Client Experiences

I’m a 64-year-old single male with some very traditional beliefs. 3-1/2 years ago, I mentioned to my chiropractor that I wanted to start exploring a more intensive journey and learn more about Yoga. My goal at the time was to increase my flexibility so I could expand my weight training.

Dr. Josh Vickers connected me to Allison Benner with this quote, “be open-minded, Allison will teach and help you with far more than just yoga.” I can confidently say he was so right!

Allison and I have spent an hour a week together online on zoom over the last 3-1/2 years not only working on expanding my Yoga experience/journey but so much more. The practice with Allison now spans from helping to navigate challenging life situations, relationship dynamics, day-to-day stress, injury recovery, and how all of this impacts our mind and body. I’ve gained awareness, the ability to manage very challenging life events, expanding physical and mental health, as well as emotional growth.

Recently, my youngest daughter left for college and we moved to a new home. While all pretty normal territory for most people, it was different for me. I raised my daughter as the primary care parent until she was 13 and then became a full-time parent. She was my purpose! I knew her going off to college was going to be harder for me than it was for her. The challenging role at work on top of everything else could have been very overwhelming and I risked missing some very positive awakening.

Through the work Allison and I have done, this event ended up being an amazing growth opportunity for both my daughter and I. I see, feel, and experience so much more of what life has to offer. I’m so very grateful for all Allison has done for me and look forward to continuing to explore, expand, and grow my practice with her.

I had severe lower back pain that shot down my leg. I knew that if I didn't seek help I would be immobile in a couple of years. Thankfully I found Allison for yoga therapy. She was patient with my lack of yoga literacy and very knowledgeable about how to stretch out the problem area without irritating it. After only a few months of therapy, I can now keep up with my 5 year old. I continue yoga therapy to keep limber and improve my yoga postures. Thanks Allison for getting me back on my feet and keeping me on my feet.

Allison’s work blossoms in a digital space, she has completely mastered this experience. I once thought having physical distance would create a disconnect. What has actually opened up is a space in my own home (literally and figuratively) that would not have had the chance otherwise. There is something so special about having the opportunity to drop into these processes, outside office walls, and somewhere more intimate… the work can suddenly touch “the outside world”. Some days I have been in massive physical discomfort and she still efficiently brought relief to my body. The zoom experience is so effective, I find myself choosing online zoom sessions often to this day even when we don’t have to. Allison has become an innovative force with technology in her field.

Being a professional athlete of 15+ years, I had injuries and traumas head to toe. I hobbled into Allison’s multifaceted work with what I thought was just debilitating chronic back pain. I walked out the door more comfortable than any other modality I had tried in years. A world beyond the face value of my diagnosis was revealed. Strikingly, I felt something much deeper in me was healing, stretching me to reassess the way I approached “fixing and getting over an injury”.  

What’s most fascinating to me is how Allison’s work can touch all levels of body, mind, spirit, and soul… effectively and masterfully. Her work touches the interconnected underlying subtleties of our life experience. She has shown me a place where I can walk alongside my pain, grow and heal with it, and listen deeply.

Allison’s melting pot of offerings are a remedy for transformation that flow together effortlessly. Through Rolfing and yoga therapy we address pain and work structurally to reshape the way I use and move my body. The Somatic Experiencing helps by renegotiating past traumas in the body like injuries and other violating experiences for my body mind and heart, not only from athleticism but childhood as well. Utilizing DARE work, we reorganize how I am wired and respond to relationship, attachment and boundaries, evolving the ways I interact.

Allison’s work is the true definition of Wholistic. It’s a great privilege to work with her, and by far the most profound and sophisticated work I have ever come across. Her office has become a temple, that now also resides inside of me.

I first saw Allison Benner at the suggestion of a friend to help me with some chronic pain issues. I had already sought help with my pain from several more conventional health providers to no avail and was growing desperate to find a more effective treatment. As it happens, at the time, I had recently retired from an unsatisfying and at times very stressful career as an attorney and was unable to find the fulfillment that I had expected upon leaving my work life. After a session or two, Allison was able to see how years of stress and confounding circumstances were contributing to my discomfort. She suggested that to properly heal my “pain” I needed to get to its source and to do that, treatment with a technique that dealt more with the relationship between body and mind with a neurological perspective might be the best way to proceed. Having already gained my trust, I agreed to try Somatic Experiencing. Her analysis was spot on and, with her expertise and wisdom along with her knowledge of ayurvedic medicine, yoga and mindfulness I came through the process not only rid of the pain for which I initially sought her help, but also as a happier and healthier person far more aware of the keen relationship between body and mind and therefore more adept at knowing myself and at dealing with the “pain” that is an inevitable part of living . Her approach to the treatment was forceful and effective and at the same time gentle and compassionate. Only someone as talented as Allison Benner can merge those qualities successfully. Allison Benner is the most empathetic person I have ever known. She is a genuine healer in every sense, and I will always be indebted to her for all she helped me accomplish.

I started my treatments with Allison as a Rolfing patient where she is an accomplished professional. But it’s the mind body therapies over many years that have lessened my bipolar challenges. Learning how to leverage the body’s responses to trauma, anxiety, and other mood issues has greatly expanded my ability to manage the diagnosis. While naturally different for each situation, these tools and strategies work effectively for me in both the depression and mania phases of the bipolar disorder. Allison has my full respect, is a pleasure to work with and has supported my life with significant positive impact

After working with Allison through the ten series I was able to reach a new level of physical health. With each session, I could feel dramatic changes in the range of motion in each area of my body. All of my muscle groups started to feel more fluid and after a few months I was the strongest and most pain free I had been in years. Allison was able to correct my form on certain exercises and show me how to properly build up the strength of my lower back. All along, Allison had been emphasizing how important it was to stretch a little each day and would give me little things to do as homework in between sessions. As I became more flexible I noticed a huge increase in the stability of my body. Allison's other passion is Yoga and she blended it seamlessly with my physical development. Allison was able to tailor a routine specifically to my needs and I use it regularly. Rather than just fix my problem, Allison was genuinely interested in educating me to avoid further problems and have a better quality of life. I recommended my sister to Allison who has had chronic back pain due to 15 years of gymnastics and three back surgeries with varying degrees of success. After going through the same process of Rolfing and Yoga my sister is now pain free and my entire family credits Allison with her new look on life. Fifty years down the road I will credit Allison with my families continued health and well being. She has been an amazing resource and I always look forward to learning something new from her.