Yoga

Yoga includes classes from vinyasa, ashtanga, hatha, yin, and aerial, as well as specialty workshops focusing on inversions and back bending! Classes range from one to four hours depending on number of students and ability level. Classes range from beginner to advanced and can also be taught as mixed level.

Mel is a 500-hour Yoga Alliance certified yoga instructor (ID: 140985) and continuing education provider (RYT 500, e-RYT 200, YACEP). To view Mel's Yoga Alliance profile, including teaching and training hours, click here.

Available Classes

Ashtanga (Astanga Primary Series)

Ashtanga (Astanga) is the practice of a set series of postures by K. Pattabhi Jois. This class is dedicated to primary series and focuses on bringing in the ujjayi breath, breathing through transitions, and the classic swing throughs and jump backs to and from vinyasas that distinguish this practice. Each posture is generally held for five full breaths. Students will also learn more Sanskrit and Sanskrit counting. Classes are available in complete traditional style, as well as semi-traditional that focus on slight changes to support student development and advancement.

Beginner: students will work through the foundational components of the Ashtanga practice, learning the sequence and modifications that allow students to work through the practice at their own level and pace. Modifications include pose modifications, rests in child's pose (balasana), lifts on blocks instead of full vinyasa on the floor, and the use of props when needed.

Intermediate: students will work on endurance, swing throughs and jump backs with and without blocks, as well as exercises to help support these flows. Students will work at half vinyasa after each set of postures.

Advanced: students will go through all of primary series at half or full vinyasa (to standing) between each posture as well as working through all poses in the sequence.

Note: although traditional Ashtanga practice does not use props, beginner and intermediate students can use props to help support needed modifications, alignment, and development.

Vinyasa

Enjoy the wonderful flow of vinyasa practice! Learn to play with different postures, progressions, and breathing, while working through the ujjayi breath. Vinyasa classes start with warm up and progress to standing series, floor series, inversions, and cool down. Vinyasa practice is a great way to increase strength and flexibility, while enjoying the mindfulness practice of yoga. Each posture is generally held for five full breaths.

Beginner: students will work through foundational postures and sequences such as sun salutations and related variations (surya namaskara), downward dog (arda mukta savasana), warrior (virabhadrasana), tree (vriksasana), one legged pigeon (eka pada rajakapotasana), seated forward fold (paschimottanasana), leg bends, back bends, and introduction to inversions. All students will learn on ways to activate the lower pelvic floor to support stability, strength, and balance throughout the practice.

Intermediate: students will work on endurance, staying in flow for longer, as well as intermediate postures such as half moon (ardha chandrasana), monkey (hanumanasana), crow (bakasana), and forearm stand (pincha mayurasana) and other inversions, while taking a deeper focus into the breath and transitions.

Advanced: advanced students will start to work lifts and transitions from poses into vinyasa sequences, such as downward facing dog jump to crow, to headstand, pop to handstand, back to crow, to four limbed staff pose (arda mukta savasana to bakasana to adho mukha vrksasana to bakasana to chaturanga dandasana).

Rocket (I, II, III)

Rocket is the practice of a set series of postures by Larry Schultz based off of the Ashtanga (Astanga) practice. Rocket is great for students who love the practice of Ashtanga but have hit a plateau and want to continue to advanced their yoga practice. This class will focus on bringing in the ujjayi breath to flows, advanced transitions between sequences, as well as the classic swing throughs and jump backs to and from vinyasas that distinguish the Ashtanga practice. Each posture is generally held for five full breaths. Classes are available in complete traditional style, as well as semi-traditional that focus on slight changes to support student development and advancement.

Beginner: students will work through the foundational components of rocket as well as inversions and transitions, learning the sequence and modifications that allow students to work through the practice at their own level and pace.

Intermediate: students will work on endurance, swing throughs and jump backs with and without blocks, as well as exercises to help support these flows.

Advanced: students will go through all of the series with all transitions.

Prerequisites: students should have a basic knowledge of yoga practice and have experience working on inversions.

Aerial

Aerial yoga is the practice of vinyasa yoga in a suspended fabric. Aerial yoga takes traditional postures such as warrior (virabhadrasana) and triangle (trikonasana) and modifies them by placing limbs into the fabric. This practice is great for balance, stability, and working the core stabilizer muscles, as well as for flexibility, alignment, and strength! Aerial is also great for working on inversions!

