Yoga with Melissa

Yin Yoga

In Chinese Medicine Theory there are three things, three treasures that are essential to sustaining your human life. Jing, Chi and Shen.

Each of these three treasures contributes to your overall health and well-being.

Jing chi is the essence energy which you were born with, inherited from your parents.

It is the basis for your growth, development and reproduction.

Chi is the vital energy and life force in your body.

Shen is the spirit.

This full length yin yoga class explores the Taoist Three Treasures through the practice of yin yoga.

Through long holds in yin yoga poses we will open the kidney meridian organ system, the liver meridian organ system and the heart meridian organ system.

During the holds we will explore the concept of the three treasures and how they relate to the principles of yin yoga.

The three treasures refer to jing chi, chi and shen, your essence energy, life force energy and spirit.

This yin yoga class will restore your chi and nourish your spirit from the very foundation of your being with the assistance of the long holds of yin yoga.

Yoga Nidra

This yoga nidra for new beginnings is perfect for new beginnings and the new year.

It will allow you some space for stillness and silence to connect with your deepest Self and discover your innermost needs in a deeply relaxed liminal space between waking and sleeping, dreaming and meditating.

In this place of relaxed spacious awareness you will connect with your heart´s desire and know intrinsically what is needed to look after yourself, your spirit and how to stay balanced in the new year.

This yoga nidra is recommended for repeated listening.

Regular practice of this yoga nidra for new beginnings and will augment the positive results you will experience from your meditation sessions.

Repeated practice allows for cumulative and enhanced experience.

Namaste, Melissa

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10 Day Get Started Yoga Program for Beginners

If you are looking to learn yoga from the best beginner yoga teacher on YouTube then sign up for my 10 day Yoga Get Started Yoga for Beginners Program.

In it I will share my best tips for taking beginner yoga classes, how to start yoga at home if you are a beginner, explain why yoga works, talk about how hatha yoga works, how to breathe in yoga and more.

 

Restorative Yoga

In this restorative yoga class for energy I will share with you the biggest and most common mistake you can avoid making when setting your intention for the new year.

At this time of year there is a tremendous amount of energy to get up and do something, to make something happen. Whether that be to lose weight, to exercise more, or some version of becoming a better person in some shape or form. Often we turn to our yoga practice as the way to make that ¨something¨ happen.

This follows on time of year when we have experienced additional social and financial demands that have left our energy reserves overextended, dispersed and drained. Our capacity for change and transformation are not possible or sustainable when our energetic reserves are depleted.

Join me for this restorative yoga class when we will take the overlooked step of regeneration. When the depleted and dispersed energy reserves have been restored you will have the energy necessary for your next growth cycle.

Hatha Yoga

To celebrate the shortest day of the year I have a full length hatha yoga class for winter solstice for you this week.

This class is a playful class that combines hip openers and standing postures to welcome back the light.

This hatha yoga class is extra special because it is accompanied by an ancient story of gift culture and the origins of light as we welcome back the light.

Through the class we will invoke the return of the light, do a few rounds of simple rounds of sun salutations as well as some playful variations of tree pose, Krishna pose and boat pose.

The class and story finishes with tortoise pose.

If you prefer classes with little to no talking just so you know, there is a story woven throughout this class, which basically means narration throughout.

I would recommend one of my recent yin yoga or restorative yoga yoga classes if you are in the mood for a lot of silence.

Yin Yoga for Holiday Stress Relief

Restorative Yoga for a Common Cold

Join our Membership Community for our 8 Week Beginner Yoga Course

Yoga for Beginners Course with Melissa

This 8 week Yoga for Beginners Course is the most comprehensive and easy way to learn yoga slowly over time at your own pace. Complete it in 8 weeks or take your time. Melissa has chosen these classes and put them in the best order for you to be able to learn hatha yoga step by step. Within this framework you will be able to see what beginner yoga classes you have completed, you can mark your favourite classes and you can bookmark classes that you want to come back to. Each week you will be given space for rest and renewal with restorative yoga and yoga nidra (sleep yoga). You will begin with basic hatha yoga classes, learn the parts of a hatha yoga class, learn beginner yoga poses, learn the concepts that come up again and again in a beginner yoga class, practice some of the most requested classes from beginners including strength, flexibility and letting go of stress. This truly is the most comprehensive beginner yoga course available on the web and Melissa is here to support you on your journey here each step of the way in our community.

