Yoga with Melissa

Ahimsa or Nonviolence Ahimsa, the first yama or ethical observation of Patajnali’s Yoga Sutras is often translated as “non-violence” or “nonharming.” All day long we tend to act in subtle and not so subtly aggressive ways against our experience. We are constantly in conflict within ourselves. We resist our lives from our emotional landscape, to […]

Heart Stabilization Series : Part 1

In our world I am noticing a huge sense of dis-ease, unsettling, overwhelm and a need for deep healing. This brand new series is designed to hold the space to connect with our hearts in a supported and grounded way for deep and nourishing healing.

The series begins with a yoga class to settle into your body, connect with the stable foundation of the ground underneath you for security and safety. From that place of strong, supported trust we can begin to connect with the compassion and peace that is always available for us in our hearts.

When we settle into our bodies we touch a nurturing ground of being; a sense of safety, security, belonging, and stability. It is here that we connect with life as it is. Settling into our body allows us to discover a peace and connectedness in ourselves. We recognize that just as there is joy in our life there is joy in every person’s life. Just as there is pain in our body, there is pain in every person’s body. We can trust that we belong to an interconnected community of people in this world who feel with bodies just as we feel with bodies.

When we connect with our hearts we open to ourselves, to the people around us, to our families, to our communities, to the social problems of the world, and to the wounds of the collective consciousness. We can give and receive empathy, love and compassion. We can connect with others with love.

When we connect with our hearts without wanting things to be different than they are, without violence or aggression, we will discover our pain, our desires, our grief, our losses, our secret desires, our fears, our loves, our kindness, our compassion, our giving heart, our unworthiness, our worthiness, our boredom, our shame, our unfulfilled desires, our grudges, our forgiveness, our unforgiveness, our sadness, our hurt and our healing.

Namaste, Melissa

Props: Blocks, Meditation Cushion, Blanket, Bolster

Yoga Postures/Asanas: Guided Relaxation or Front Lying Savasana, Sphinx Pose or Salamba Bhujangasana, Bridge Pose or Setu Bandhasana, Reclined Twist or jathara parivartanasana, Cat Pose or Marjaryasana, Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana, Tree Pose or Vrksasana, Uttanasana or Standing Forward Fold, Supported Fish Pose or Salamba Matsyasana, Rock the Baby Pose, Savasana or Corpse Pose, Mudra for Settling into Your Body and Connecting with your Heart

I am grateful for the incredibly healing and nourishing teachings from Jack Kornfield’s A Path With Heart which are lighting the way on my path right now.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Do you feel more settled in your body and connected to your heart? Let me know by pressing the like button.

Do you know somebody else who would like to feel more settled in their body and connected to their heart, please share this video with them.

Thank you so much for your donations: Donna, Leah, Cornelia, Donna, and Carla.

We are grateful that you are receiving value from these classes and feel inspired to make your donations.

You can also donate of your time by leaving a comment below and letting me know which part of the class helped you settle into your body and connect with your heart the most.

At the beginning of the yoga class I told you I would let you know how you could go deeper with settling into your body and connecting with your heart. In our membership community each week, we meet in small groups on Mondays where I give a teaching talk, offer a guided meditation and then you have time to receive guidance for your practice. My students who are in these weekly classes are developing their practices at an accelerated rate with the support of the teachings and their beautiful community.

We’d love for you to join our Membership Community where ...

Heart Stabilization Series : Part 1 In our world I am noticing a huge sense of dis-ease, unsettling, overwhelm and a need for deep healing. This brand new series is designed to hold the space to connect with our hearts in a supported and grounded way for deep and nourishing healing. The series begins with […]

Heart Stabilization Series : Part 1

In our world I am noticing a huge sense of dis-ease, unsettling, overwhelm and a need for deep healing. This brand new series is designed to hold the space to connect with our hearts in a supported and grounded way for deep and nourishing healing.

The series begins with a yoga class to settle into your body, connect with the stable foundation of the ground underneath you for security and safety. From that place of strong, supported trust we can begin to connect with the compassion and peace that is always available for us in our hearts.

When we settle into our bodies we touch a nurturing ground of being; a sense of safety, security, belonging, and stability. It is here that we connect with life as it is. Settling into our body allows us to discover a peace and connectedness in ourselves. We recognize that just as there is joy in our life there is joy in every person’s life. Just as there is pain in our body, there is pain in every person’s body. We can trust that we belong to an interconnected community of people in this world who feel with bodies just as we feel with bodies.

When we connect with our hearts we open to ourselves, to the people around us, to our families, to our communities, to the social problems of the world, and to the wounds of the collective consciousness. We can give and receive empathy, love and compassion. We can connect with others with love.

When we connect with our hearts without wanting things to be different than they are, without violence or aggression, we will discover our pain, our desires, our grief, our losses, our secret desires, our fears, our loves, our kindness, our compassion, our giving heart, our unworthiness, our worthiness, our boredom, our shame, our unfulfilled desires, our grudges, our forgiveness, our unforgiveness, our sadness, our hurt and our healing.

