Yoga Lifestyle with Melissa: Recent Episodes
Dr. Melissa West
Short Video Podcast from Dr Melissa West – Real Yoga for Real People – Answering your Yoga Questions about a Yoga Lifestyle and Weekly Vlog from Victoria BC.
How I actually HEALED MY NERVOUS SYSTEM (and changed my life)Regulate Your Nervous System 👉https://melissawest.com/membershipFor over a decade I lived in dorsal shutdown, disconnected and frozen. My healing didn’t happen overnight, it unfolded slowly, through isolation, creating space, and practices like restorative yoga, yin yoga, and yoga nidra. As I thawed, I moved into sympathetic activation where I had to face and heal the anger and fight responses in my body. This video shares how I healed my nervous system step by step, and what nervous system regulation really looks like in the real world. I’ll also explain how the vagus nerve works, and why understanding how the nervous system works is essential for long-term healing.Now, after more than 15 years of this process, I live from a place that feels deeply regulated and resourced. If you’re curious about how to heal your nervous system, or you want to learn practical ways to regulate your nervous system, this video will give you a real-world perspective.And if you’re ready to start your own journey, you can join our Revive & Thrive Incubator where we practice nervous system healing together: https://melissawest.com/membership.#nervoussystemregulation #nervoussystemhealing #vagusnerve
DO RED LIGHT THERAPY MASKS REALLY WORK? | Ulike Reglow LED Face Mask🧖♀️ Shop on website: https://us.ulike.com/46BTnNhBuy on Amazon: https://lvnta.com/lv_2BF6dM7Z70vPjVbt9bUse my code MELISSAGLOW for a special discount +free $80 hydrating mask!Curious about the Ulike ReGlow LED Light Therapy Mask? In this video, I share my honest review after testing it myself. With 272 LEDs and 4 wavelengths (red, blue, yellow, and infrared), this mask offers a versatile at-home option for skin clarity, redness, acne support, and general glow. It features 360° mirror technology designed to improve light coverage and evenness. This would be a great fit for someone newer to light therapy or looking for a gentle, daily-use option.The off-the-face design makes it breathable and comfortable, especially for sensitive skin, and the price point is significantly lower than many other masks I’ve tested. If you're exploring red light therapy for the first time or looking to support your skin with multi-wavelength light treatments, the Ulike could be a solid starting place.🧖♀️ Shop on website: https://us.ulike.com/46BTnNhBuy on Amazon: https://lvnta.com/lv_2BF6dM7Z70vPjVbt9bUse my code MELISSAGLOW for a special discount +free $80 hydrating mask!Let me know in the comments if you’ve used light therapy before and which modes you’d be most excited to try.How to Redeem on the Ulike Website:-Select the Ulike ReGlow LED Face Mask-Add it to your cart-Remove the default discount code-Enter "MELISSAGLOW" at checkout for a special discount-Complete your purchase
In this video, I’m sharing my real morning routine as a yoga teacher, nervous system guide, and lover of science-backed tools 🌞💫I blend wearable tech with embodiment practices to support my energy, mood, and focus throughout the day.▶ Featured in this routine: Ultrahuman Ring to check my sleep score, recovery & stress JOVS Light Therapy Mask for circadian rhythm, great skin & radiance Polar H10 to check my morning readiness and guide my coherence breathing Mobility Flow to keep my body pain free Weighted Walk to maintain my circadian rhythm, get light on my eyes first thing, build bone density, get outside, groundEverything I share supports your nervous system, vitality & flow.If you’re into mindful wellness that blends tech with intuition, hit that like & subscribe 🤍JOVS Mask ➡️ https://bit.ly/JOVSMelissaWest10Ultrahuman Ringhttps://www.ultrahuman.com/ring/buy/global/?affiliateCode=yogalifestylewithmelissaDiscount code: MELISSAWEST10Polar H10 - https://amzn.to/43YGNXdWeighted Vest - https://amzn.to/42TatDYNaked Marine Collagen https://amzn.to/4lqWWu7Dandy Blend https://amzn.to/45nCQvZCreatine https://amzn.to/43Kgp2SSome of the links are Amazon affiliate links.This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.How much water should I drink calculator: https://www.medindia.net/patients/calculators/daily-water-requirement.asp