Note: this class differentiates from fitness-related aerial classes such as anti-gravity yoga.

For aerial dance or aerial cocoon, click here!

Core Vinyasa

Love vinyasa but want that extra core workout? Core vinyasa does just that! We add various core postures and exercises that teach students to find and activate different areas of the abdominals and obliques to support alignment and development. These include emphasizing pelvic tucking in traditional standing postures, working on goddess pose (utkata konasana), as well as lifts and boat pose (navasana) that target the core!

Hatha

Hatha practice is great for students starting yoga or rehabilitating after injuries. A slower practice than traditional vinyasa, hatha takes the time to connect the breath and the body and really bring the meditative practice into the physical practice. This practice is less focused on advanced physical postures, and more on the connection of the mind, body, and spirit.

Yin

Yin yoga is a passive cooling practice that is focused on fascial and myo-fascial release. Fascia is the soft connective tissue that connect our bodies (just like the white stuff in an orange!). Yin focuses on long and passive holds that allow our bodies to release, not only relaxing and lengthening the muscles, but the connective tissue between our muscles (fascia) and tissue surrounding our muscles (myo-fascia). Yin is a cooling practice in that we focus on relaxing our bodies. Poses are typically held between two and five minutes per pose and is used with props to find comfortable positions that can be held for long periods without strain and discomfort. Yin is differentiated from heated practices like vinyasa and Ashtanga where the body is heated to stretch. It is important to note that yin in is not meant for increasing your general flexibility.

Mysore

Mysore is the traditional self-practice of Ashtanga (Astanga) with a guiding instructor, one-to-one teaching in a group setting. Students work through their Ashtanga practice with their own breath, in their own time, at their own level, while an instructor goes around supporting each student wherever they are in their practice. The instructor also helps students learn the series. This class is excellent for students to really focus on their own breath and growth and start to add in Mysore related sequences, such as drop backs and dead lifts.

Prerequisites: previous yoga experience, preferably in Ashtanga.

*Please note that the Mysore certification differs from Yoga Alliance certifications. Although Mel is certified in Ashtanga in both her 200 and 300 hour YTT, she is not certified by KPJAYI in Mysore for traditional Mysore practice.

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Specialty Workshops

Arm Balances

This workshop focuses on arm balancing postures of yoga, including crow pose (kakasana), crane pose (bakasana), shoulder-pressing pose (bhujapidasana), eight angle pose (astavakrasana), firefly pose (tittibhasana), peacock pose (mayurasana), and more! Learn not only the yoga techniques for inversions, but gymnastics and circus techniques that can support balance, stability, and strength to achieve inverted and advanced inverted postures.

Beginner: focusing on the basics of inversions, primarily crow pose, headstand, and forearm stand, as well as exercises and entries that can support postural development.

Intermediate: for students who have a grasp on basic balances such as crow and headstand, learn more advanced balancing postures as well as variations of these postures, such as arm and leg variations for headstands, and core engaging exercises that support handstand development. Intermediate students will also start to work on handstands and handstand exercises that allow students to practice on their own safely.

Advanced: working on advanced postures such as handstand and shoulder-pressing pose, as well as leg variations such as lotus, and transitions in and out of advanced inversions.

Inversions

Love inversions! We do too! This workshop focuses on the inversion and hand balancing practice of yoga including crow pose (bakasana), forearm stand (pincha mayurasana), headstand (sirsana), and handstand (adho mukha vrksasana), and more! Learn not only the yoga techniques for inversions, but gymnastics and circus techniques that can support balance, stability, and strength to achieve inverted and advanced inverted postures.

Beginner: focusing on the basics of inversions, primarily crow pose, headstand, and forearm stand, as well as exercises and entries that can support postural development.

Advanced: working on advanced postures such as handstand and shoulder-pressing pose, as well as leg variations such as lotus, and transitions in and out of advanced inversions.

Handstands

Working on the ever-elusive handstand? Or have you mastered the handstand and want to start deepening your handstand practice with press ups, press downs (negative press), lotus (padmasana), and more? Students will learn how to align their bodies, what areas to push into for longevity and wrist protection, as well as exercises that support alignment, strength, and balance development.

Learn not only the yoga techniques for inversions, but gymnastics and circus techniques that can support balance, stability, and strength to achieve and grow your handstand!

