Monday
Jan102011
Allison McCready
Allison McCready believes yoga is a truly transformative practice on all levels – body, mind and spirit. As a teacher she creates an environment that supports each student's personal evolution. In her classes, Allison emphasizes breath and healthy alignment. She began her own yoga practice in 2000 and has completed teacher trainings with Erich Schiffmann, Max Strom, Sherry Brourman and Jamie Elmer. For more information visit Allison's Facebook Page.
9 Comments
Reader Comments (9)
As a 48 year old newcomer to yoga, I appreciate Allison's simple straight forward approach to teaching yoga. She has helped me go beyond copying what the rest of the class is doing. To understanding what I'm doing and how I can get the most of my time on the mat. She also challenges me to improve. I have left many classes with rubbery limbs, but feel refreshed.
I needed to find my way again on my mat having moved yoga studios and sought renewed focus towards my practice and greater refinement to my shapes and postures. Allison's compassionate, diligent, warm and purposeful teaching has tendered my awareness back to my practice and enabled me to learn and grow into myself and my body. My yoga journey inward, resulting from these greater lessons learned of myself and my practice through these classes with her, are invaluable tools towards a broader and more purposeful focus and growth off the mat and into the external world beyond.
Allison is amazing--she is very precise and focused on proper alignment in the poses, often asking for long holds, making poses that you thought you knew seem new, and providing a very deep workout. She is also inspiring, bringing a beautiful calm and healing energy and humor to her classes.
Allison ROCKS the house with her SUPERB sequencing. She is also genuinely charming and inspiring as a MAGIC YOGA teacher, with a wonderful personality and true yogi love and energy. I love Allison. You can't fake the MAGIC, and she's got it. The lineage may proudly come from Strom, but the rock out comes from the A girl!!!
I can't say enough about Allison. Her yoga teaching transformed how I think about how I move and exercise. For many years I was a diligent yet frustrated gym-goer. I didn't seem to benefit from weight training. (I avoided yoga after a terrible experience with a teacher in D.C., who insisted I need not modify a pose, despite its aggravating an old injury.) Allison was the first teacher to identify hyperextension -- locked knees, locked elbows -- and then get me to think about it clearly. Her instructions are insightful and clear. Specifically, her comments about alignment and breathing have influenced how I approach activities outside yoga, like surfing, running, and stretching. And on top of it all, she is just super, super nice. For someone basically new to yoga in her thirties, it's wonderful to get such high-level teaching combined with a kind -- and easygoing -- spirit.
This past Summer I decided to take up Yoga again, after several years absence. For some reason, Alison's Introduction to Yoga Workshops caught my attention and I figured "why not?" Wow, am I glad I did! I learned more about the history of yoga, the meaning and purpose of the poses, and how not to get stuck in a negative loop about my abilities from Alison's thoughtful, intelligent instruction than I'd ever imagined I would.
Allison's classes have helped me grow both on and off of the mat. Her mantra that "yoga is a breathing practice" has given my practice more patience, strength and enjoyment. :)
Allison makes entering the mysterious world of yoga pleasant and satsfying for beginners (even 55 year old ones like me). She is a master instructor with deep knowledge of the yoga methods of breathing and movement and eases novices into them with warmth, humor and confidence. Allison successfually transmits her extensive knowlege to her students in ways, language and amounts they can digest and easily finds the best ways of communicating with her classes. She makes it enjoyable and the time moves swiftly. Allison is an unabashed devotee and ambasador for yoga, but not over the top or unrealistic about its benefits. Everyone in my class felt that she took a personal interest in their progress and finshed grateful for her teaching and support. Lastly, Allison is a thoroughly decent person, with high integrity and a caring outlook that suits her well as a super instructor of yoga.
Allison is an awesome teacher and has such a positive and inspiring attitude. She goes beyond showing you the poses and really helps you understand them. I came to Allison's Intro workshop as someone who had dabbled in yoga before without making much progress, but now I feel like I have a good foundation to move forward with yoga practice. And BTW, Allison's classes are fun! You will always leave with a smile on your face.