal training and focus on being a mom.

Becoming a mom was an incredible experience but after the birth of my second son my health took a turn for the worse. I ended up with severe digestive distress and chronic low energy.  

For the first time in my life what seemed easy all the sudden became impossible.  I lost all motivation and energy and had debilitating digestive pain most days.  

I was left feeling discouraged and depressed and unfortunately couldn't find the help I needed from my doctor.  This left me with no energy to be a great mom much less to be my best self.  

It occurred to me that I was way too young to be experiencing this, so I got curious and began researching holistic health practices.  The idea of the human body having the potential to heal itself naturally fascinated me.  

My curiosity lead me to study master-level courses in holistic health coaching, nutrition, exercise science and rehabilitation with the CHEK Institute in San Diego, CA and the Holistic Life Coaching Institute. 

By implementing some key fundamental practices I soon discovered I had more energy, I could move more freely without pain, my digestive problems went away and I didn't have to workout as hard to maintain my body shape.  It seemed almost too good to be true.

My experience was so empowering I felt compelled to share it and formed Pure Energy Wellness in 2004.  Soon after I opened my own studio in Atlanta with my focus on functional training at that time.

I felt a need to change and grow coming on and after visiting twice my family and I decided to move to move to Portland, Oregon.

It was the best thing I ever did. As a result it pushed me to re-evaluate how I wanted to show up for people and I decided I wanted to get back to my roots as a gymnast but I also wanted to address any past or present injuries my clients were experiencing. I wanted to help them move better, without pain, with purpose and most of with joy.

So I took another dive and got certified to become a level 1 Movnat instructor and started working at Portland PACE (Physical therapists who work with world class runners).

Where I learned how to train my clients to become stronger runners, do handstands safely, learn how to power lift, find freedom in their movement, connect to true core stability and integrated strength.

I still love to learn and share after sixteen years of coaching others and I'm happy to say that I find so much joy in helping my clients feel successful in their own body.

I love showing my clients how they can build a food and fitness foundation that sets the stage for them to create more strength, capability and confidence in their body. Discovering their own potential to be their best self and to live the life they love.

With love and kindness,

Allison