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Yin Yang Yoga for Holidays

As we enter into the holiday season all the enjoyment of super yummy food, extra travel and holiday stress can wreak havoc on our digestive systems.

Digestive issues from the stomach pain of overeating, gas, heartburn, acid reflux, and constipation are common with big holiday meals.

You are offering the most friendly, loving and kind thing yourself by taking the time for this Yin Yang Yoga practice right now to settle your digestive system.

This yin yang yoga class begins with a yin yoga sequence to support your stomach and spleen meridians to aid in digestion.

Digestive problems from abdominal pain, bloating, or fluid retention are not uncommon during the holiday season when we are enjoying delicious rich foods, feasts with friends and family and traveling to do all of that.

Meeting ourselves with nurturing care is as you are doing with this practice one of the kindest and most benevolent things we can do for our digestive systems.

The yang portion of this class will combine classic hatha yoga poses to relax your digestive system and aid in your digestion along with qigong inspired yoga to calm and aid your digestion.

The icing on the cake of this Yin Yang Class for digestion is an extended guided Digestive Breathing practice at the end of the class in the place of savasana. The breathing practice is done lying down and is deeply relaxing and nourishing. Enjoy!

Namaste, Melissa

Holiday Stress Relief

This is a one hour full body yin yoga class to relieve stress for the holidays. The yin yoga poses will focus on the kidney, liver, spleen and heart meridians.

Yin yoga is a mindfulness practice that has its roots in Buddhist philosophy.

This class will draw on the first noble truth of Buddhism, suffering to help us understand why the holidays can be so stressful for us.

When we have idealized versions of the holidays or expectation of how the holidays should be that rarely measure up to our experience of reality.

Before we start beating ourselves up for these unrealistic expectations of how we want to be for the holidays or how we want the holidays to turn out, we will recognize that everywhere we turn in the modern world of advertising and consumerism we are being sold the illusion of a holiday season that is perfect and without flaw.

Additionally we are being sold solutions that can solve all your problems and make your life perfect and happy.

Throughout this yin yoga class to relieve holiday stress we will reflect on our expectations for the holiday season.

We will be curious about our expectations of how family gatherings will go, what we want to be able to give vs. what we are able to give, how others will receive our gifts, and trying to create an ideal holiday.

Yoga Nidra Ocean Meditation

Today Melissa West offers you a Yoga Nidra Ocean Meditation.

This yoga nidra visualization will allow you to escape the swift currents of life and take a deep dive into the regenerative depths of the ocean for which your spirit is so desperately longing.

The practice opens with a short excerpt from a poem called Ocean by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

From there you can settle into this calming yoga nidra as only Melissa West can offer.

Combining her skillful, poetic wordcraft with her knowledge of the subtle meridian body Melissa will take you through an enchanted acupuncture treatment or an energetic massage that will nurture and renew you.

Members, there is direct link to your downloadable audio file in the show notes for you so you can enjoy this Yoga Nidra Ocean Meditation in your earbuds anywhere you want to sink into the mystery of your depths.

Member Audio Download of Yoga Nidra Ocean Meditation: Replenish Your Depths : Click Here

Sign up here for 7 days to better sleep with yoga and I will send you 1 video a day for 7 days with the best of yoga, ayurveda, self massage and pranayama (or breath practices) to help you get the best night’s sleep.

Full Hatha Yoga Class

This intermediate hatha yoga class is a place of shelter, safety, protection and relief from the excessive consumerism and drive to accumulate that has become characteristic the commercial push of Black Friday only hours after the celebration of American Thanksgiving.

In this intermediate hatha yoga class we will take the time to pause and remember the preciousness of our human life. We are healthy and have enough energy that we can practice yoga. We are of sane mind and live in countries that allow us to think and express ourselves freely. We are lucky enough to live in a time when the teachings of yoga are shared freely and are easy to access. In the information age, ignorance is a choice. I live in a country that is free of the danger of war and so I have enough safety to practice as well.

Each day I wake up is another precious day, this will not always be so. The time of my death is uncertain, the time of the death of those I love in my life is uncertain. Given that I know I only have limited time, and that eventually everyone in my life will be gone, I will not put things off, I will live in a way that I put the things that matter the most first.

My actions have power. The actions I choose to offer in this world can be skillful and mindful. I will do my best to avoid actions that harm myself or others by deepening my practice so that I may act with wisdom and insight.

