Yoga with Melissa

How to Advance Your Yoga Practice

This is the perfect yoga class to gently guide your beginner yoga practice to the intermediate level. In this yoga class I will show you several tips and tricks for taking your beginner level yoga practice to the intermediate level. There are simple ways to progress your yoga practice and in each pose I will show you how to deepen, advance, elevate and take your practice to the next level.

Poses: Hand to Big Toe Pose, Figure Four Pose and Pigeon Pose, Cat Pose, Lunge Pose, Tree Pose, Chair Pose, Wide Legged Standing Forward Fold, Bridge Pose, Knee to Chest Pose, Reclined Twist Pose, Savasana

Modifications and Variations will be given to listen to your body and to support you in advancing your practice.

Props Used: Yoga Strap, Blocks, Blanket

Yin Yoga Release the Day

Today’s class is a 60 minute minimal cues yin yoga to release the day. There will be no instruction except when to come in and out of the yin yoga poses. In this class we assume you have knowledge of the yin postures and the principles of yin. You will be holding your yin postures for 5 minutes. Modifications and Options will be given, but briefly to honour minimal cues.

Props Recommended: bolster, blocks, eye pillow, blanket

Daily Guided Breathing Exercise for Anxiety

This is a short, simple and uncomplicated yoga sequence that will allow you to release anxiety with yoga breathing and movements. By moving your spine in all directions you will open up your thoracic spine and lungs so that letting go of your breath on the exhalation will become even easier. Then we will focus on a “sigh of relief” to let go of anxiety. For this class you will need a chair.

30 minute Yin Yoga Sequence for a Happy Liver Organ System

Today’s class is a Yin Yoga Sequence for a Happy Liver Organ System 

Welcome to Yoga with Melissa, Real Yoga for Real People Today you are going to need a blanket, blocks,  and an eye pillow

I want to let you know that the teachings that I am sharing today are coming out of my forthcoming  book The Elemental Self: 5 Element Yin Yoga. I know many of you are also teachers and take inspiration from these classes and I would ask that if you do so, to let your students know that they will be able to learn more about themselves, the five elements and yin yoga from my book   when it comes out. I am currently in the revision phase but hope to finish it this year. 

Your liver meridian begins at your big toes, then runs up the inside of your legs, through your torso, throat, lips and ends at your eyes. 

Our liver meridian organ system is about our vision for our lives. Right now a lot of us are experiencing anger, frustration, and irritation, or liver out of balance because given our current conditions with many countries in second and third lockdowns the growth and upward movement that normally experiences freedom of movement has been restricted right now.  

The yin yoga sequence will be toe stand, revolved bound angle, sphinx, toe stand and will explore how to find happiness through your liver organ system given the current restrictions in our world right now and how that relates to five element theory. 

 

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PLAYLISTS

30 Day Beginner Yoga Challenge http://bit.ly/30DayBeginnerYoga

Yoga Classes by Style http://bit.ly/ywmstyle

Yoga Classes by Length http://bit.ly/ywmlength

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My Gifts to You

8 Days of Yoga for Back Pain   https://melissawest.com/backpain/ 

Learn Yin Yoga in 5 Days   https://melissawest.com/yinyoga5/ 

10 Days of Yoga for Anxiety https://melissawest.com/anxiety/ 

7 Days of Yoga for Better Sleep

30 minute Yin Yoga for Self-Compassion

In this short yin yoga class for self compassion we will practice child’s pose, broken wing pose, heart opening pose and savasana to offer ourselves self compassion.

We will begin with the principles of yin with a focus on self compassion. We will find an appropriate edge in a way that brings the qualities of self compassion. We will soften with self compassion so that there is a tenderness as we ease into the expression of your yin poses. We will be still in our yin poses so that we do not escape sensations or try to intensify them and we we will stay for awhile allowing ourselves to offer ourselves self compassion.

During the long five minute holds in each of the yin yoga postures we will explore: What is self compassion? We will explore how self compassion does not lead to laziness but joy, happiness and optimism. We will finish with a long savasana and a self compassion poem that I wrote myself. These teachings are based on the teachings of Kristin Neff and her book Self Compassion.

60 minute Yin Yoga to Cultivate Your Divine Feminine Energy

This 60 minute yin yoga class is about cultivating your divine feminine. You are going to need 2 blocks, a blanket, an eye pillow and a yoga bolster.

We all have masculine and feminine energy within us. In order to balance our masculine and feminine energy we need to spend some time cultivating our divine feminine energy. It is no secret that most of our lives are spent in our masculine energy: focused on productivity, logic, actions and results.

