Today we’d like to introduce you to Ally Dell’Amico.
Hi Ally, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In high school and college, I was a student-athlete, playing volleyball and majoring in mathematics. I was extremely type-A, a perfectionist, and competitive at everything I did. I put extreme amounts of pressure on myself. My mom recognized this and always tried to mellow me out, but I didn’t want to listen.
As a teenager, she introduced me to yoga, and I HATED everything about it… how could anyone like such a slow and boring form of exercise? I wanted to sweat, not slow down, and feel and breathe. But my mom gently persisted throughout the years and sent me a “Yoga for Athletes” series when I was away at school.
I agreed to give it a try since it was designed for athletes and that’s what I identified as. I did the sequences every day for a week, then a month; then I was hooked! I did yoga on all of my off days and couldn’t help but talk about this newfound love with anyone who would listen.
After college, I started coaching volleyball with my dad while still doing yoga in my free time, dreaming about how cool it would be to bring yoga to more and more athletes. That’s when the COVID pandemic hit, and I found my life at a standstill. For someone who was always busy, always doing something, I had a very hard time finding ways to fill my time.
I stumbled across a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training and jumped at the opportunity. I found something to fill my time, to teach me how to be “good at yoga” and be able to teach others how to do it too. I quickly learned that I NEEDED that training way more than I could have ever imagined. It showed me that I didn’t have to compete in everything or be perfect. It allowed me to accept myself exactly how I was and how to meet others where they are.
It taught me that I was so much more than a retired athlete and coach. I knew after a few months into my training I wanted to open a yoga studio to share this amazing practice with as many people as I could. I wrote in my journal, “I will open a yoga studio in 5-10 years.” In March of 2021, just 3 months after writing in my journal, I was approached about buying an existing yoga studio with my soon-to-be business partners.
In June of 2021, we took over an existing studio and opened Saule Yoga in Gilbert, AZ. For 2.5 years, we ran Saule together until I was given the chance to take full ownership of the studio in January of 2024. I am thrilled to be running the business full-time now!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Opening the studio was not easy and came with many challenges, not only making hard business decisions affecting our students and staff but navigating my personal life while running the business proved to have just as many struggles.
During the months leading up to opening Saule, I was working a full-time job as the Human Resource Director for a group of restaurants and coaching club volleyball. I carried my laptop around everywhere I went and was doing something for the studio at every free moment, from setting up our social media page, accounting software, and website to applying for business licenses and insurance policies and filling out paperwork.
When the studio opened in June, I knew I had to give up coaching volleyball for the time being to focus on running the business. But I couldn’t seem to focus on just that one thing, so I jumped into my 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training in July. Things seemed to be going really well; I was balancing my full-time HR job, the yoga studio, and YTT. A full schedule, but I took pride in being able to “do it all.”
I felt on top of the world. But the day after Christmas of 2021, I fell and broke my elbow – requiring surgery and 4 months of rehab to gain full ROM. In those months, I realized I needed to slow down and ask for help. It was a huge eye-opener for me. I was used to doing everything alone, so asking someone to help me wash my hair was difficult, let alone asking for help running my business! But it was one of the most important lessons I had learned to date.
Since I was in college I had been struggling with a handful of health issues, but after my elbow healed the previous health issues seemed to get worse and started to affect my everyday life. So I decided to enroll myself in a Holistic Health Coaching Program that would give me the tools to become a health coach to help others and myself find optimal health. I wanted to see if my diet and other holistic modalities would lead me to answers regarding my health issues. During that year I kept noticing the shifts in my body getting more dramatic and debilitating, so I went to countless doctors appointments until they found a 4mm tumor on my pituitary gland that required surgery.
My elbow surgery had only been a minor setback. I knew brain surgery would be much harder to navigate while still running a business. During the months leading up to my surgery and the many months of recovery afterward, I relied on my previous business partners, 2 studio managers, and our amazing community of teachers and students.
Being away from the studio for 6+ months was hard, but I was welcomed back with open arms and hearts. The community that has been built at Saule is truly magical, and I could feel that energy from the moment I stepped back to focus on my health until I returned. After that experience, I knew Saule was something special and I decided to quit my HR job to fully invest my time and energy into making Saule a place of peace and hope for others like it was for me.
We’ve been impressed with Saule Yoga, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Saule Yoga is a yoga studio located in Gilbert, AZ. We strive to create a space where people come together through mindful movement to promote vibrancy, balance, and harmony at the same time as establishing a sense of community and synergy where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
We practice yoga as individuals, each of us coming from a different background and starting point, but we support each other, creating an inner strength and peaceful energy that radiates through our bodies and community each and every day.
There is something for everyone at Saule, from power flows and wall classes to restorative and yoga nidra classes. We also offer kids and family yoga. You can check out our weekly schedule at saule-yoga.com/schedule and our special events at saule-yoga.com/events-workshop.
Are any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I love to read, so I am always looking for books and articles to read. Some of my personal favorites have been The Like Switch by Jack Shafer, The Art of Letting Go by David R. Hawkins, You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza, and You Are the Placebo by Joe Dispenza.
Pricing:
- Monthly Membership $115
- Drop-In $18
- 2 Week New Student Offer $35
- JR Yogis (Ages 4-9, 60 minutes class) $15
- JR Yogis (Ages 9-14, 90 minute class) $20
Contact Info:
- Website: saule-yoga.com
- Instagram: @saule.yoga
- Facebook: @SauleYogaAZ
Image Credits
Zach Brewer Photography
