Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ali McGregor. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Ali, thanks for joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

My early twenties were filled with a good amount of anxiety. I put immense amounts of pressure on myself to perform and be *perfect* which lead to constantly worrying about being or doing enough, being liked by everyone, wanting to feel seen and loved so desperately I would accept it from anyone which ultimately left me feeling disappointed and upset at myself.

It wasn’t until a colleague invited me to a hot yoga class she was leading, after months of convincing, I finally agreed to go.

Unsure of what I was getting myself into — I was most excited to sweat and get an incredible workout in.

Yes — the class was absolutely incredible, a great workout indeed and it allowed me to stretch, bend and breathe in a way I hadn’t moved before, but the true magic didn’t happen until the last five minutes of class when we laid on our backs in stillness, also known as shavasana.

This stillness gave me a moment to pause, observe and witness my thoughts, allow in compassion and ultimately let myself off the hook for not being “perfect” but rather witnessing how beautiful and messy it is to be human. In those few moments, my anxiety didn’t exist — the weight had been lifted off my chest for the first time in a very long time.

After this class I was hooked and wanted more of it.

After years of practicing and working to build a consistent yoga practice based on how incredible I feel after each class, how well my anxiety had been managed and overall well-being, I knew I wanted to bring this to others.

As a result, Life Simplified was created.

Life Simplified is a health and wellness brand that aims to simplify the art of living a healthy, well-balanced life — we believe living a healthy life does not have to be extreme nor does it need to drain your bank account.

I am a yoga teacher (RYT 200) offering in-person yoga classes to students in the west valley, online via my YouTube channel and have guided meditations available on Spotify!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

After trying what feels like every “health and wellness hack” under the sun, I’ve come to realize that the fancy bells and whistles like boutique group fitness classes, ice baths and infrared saunas… Yes they are great and even lots of fun, but not a necessity in this life!

Often times these atmospheres can feel intimidating if you’re new to the space so when I set out to create my own community, this was something that was on the top of the list — to cultivate a space where people feel safe enough to step outside their comfort zone and try something new. Especially if you don’t feel like you are “flexible enough” or “ready” to try yoga. (Yoga is for every body!)

I am a yoga teacher (RYT 200) offering in-person yoga classes to students in the west valley at BPFITT Gym as well as online via my YouTube channel. Additionally, I have short guided meditations available on Spotify!

Outside of offering yoga classes, I sell premium quality yoga mats at affordable prices so everyone can have a flawless experience on the mat (no slipping here!) without breaking the bank to do so!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson that I had to unlearn was “success” and what that looked like for my business. Being a new yoga teacher and new to running a business, there was a lot to learn, setting realistic expectations with myself should have been the first! ;)

I was setting massive goals for my business like teaching classes in several studios, having an online yoga presence, offering guided meditations, selling yoga mats, etc. – and also expecting to achieve these goals in 6 months to a year. It was not practical and ultimately set myself up to fail when I wouldn’t meet (or be anywhere near) my goal! It would leave me feeling defeated and wanting to give up.

After having a heart to heart with myself through a ton of journaling and meditation, I realized how much pressure I was putting on myself, I needed to take a step back and see this from a different perspective. I had to ask myself, “I were talking to a really good friend what would I say to them in this moment?” The response was met with compassion and grace, to let myself off the hook for not meeting goals, expand timelines out further, begin to bring joy into the process and celebrate the smaller wins.

As I started to shift my focus and began to fall in love with the process, I found joy in the journey of building my business and celebrating the small wins (even if they felt really silly and really tiny!), I began to notice the big ones followed shortly after!

With perseverance, patience and gratitude just about anything is possible!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown is an incredible book if you feel like you struggle with perfectionism – which is the need to be, feel or appear to be perfect, even the belief that it’s possible to achieve perfection. This book will crack your heart open and help you take down walls so you can be your most authentic self.

This isn’t necessarily a business book BUT if you struggle to be your authentic self or find yourself aiming to please everyone – this one is for you. Too often has perfectionism slowed the growth of my business as I get stuck, paralyzed by perfection, not sure which move to make or knowing that the social post/yoga class or event won’t go *perfectly* so it doesn’t happen at all! (The worst outcome of all!)

Here’s my favorite quote from Brene Brown: “done is better than perfect.”

I find that the more we pour into ourselves and can show up as our most authentic selves, the more it benefits your business. The authentic energy is felt in business by your clients, it’s seen on social + sets you apart from the rest!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lifesimplified.shop/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_lifesimplified/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5N4nqn7WKpmby-cgid-MzQ
• Other: Personal IG: https://www.instagram.com/alimcg_/

Image Credits
Lindsay Oien