When we take the time to cultivate our divine feminine energy we bring the masculine and feminine energies into union and this gives our masculine action and productivity inspiration.

The quiet, still, receptive, feminine practice of yin yoga is one of the most perfect styles of yoga to practice cultivating the divine feminine qualities that are already within each and every one of us, whether you are a man or a woman.

My intention in this 60 minute yin yoga class to cultivate the divine feminine is to spend 5 minutes being in each yin yoga pose to RECEIVE the qualities of the divine feminine. Those qualities are BEING, RECEIVING, FEELINGS, BODY WISDOM, INTUITION, CREATIVITY. This class will be inward focused, it will allow you to connect with your innate wisdom, and to surrender to the healing energy of the sacred feminine that flows up from the earth.

We will begin our class reclined with a 5 minute centering. The yin sequence to cultivate the divine femiinine in this class are: wide knee child’s pose with a side bend, psoas release over the bolster, figure four, figure four twist, malasana or squat, savasana. Each yin yoga pose will be held for five minutes and options and modifications will be given throughout the class.

Our poem in savasana today is called: “A Few Words On The Soul” by Wislawa Szymborska

20 minute Daily Eye Yoga Class

This is a 20 minute, real time yoga class that you can do daily for your eyes. These six exercises will reduce the eye strain that we experience from staring at our computer screens for hours on end and focusing on objects that are close in.

Eye yoga also stimulates your vagus nerve. When we mindfully practice eye yoga, we are actually stimulating the ventral vagus nerve and sending a message to our brain that it is okay to relax.

So when you stimulate your vagus nerve with eye yoga, you are actually sending a message to your body that it is time to relax and de-stress, which will lead to long-term improvements in mood, well-being and resilience.

If you are looking to reduce the eye strain from screen time and reduce stress, improve your relaxation response, this eye yoga video is for you.

30 minute Daily Yin Yoga for Constipation

In this 30 minute daily yin yoga class I am going to teach you the best yin yoga poses for constipation relief. If you experience bloating and cramps due to constipation, this short yin yoga sequence will help to relax your colon and then put pressure on your colon to move the feces along. This is the best yin yoga for digestion and constipation. If you have gastric constipation or constipation due to IBS, then these yin yoga positions for constipation will help to relax your stomach, intestines and relieve your chronic constipation. If you are looking for better digestion, the components of relaxation and compression that I offer here with these yin yoga poses will improve your digestion. 

Dr. Melissa West, from Victoria B.C. Canada has been releasing an hour long video every Friday on this YouTube channel since 2009. On her Yoga Lifestyle with Melissa channel she releases a she answers your questions on Wednesdays. She specializes in helping you let go of all the tension, anxiety and stress in your life through yin yoga, restorative yoga, hatha yoga and yoga nidra/sleep yoga. If you are looking for a reprieve from the burdens of everyday life, Melissa’s videos offer the best in relaxation, peace and calm. 

Thank you so much for watchin this video, giving it a thumbs up, leaving your comment and sharing it with a friend who would appreciate it.  Subscribe for a video like this every Wednesday at 9 am PT.

Restorative Yoga for Stress Relief

For this 30 minute daily restorative yoga for stress relief you will need a bolster, 2 blocks, a blanket, an eye pillow and a yoga strap. This short restorative yoga class is perfect to practice daily for stress management, anxiety relief and depression. It is short enough to put on every day so that you can release the daily stressors of life. These restorative yoga poses will slow you down and relieve the tension that comes from the accumulation of stress and anxiety in just 30 minutes. 

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Chair Yoga Class for Back Care with Sherry Zak Morris

Whether you are dealing with back pain, a back injury or want to keep your back healthy, Chair Yoga can help! Join Sherry Zak Morris, a Certified Yoga Therapist who specializes in helping people gain back mobility, as she guides you through safe and effective movements that will support and nourish your spine and its supporting structures.

Hi, I’m Sherry with YogaVista.TV. I am grateful to be a guest once again on the Yoga with Melissa YouTube channel. Today I share a Chair Yoga class that is easily accessible and effective for those who are dealing with back issues.  If you come over to my YogaJP YouTube channel , you will see the Yoga Nidra for Sleep that Melissa has created for you.   

If you want more Chair Yoga VIdeos with Sherry, visit YogaVista.TV.

Back Pain Playlist on Yoga with Melissa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7nfAnX_WiQ&list=PLdFcYtDajz238Q2FNZttgIjUrYQ9POqYV

 

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