Melissa is the newest addition to YogiTriathlete's coaching team. She started with us on January 1st, and her magnetism as a coach has attracted spectacular athletes to her roster so far. We love having her on the team alongside coaches Daniel, Chef Lynda, BJ, and myself.

The other piece we love so much is how it all went down.

Melissa and I connected on Instagram a few years ago, and I had the honor of spending seven nights and eight days with her on a retreat last year in Costa Rica. Of course, I now understand that experience poured the foundation for our expanded relationship that began last fall. On November 28th, we launched the OH Show, announcing we wanted to hire a running coach. On December 5th, Melissa posted on Instagram that she was looking to take on athletes for coaching, a post I saw the following day.

I immediately sent her a DM to see if she was open to talking, which she answered absolutely! But even before her response, I knew the person I described in my ask to the universe was just delivered. However, in all that is universal love, Melissa is everything we asked for and more. She is a long-distance runner, coach, triathlete, and herbalist currently finishing her Master's in Clinical Herbal Medicine at the Maryland University of Integrated Health.

Melissa's coaching surrounds running, strength training, cross-training, mobility, whole-body wellness, and herbal consultations for athletes who seek optimal human performance.

Her philosophy focuses on "pushing the boundaries we draw for ourselves and stepping past resistance."

Thank you to our patrons who support this podcast and the Awake Athlete podcast on Patreon. If you want to learn about what it means to be a patron, please visit patreon.com/yogitriathlete.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Melissa's path to YogiTriathlete

- the experience of "retreat life"

- growth from contrast

- coaching perspective

- in giving, we receive

- band nerd to endurance athlete

- knowing when to rest in order to absorb fitness

- how cycling and swimming benefit run performance

- consistency and routine helps build good habits

- trust over fear

- connecting with ourselves through nature

- herbalism for athletes

- Melissa’s ethos - meditation, nutrition, mindset, and consistency

Namaste-

Jess