Allie Labate

I started yoga for all the wrong reasons—wanting to sculpt my body, achieve impressive postures, and push my physical limits. But yoga had other plans for me. What began as a pursuit of strength and flexibility became an unraveling, a deep questioning, and a discovery of something far greater than the body. Yoga shattered the illusion that fulfillment comes from external achievements and instead led me inward—to presence, to truth, to the infinite.

I grew up in a small town in Virginia, deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. In my early 20s, I turned to bodybuilding as a way to lose weight and build muscle, dedicating nearly eight years to sculpting my physique. But beneath the surface, I developed an unhealthy relationship with my body and food—one that slowly eroded my mental and physical well-being. Yet, through bodybuilding, I cultivated a deep fascination with biomechanics, anatomy, and human performance. I became obsessed with understanding how the body moves and functions. But it wasn’t until an injury forced me to slow down that I truly began to listen—to my body, to my mind, and to something deeper within. That’s when I found yoga—and through it, I found myself.

Yoga is more than a practice; it is a path to awakening. Through asana, I learned discipline and mental focus. Through breathwork, I learned stillness. Through meditation, I learned that there is so much more to this existence than what we see on the surface. My practice and studies led me to embody yoga’s eight limbed path, dive into ancient wisdom, embrace Ayurvedic teachings as a way of life, and explore the depths of consciousness through meditation.

In 2020, I opened my first yoga studio in Durham, NC, with the intention of sharing not just the physicality of yoga, but the transformation that unfolds when you commit to the practice every day. When my husband and I moved to Winston-Salem, I continued teaching from my home before officially opening vyb studio in Winston Salem in December 2024—a space dedicated to powerful, intentional, and deeply transformative yoga.

My Teaching Style

My classes are rooted in Ashtanga and Rocket Yoga, blending discipline with play, effort with surrender. They are physically challenging, but the real work is internal—learning to move with awareness, breathe through resistance, and quiet the mind so that the soul can speak.

Beyond the mat, I am a seeker. A student of ancient texts, a lover of philosophy, a believer in the unseen. I find divinity in nature, stillness in the breath, and truth in the silence between thoughts. Yoga is not about perfecting poses—it is about remembering who you are beyond the physical.

My Experience as a Teacher Trainer

One of my greatest passions is guiding others to become confident, knowledgeable, and well-rounded yoga teachers. Since 2020, I have led three 200-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings focused on Power Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga, as well as two 75-hour specialized trainings in Progressive Vinyasa and Rocket-inspired Yoga. In 2020, I was also part of the teaching team for Yoga With Carson’s 200-Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training, which centered on Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Rocket Yoga. Additionally, I have created an online Ayurveda course to help yoga teachers and practitioners integrate the principles of Ayurvedic health and lifestyle into their practice and teaching.

My approach to teacher training is grounded in a deep understanding of how the physical body works, the art of intelligent sequencing, and embodying the Eight Limbed Path of Yoga. I teach anatomy, physiology, and alignment in a way that is functional, practical, and easy to apply in the yoga classroom. Beyond the physical, I believe in the science of yoga at every level—body, mind, and spirit. My teachings honor the Ashtanga lineage and are deeply rooted in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, helping teachers integrate the philosophical and meditative aspects of yoga into their personal practice and teaching.

Additionally, I view meditation as an essential part of the yogic path and aim to make it accessible, approachable, and an anticipated daily ritual rather than something that feels out of reach. My goal is to develop teachers who not only lead powerful, safe, and effective classes but who also understand yoga as a lifelong practice of Self-inquiry, study, and transformation.