Part of being a human means that there is suffering. There is physical and mental pain and illness. When we experience something we like we want more of it, if we don´t like it we push it away, and there are times when I am simply asleep at the wheel. May I always remember that suffering is a part of life and that life is continually changing.

In this hatha yoga class we will focus on heart and hip openers along with the warrior postures including warrior one, dying warrior, reverse warrior and warrior three. Poses like cat pose and gate pose will elongate your spine in preparation for some of the bigger backbends like camel. Modifications will be given throughout and props will be offered.

Yoga for the Common Cold

This restorative yoga class for when you have a common cold modifies all the restorative yoga postures to account for congestion in the nasal passages and in the chest. Keeping the head above the heart alleviates pressure in the head. Backbends open up the chest and encourages the flow of lymph through the lymph nodes in the armpits. There are also hip openers to encourage the flow of lymph through the groin to boost your immune system. This class is bolstered by the poetry of John O’Donohue to add gentle support when you are not feeling well.

Yoga for Immunity Videos YouTube - Click Here

Best Video to Prevent Illness Before You Get Sick

Immunity Boost

This yoga video is designed to increase your immunity against colds, flu and illness in general. Dr. Melissa West will teach you how to stimulate the organs and glands of the immune system including the thymus, spleen, lymphatic system and digestive system. You will also strengthen the electromagnetic energy field that surrounds you giving you an extra layer of protection from the outside influence and disease. Through this video you will develop your powers of resistance. By bathing your cells in healing energy you will finish this video radiating good health.

Link for Members: Click Here

Best Yoga Videos Once you are Sick

Yoga for Recuperation Series:

Restorative Yoga for Illness Acceptance 36 mins

Yoga Nidra for Healing 32 mins (member favourite)

Yoga for your Spleen 25 mins

Yoga for your Thymus and Tonsils 23 mins

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Tree Pose

We start resting into the support of the earth as we always do. Letting go of the tension of our physical, emotional, mental and energetic bodies down and into the earth like the root system of a tree sinking down into the earth.

While trees continually seek to grow and expand upward and outwards, their root systems grow down and out into the earth. The tremendous expansive movement of wood element relies on the earth to cradle, nurture and nourish.

Sphinx Pose with leg up to Side 5 mins each side (15 mins)

On the inside of the tree trunk there is an intricate system of circulation and energy flow. Wood element is related to the smooth flow of chi from the liver organ system. Tune into the flow of chi in your body in these poses, do you feel a smooth and even flow of chi?

Dragonfly Pose Yin (10 mins)

The branches of the tree allow us to reflect on the yang quality of the wood element. They continually reach and expand for more and more. The branches seek more light, they grow in whatever direction they need to seek more freedom, more space, to literally branch out and expand.

Wood element sometimes keeps pushing when they should back off, ambitiously moving ahead when they should pause and reflect, tightening and resisting against obstacles when they should relax.

This is when it is useful to reflect on the principles of yin.

1. Find and appropriate edge.

2. Be Soft.

3. Be Still

4. Stay for awhile.

Part 1 is available here: Click Here

Part 2 is available here: Click Here

Advanced Study in Yoga and Meditation Course #1 Five Phase Theory: Wood Element

We all have the five phases of wood, fire, earth, metal and water within us. Each element exists to nourish all others and in return, to be nourished itself. The movement of our being are like the tides of energy expanding (yang) and contracting (yin) as we are carried along the currents of life.

Wood is the most yang of all the elements. Wood is the birth and new beginnings of spring which seeks growth and expansion. Wood is the awakening. It is the expansion of movement outward towards the surface. It is the liver organ network which stores blood and regulates the even flow of qi throughout our body.

Nov 26 Week 1: Becoming Comfortable with the most Yang of all the elements

Dec. 3 Week 2: Judicious Flow: Smooth and Even Movement

Dec 10 Week 3: Shadow Side of Wood Element

Dec 18 Week 4: Balancing Wood with Earth, Metal and Water

Practices:

Yin Yoga

Pranayama

Time in Nature

Contemplative Readings (Poetry)

This course will be limited to 12 people in each of the time slots

Mondays 9:30 am PST (2 spots remaining)

Mondays 4:00 pm PST (8 spots remaining)

Applications due by November 9, 2018

If you would like to access the remainder of the course there are four more in depth weeks of the course available in our membership community through application:

Direct Link for Members to Apply

Link to Become a Member: Click Here