Beginner: focusing on the basics of handstands, including wrist press and shoulder alignment, handstand entries, exits, and strength building exercises for all levels.

Intermediate: for students who have a grasp on the basic handstand principles and are learning to find balance more than five 5-10 seconds. Students will dive deeper into alignment principles, finger balancing and exercises, entrances and exits, as well as working shoulder strength and endurance.

Advanced: for students who have a comfortable and consistent handstand without spot, working on press handstands, negative press into forward fold or to the ground, new entrances and exits, as well as working leg variations such as arched scorpion handstand (adho mukha vrksasana), lotus (padmasana), and other variations.

Aerial Yoga Inversions

For student or studios with aerial yoga capability, using the fabrics is a great way to support inversion practices! Exercises include tuck ups, pike ups, handstands and more! Students will also learn wraps in the fabrics that allow them to find inverted balance in forearm stand and handstand to help support balance and strength.

Back Bends

Love back bends or have trouble backing bending? This workshop is fantastic for students who want to focus on back bending in a happy and safe way! Many of the students who get back pain due to back bends do so because of lack of modification for shoulder flexibility and getting in and out of back bends incorrectly (yes, there is an incorrect way!) Learn back bending, chest opening, and shoulder flexibility exercises that support back flexibility and bending such as in full wheel (urdhva dhanurasana), bow pose (dhanurasana), king pigeon pose (rajakapotasana), forearm stand scorpion (vrischikasana), camel pose (ustrasana), and more!

Beginner: students will focus on the basics of back bending that support a healthy spine and longevity, including exercises and modification of traditional poses that protect the lower back and sacroiliac joint (SI joint).

Intermediate/advanced: for students who have a comfortable full wheel pose, students will start to learn exercises that continue to support back flexibility and spinal safety. In addition, students will learn advanced back bending poses in progressions as well as dead lifts and drop backs.

Advanced Postures

Do you have an advanced yoga practice and are you interested in working on yoga poses that boggle the mind? This workshop is for you! This class focuses on workshopping advanced yoga postures such as king pigeon pose (kapotasana), pose dedicated to the sage koundinya II (eka pada koundinyanasana II), formidable face pose (ganda bherundasana), hummingbird pose (maksikanagasana), flying crow pose (eka pada galavasana), and more!

Prerequisites: students should have a strong yoga practice and be familiar with arm balances.

Yogalates

Yogalates combines that physical practice of yoga with the fitness focus of Pilates, giving students that extra emphasis on physical fitness. We combine traditional yoga postures with traditional Pilates movement for extra core and muscle activation. Although this class includes Pilates and other fitness components and exercise, the flow is still vinyasa yoga-like. For all levels!

Meditation & Mindfulness

Meditation and mindfulness is a key component of yoga practice and a practice in its own form. This workshop focuses on meditation, ways to find a meditative practice, including comfortable postures, thought processes, music options, guided meditation options, and more. Sometimes we need to find a moment for ourselves, bringing us back into the present to be able to enjoy each and every moment. As a mindfulness practitioner, Mel will also introduce mindfulness practices to help support a happy and healthy lifestyle.

Yoga Doubles

Love working with a partner? Yoga doubles does just that! Learn how to deepen your postures and that of your partner with yoga doubles! Learn the transitions in and out of yoga doubles practice, including counter weighting, breathe work, back and forth chest opening and forward folding, and more! A fun and enjoyable way to play with yoga!

Acro Yoga

L-basing and acro yoga is a form of partner acrobatics that takes place with bases on the floor on their backs holding flyers up with hands and/or feet. Classes range from beginner to advanced poses to washing machine flows. These classes are great for students being introduced to acro and acro yoga.

Thai Therapeutics Partner Acro Yoga

Need to relax? This workshop combines L-basing with Thai massage. Students will learn and introduction to Thai massage practices in yoga, massage, and acro contexts. Great for learning acro as well as getting a massage! For students still learning the basics to acro yoga and L-basing.

Acro Yoga & Thai Therapeutics

Interested in learning acro and Thai massage and combining them? This workshop is great for beginners and intermediate students looking for a thorough introduction to the different types of acro. Students will learn different combinations and sequences in both traditional acro L-basing and Thai therapeutics.

Acrobatics

For group or partner acrobatics, see acro!

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