Namaste, Melissa

Props: Blocks, Meditation Cushion, Blanket, Bolster

Yoga Postures/Asanas: Guided Relaxation or Front Lying Savasana, Sphinx Pose or Salamba Bhujangasana, Bridge Pose or Setu Bandhasana, Reclined Twist or jathara parivartanasana, Cat Pose or Marjaryasana, Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana, Tree Pose or Vrksasana, Uttanasana or Standing Forward Fold, Supported Fish Pose or Salamba Matsyasana, Rock the Baby Pose, Savasana or Corpse Pose, Mudra for Settling into Your Body and Connecting with your Heart

I am grateful for the incredibly healing and nourishing teachings from Jack Kornfield’s A Path With Heart which are lighting the way on my path right now.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Do you feel more settled in your body and connected to your heart? Let me know by pressing the like button.

Do you know somebody else who would like to feel more settled in their body and connected to their heart, please share this video with them.

Thank you so much for your donations: Donna, Leah, Cornelia, Donna, and Carla.

We are grateful that you are receiving value from these classes and feel inspired to make your donations.

You can also donate of your time by leaving a comment below and letting me know which part of the class helped you settle into your body and connect with your heart the most.

At the beginning of the yoga class I told you I would let you know how you could go deeper with settling into your body and connecting with your heart. In our membership community each week, we meet in small groups on Mondays where I give a teaching talk, offer a guided meditation and then you have time to receive guidance for your practice. My students who are in these weekly classes are developing their practices at an accelerated rate with the support of the teachings and thei...

Find Your Still Center

We live in a world of endless activity that tends to pull us away from our still center. From the minute we wake up in the morning our cell phone is in our hands and we begin the endless scrolling through social media and rushing through our days. Rarely in our day to we give our minds or bodies the opportunities for stillness without activity.

Reflect on your own life, and recall a time when you weren’t busy occupying yourself with screen time or other activities to busy your mind or body. In this yoga class you will have the opportunity to feel into your body and notice what it feels like to inhabit your still center. This yoga class is an opportunity to release the busy-ness of endless activity that occupy our lives and open to the still center inside of you. Throughout the class we will explore yoga poses to release the busy-ness that keeps you from your still center rest into your still center.

The yoga poses in this hatha yoga class are grounding and centering. Gentle grounding backends will open you to a place of stillness. Quiet inversions will help you to release the busy-ness of endless activity. Grounding in a sidebending version of warrior two will allow you to notice what it feels like to inhabit your still center. A front lying twist will help you to release the busyness that distracts you from your still center. Child’s pose and a mudra for emotional balance will allow you to rest into your still center.

Props: Meditation Cushion, Block

Yoga Postures/Asanas: Setu Bandhasana or Bridge Pose, Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana, Warrior Two or Virabhadrasana Two, Wide Legged Standing Forward Fold or Prasarita Padottanasana, Sphinx pose or Salamba Bhujangasana, Front Lying Twist, Child’s Pose or Balasana, Mudra for emotional balance, Savasana or Corpse Pose

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Do you feel more connected to your still center? Let me know by pressing the like button.

Do you know somebody else who would like to feel more connected to their still center? Share this video with them.

Thank you so much for your donations: Hannah, Christine, Peige, Viola, and Anne Marie. We are grateful that you are receiving value from these classes and feel inspired to make your donations.

You can also donate of your time by leaving a comment below and letting me know which part of the class helped you find your still center the most.

At the beginning of the yoga class I told you I would help you to get more support and the leading edge research on finding your still center. I have just released 7 new soft foam roller classes for our membership community. These short classes help to release trigger points and adhesions from your body and will help you find your still center through your fascia or connective tissue.

We’d love for you to join our Membership Community where we have:

* value added content

* community of like-minded people coming together from all around the world

* receive ongoing support in deepening your yoga practice from myself, our leadership team, and our community through an online forum, weekly live classes on Mondays and monthly meetups and retreats.

Join our Membership Community: Click Here

https://www.melissawest.com/membership/membership-info/

Weekly Yoga with Melissa #371 Photos of Yoga Poses

Find Your Still Center We live in a world of endless activity that tends to pull us away from our still center. From the minute we wake up in the morning our cell phone is in our hands and we begin the endless scrolling through social media and rushing through our days. Rarely in our […]

Find Your Still Center

We live in a world of endless activity that tends to pull us away from our still center. From the minute we wake up in the morning our cell phone is in our hands and we begin the endless scrolling through social media and rushing through our days. Rarely in our day to we give our minds or bodies the opportunities for stillness without activity.

Reflect on your own life, and recall a time when you weren’t busy occupying yourself with screen time or other activities to busy your mind or body. In this yoga class you will have the opportunity to feel into your body and notice what it feels like to inhabit your still center. This yoga class is an opportunity to release the busy-ness of endless activity that occupy our lives and open to the still center inside of you. Throughout the class we will explore yoga poses to release the busy-ness that keeps you from your still center rest into your still center.

