Life Coach Allie's Journey to Wellness

By Hannah Whitesides, Director of the Tribe @ Project P and the Project Passport Wellness Hub

Note: The Tribe @ Project P is paused at this time for the public and only open to women booked for travel retreats

My interview with Allie was anything short of fascinating. By looking at where a person is in their life you can never tell how they got there. We go about our lives year after year not really knowing the stories of the people we interact with. For Allie, she got to where she is today by embarking on a journey of self discovery and adventure. When I heard Allie’s story, it gave me a sense of the movie Eat, Pray, Love because she took it upon herself to go on an expedition alone to explore, heal and and finally put herself and her life first.

Allie grew up in Frankfort, Illinois. Fascinated by the world, Allie knew she wanted to be nomadic. As an adult she established her home base in Montana but has lived for multiple months at a time in San Diego, Chicago, and multiple states in Mexico. Currently she resides in Sayulita, Mexico where she will remain until her 4 months is up. 

Allie has always been an adventurous person. So when I asked her about her hobbies it was interesting to me how she went from river rafting, mountain biking and snowboarding to breathwork and meditation. Allie became familiar with meditation in college. Her friend used to call her every morning and they would do a morning meditation together as a way to prepare for the day ahead. Meditation became a sporadic activity for her during the rest of her 20s. Allie explained to me that the end of one's twenties and the beginning of one's thirties is typically a time of rebirth and realignment. You start asking yourself questions like, is what I’m doing what I really want to be doing? As Allie began reflecting on her life, she realized that she had outgrown her career in the adventure travel industry. During her twenties this career path allowed her to ditch her suburban lifestyle that she knew so well and get to explore the more remote and amazing parts of our planet. While that was exactly what she needed at the time, she began to realize that there were not any growth opportunities within the company anymore. That, coupled with the fact that she had no other skill sets, she felt lost. In addition to feeling like she didn’t know where to go in her career, she was met with some pretty hard times that she wasn’t prepared for. She lost her grandfather whom she was very close with and she left a relationship that was very meaningful to her.

“All the things that I thought I was or that were true about life really kind of came to a head all at once. Leaving a job and experiencing two significant losses rocked my worldview.”

Although she didn’t know it at the time, these seemingly unfortunate life experiences sparked a life that she had been waiting for. 

Not knowing what’s next and not wanting to jump into something immediately out of fear, she decided to take some time to soul search and really figure out what she wanted. She began working on a farm for a season until she could save up enough money to embark on her solo journey to Puerto Escondido, Mexico. 

For many people, Allie’s decision to do this seems insane. But unlike many people, Allie refuses to live a life that is defined by routine. I relate to her in this sense because while some people might find comfort in a mundane life of certainty, Allie feels trapped by it. Not to say that this type of life is a bad thing. Quite the opposite! A secure life is what many people strive for. But Allie needed more. Prior to this time in her life she felt as if she wasn’t in control of her path. All the fear, people pleasing, and decision making was leaving her depleted. When she decided to go to Mexico she didn’t know exactly what she was searching for but she took that out-of-control feeling and let it lead her. Was she scared? Of course she was but she knew she had to travel deeper into the tunnel to finally see the light at the end. 

While in Mexico Allie found Hridaya Yoga, a retreat center in nearby Mazunte, MX and decided that she was going to participate in a 10 day silent meditation. Allie explained to me that the meditation retreat was the best thing she had ever done for herself. It served as a jumping off point to a much more spiritually focused path.

“Life became less about what to do to make money and more about being able to lead from a heart-centered space.

To really begin to gain the tools to step into not knowing. 

To live in uncertainty.

To live with openness with uncertainty. 

To be able to actually listen to what the next steps might be versus [making a decision] out of panic or fear needing to have everything figured out.

There’s this ability to create life as it comes.”

In addition to meditation, part of her healing journey involved body work. She began participating in community acupuncture. She recalls one experience where she expressed to the practitioner that she had been feeling as if she couldn’t take a deep breath. In Chinese medicine, grief is held in the lungs so the practitioner decided to perform a lung opener. 

“It was like an avalanche had been let loose. I had always thought of myself as this very positive person. I had such a mental construct of who I was as a positive being I couldn’t actually admit how sad I was over some of these losses. Acupuncture really put me in touch with my body and my emotions.”

Realizing her connection with wellness through the body and wanting to explore that further, she decided to go to massage therapy school. It was during this time that she discovered a coaching program at an institute for women centered coaching and transformation. This put her in touch with a community of people who were also on a path transformation. Allie explains that joining this program was essentially another turning point in her wellness journey because it was the first time she found unity and gained a sense of belonging amongst like-minded people. It was then that she decided to quit practicing massage and dedicate her time to one-on-one coaching. 

As a true nomad, Allie can’t stay in one place for too long. She bought a camper and drove down to California where she met some people who were opening a coaching startup company which focused on personal transformation expeditions and personal coaching. Unfortunately, the company didn’t work out as planned and Allie decided to pursue her own coaching program. 

She began piecing together different threads of this work such as one-on-one coaching as well as leading various women’s programs.

“Really what it’s about is beginning to unravel who you are from who you were conditioned to be which is what I call authenticity and beginning to build your life on your own terms.”

Allie’s story is one that really makes you sit back and think about your own life. Are you happy in the city that you live, the career that you chose, or the relationship that you’re in? When I asked her what the single most important aspect of her wellness journey was without hesitation she said, “community.” Before Allie set out on this solo journey her life was filled with fear. She felt as if she was living for other people and putting herself second. When she allowed herself to let go of the perception that she needed to be in control of everything she discovered a life filled with much more peace, excitement, and curiosity. She is now putting her energy into things that give her a deep sense of joy. 

Allie is currently working on two flagship women’s programs and is focused on honing in on her own personal rhythm. She is paying extra attention to figuring out when she has the energy for certain things and determining how she can harness this. 

If you’re interested in connecting with Allie, visit alliesavage.com. 

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The Tribe @ Project P is an exclusive women's community that provides a sacred wellness space for women to feel seen, heard, and valued; allows them to connect and build a supportive community; enhances travel inspiration; and helps women foster life discovery while uncovering joy in their daily lives. The Tribe @ Project P offers 1:1 coaching opportunities, surprise membership gifts in the mail, live virtual retreats, fun virtual social events and interactive wellness content, activities and challenges.