170 Melanie Camellia: Yoga For Everybody, Accessibility, Hierarchy, and Truth

Melanie Camellia (née Williams), E-RYT 200 & YACEP, is a fat, queer, non-binary yoga teacher and accessibility advocate in Washington, DC, called to create profoundly inclusive spaces for self-inquiry and the inward journey by integrating spiritual teachings and accessible, trauma-informed movement practices with the spirit of social justice. Melanie believes that the goal of yoga, as of life, is collective liberation, and in turn challenges contemporary yoga practitioners to dismantle the oppressive systems and beliefs, within themselves and society at large, that hold us all back. They’ve been called a “tour-de-force of encouraging radical self-love” and listed among the “top thinkers and activists in the field of body positivity.” In addition to teaching group and private yoga classes, Melanie offers workshops that explore queer identity, body image, desire, pleasure, and agency. They champion diversity and equity in the yoga industry as a member of the Yoga & Body Image Coalition leadership team. They continue to serve as an expert adviser on diversity, accessibility, and ethics for the Yoga Alliance Standards Review Project and currently work with Accessible Yoga to help bring their teacher trainings and conferences to an ever-growing list of cities internationally. To learn more about Mindful Strength click here.