The yoga poses in this hatha yoga class are grounding and centering. Gentle grounding backends will open you to a place of stillness. Quiet inversions will help you to release the busy-ness of endless activity. Grounding in a sidebending version of warrior two will allow you to notice what it feels like to inhabit your still center. A front lying twist will help you to release the busyness that distracts you from your still center. Child’s pose and a mudra for emotional balance will allow you to rest into your still center.

Props: Meditation Cushion, Block

Yoga Postures/Asanas: Setu Bandhasana or Bridge Pose, Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana, Warrior Two or Virabhadrasana Two, Wide Legged Standing Forward Fold or Prasarita Padottanasana, Sphinx pose or Salamba Bhujangasana, Front Lying Twist, Child’s Pose or Balasana, Mudra for emotional balance, Savasana or Corpse Pose

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Do you feel more connected to your still center? Let me know by pressing the like button.

Do you know somebody else who would like to feel more connected to their still center? Share this video with them.

Thank you so much for your donations: Hannah, Christine, Peige, Viola, and Anne Marie. We are grateful that you are receiving value from these classes and feel inspired to make your donations.

You can also donate of your time by leaving a comment below and letting me know which part of the class helped you find your still center the most.

At the beginning of the yoga class I told you I would help you to get more support and the leading edge research on finding your still center. I have just released 7 new soft foam roller classes for our membership community. These short classes help to release trigger points and adhesions from your body and will help you find your still center through your fascia or connective tissue.

We’d love for you to join our Membership Community where we have:

* value added content

* community of like-minded people coming together from all around the world

* receive ongoing support in deepening your yoga practice from myself, our leadership team, and our community through an online forum, weekly live classes on Mondays and monthly meetups and retreats.

Join our Membership Community: Click Here

Membership Info

Weekly Yoga with Melissa #371 Photos of Yoga Poses

Yoga Flow for Beginners

Today we have a special guest on Yoga with Melissa,

Christina D'Arrigo from ChriskaYoga.

This is a 45 minute yoga flow class for beginners by our guest this week, Christina from ChriskaYoga! If you are looking to try a yoga flow class at the beginner level, then this video will be perfect for you. The class is designed to introduce you to the sun salutations and the general structure of a flow class. It will also get you moving and give you a gentle stretch towards the end.

Class Sequence

Savasana (short meditation)

Eka pada apanasana (R & L)

Apanasana

Cat/cow

Balasana

Downward dog (with gentle leg movement)

Sun breaths 3x’s

Surya Namaskar A (modified w/ low cobra) 2x’s

Surya Namaskar B (modified w/ full cobra)

Move through a vinyasa

Vira 2 (R & L)

Balasana

Vira 2 to Trikonasana (R & L)

Balasana w/ Twist (R & L)

Dandasana forward fold

Marichyasana twist to Janu Sirsanasa to Baddha Konasana flow (R & L)

Upavista Konasana (modified)

Supine pigeon (R & L)

Apanasana

Savasana

Closing Sukasana

Christina’s Links

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/chriskayogasub

Vlog Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/thedancegrad

Yoga Blog: http://www.girlonyoga.com

Website: http://chriskayoga.com

Follow ChriskaYoga

http://www.facebook.com/chriskayoga

http://www.instagram.com/chriskayoga/

http://www.pinterest.com/chriskayoga/

http://twitter.com/chriskayoga

Yoga Flow for Beginners Today we have a special guest on Yoga with Melissa, Christina D’Arrigo from ChriskaYoga. This is a 45 minute yoga flow class for beginners by our guest this week, Christina from ChriskaYoga! If you are looking to try a yoga flow class at the beginner level, then this video will be […]

Yoga Flow for Beginners

Today we have a special guest on Yoga with Melissa,

Christina D’Arrigo from ChriskaYoga.

This is a 45 minute yoga flow class for beginners by our guest this week, Christina from ChriskaYoga! If you are looking to try a yoga flow class at the beginner level, then this video will be perfect for you. The class is designed to introduce you to the sun salutations and the general structure of a flow class. It will also get you moving and give you a gentle stretch towards the end.

Class Sequence

Savasana (short meditation)

Eka pada apanasana (R & L)

Apanasana

Cat/cow

Balasana

Downward dog (with gentle leg movement)

Sun breaths 3x’s

Surya Namaskar A (modified w/ low cobra) 2x’s

Surya Namaskar B (modified w/ full cobra)

Move through a vinyasa

Vira 2 (R & L)

Balasana

Vira 2 to Trikonasana (R & L)

Balasana w/ Twist (R & L)

Dandasana forward fold

Marichyasana twist to Janu Sirsanasa to Baddha Konasana flow (R & L)

Upavista Konasana (modified)

Supine pigeon (R & L)

Apanasana

Savasana

Closing Sukasana

Christina’s Links

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/chriskayogasub

Vlog Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/thedancegrad

Yoga Blog: http://www.girlonyoga.com

Website: http://chriskayoga.com

Follow ChriskaYoga

https://www.facebook.com/chriskayoga

https://www.instagram.com/chriskayoga/

https://www.pinterest.com/chriskayoga/

https://twitter.com/chriskayoga