Meet Althea Lawton-Thompson: Holistic Healing Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Althea Lawton-Thompson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Althea, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
My favorite, can’t-live-without-it habit is meditation. I meditate outside most days in the early morning hours when it’s still dark outside until the first light of sunrise. Being quiet and still while communicating with my spirit guides, grounds and centers me for whatever is coming during the day. I spend time outside every day, regardless of the weather. Communing with nature has an invigorating effect on me that inspires my creativity and helps me focus. Turning my phone completely off at night and waking up without technology (no tv, phone, laptop) allows me to hear myself think. Some of my best ideas come to me in the quiet, uninterrupted minutes as I’m first waking up.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
As I was growing my wellness company, I was also growing my family, giving birth to two sons. I really wanted to travel to Europe to promote my first fitness video, which was selling very well there, but I’d just given birth to my second son and was nursing exclusively. Choosing to be a stay-at-home mother who was very involved in her kids lives didn’t offer me the freedom and time I felt growing my business needed. But I wanted to be with my boys more than I wanted to grow my business, and they always came first. I was originally going to wait until my younger son graduated from high school to expand my business internationally, but great opportunities started popping up when he was a sophomore. I began taking solo trips to Southeast Asia, Central America, and South America to explore indigenous healing practices from different cultures, or spending days off-the-grid backpacking in the Washington Cascades along the Canadian border. I missed some important events like his junior prom, but I didn’t want to miss out on what was important to me, too. So I chose which things I was willing to let my husband experience for both of us in order to expand my company and myself when the opportunities presented themselves. I’ve now hosted 18 wellness retreats in 7 different countries, and my sons are proud of me and the company I built while raising them. After graduating from college, my older son came to work for the company as the Operations Manager and has been a huge asset through the changes we’ve had to make during Covid. I think we all learned the valuable lesson that no one person in our family is more important than the others. It’s all about balance, compromise, and mutual respect for each one of us and our individual dreams.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love the outdoors, so I’d definitely take a visiting friend walking and hiking on the natural trails of Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Red top Mountain in Cartersville, and Amicalola Falls in Dahlonega. No matter the time of year, these trails are full of beauty and great views. Afterward, we’d go to one of my favorite restaurants… Tuk Tuk Thai Loft in Brookhaven for Thai food, Desta in Toco Hills and Piassa in Decatur for Ethiopian food, Mangos on Auburn Avenue for Jamaican food, or Mojitos in Norcross for Cuban food. They all offer vegetarian options for me and deliciously seasoned meat and seafood dishes for my non-vegetarian friends. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband, Maurice, has been my absolute biggest supporter and cheerleader from the very beginning. When I wanted to leave corporate America in 1996 to make wellness my full-time career, he was the only one to tell me, “Go for it!” My sister-friend, Yvonne, worked with me on building my international bestselling video series and television show before we moved from Maryland to Atlanta to open a Yoga and wellness studio. She physically supported every one of my business concepts until she passed away in 2010. It was because of her and our experiences together that the current tagline for my business is “Living Life Limitlessly”.

Website: AltheaLawtonThompson.com

Instagram: instagram.com/althealawtonthompson

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/althealawtonthompson

Facebook: facebook.com/altheatized

Youtube: youtube.com/altheatized

Other: AYMFitness.com