Stop Trying to Fix Your Nervous System—Try This Instead👉 Join our membership community here: https://melissawest.com/membership Most nervous system teachings focus on what’s wrong—fight, flight, freeze, and fawn—but what if your nervous system isn’t broken? What if it’s already working for you? Instead of constantly trying to “fix” or “heal” your nervous system, this video explores how to work with it, recognizing its natural intelligence, adaptability, and the moments of regulation that are already happening in your daily life.We’ll explore how your nervous system is designed for resilience, connection, and flexibility—and why shifting your focus from what’s wrong to what’s working could be the most powerful nervous system practice of all. Plus, if you want to go deeper, our F.L.E.X. Incubator inside the membership is a 4-week guided program designed to help you expand your nervous system’s capacity and experience true regulation from the inside out.🔹 Ready to Build a More Resilient Nervous System? 🔹Your nervous system isn’t something to fix—it’s something to collaborate with. 🌿✨ Inside our F.L.E.X. Incubator, we spend 4 weeks cultivating a more adaptable, flexible nervous system so you can move through life with greater ease, resilience, and self-trust.✅ Week 1: Having faith in your nervous system🔼 Week 2: Climbing the polyvagal ladder🌊 Week 3: Somatic experiencing & nervous system flow🌀 Week 4: Expanding your window of tolerance💡 Imagine what life would feel like when you trust your nervous system to support you rather than hold you back.💛 Join us inside the membership and start F.L.E.X-ing today!👉 https://melissawest.com/membership 👇 Drop a comment—what’s one small way you’ve noticed your nervous system working for you lately? 🌿
JOVS 4D Laser Red Light Therapy Mask 4 months later❤️Jovs 4D Laser Red Light Therapy Mask Link for Purchase ❤️ After 4 months of using the JOVS 4D Laser Light Therapy Mask, I’m excited to share my in-depth review and the noticeable differences in my skin! Unlike traditional LED masks that target the epidermis, the JOVS mask uses low-level laser technology to penetrate the dermis layer—the source of collagen, elastin, and fibroblasts—for deep skin rejuvenation, improved elasticity, and long-term results. From smoother, firmer, and more radiant skin to reduced fine lines, wrinkles, and pigmentation, I’ve experienced gradual yet significant improvements over time.In this review, I’ll cover key insights, including how I use the mask daily during my mobility and meditation routines, the benefits I’ve seen with age spots, fine lines, and sagging skin, and how it compares to other devices I’ve tried. I’ll also address common questions, like the difference between laser and LED technology, why the JOVS mask is uniquely designed for targeted facial treatments, and how it fits into a holistic skincare routine with gua sha and serums. Whether you’re curious about its efficacy or considering investing, this review will help you decide if the JOVS mask is right for you!Additional Products ShownFacial Cleanser: https://amzn.to/40NDzmaFace Scrub : https://amzn.to/3EqwvElToner : https://amzn.to/4jQUHjoCastor Oil : https://amzn.to/3EGh4YIRosehip Seed Oil : https://amzn.to/4aUN0ETStainless Steel Gua Sha : https://amzn.to/3WRgAFrCleansing Facial Oil : https://amzn.to/3CHDb0sSome of the links are Amazon affiliate links.This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Start your day with the simple yet powerful practice of drinking warm lemon water in the morning. This refreshing ritual helps rehydrate your body after a night of sleep, replenishing your fluids and setting the tone for a healthy day. The sour taste of lemon stimulates digestion, encourages elimination, and supports liver function by acting as a natural detoxifier. Packed with vitamin C, lemon water also gives your immune system a boost, helping your body stay resilient. This small but significant act offers more than just physical benefits—it becomes a moment of self-care, supporting your body and overall well-being.In this video, I guide you through a mindful morning ritual with warm lemon water. From slicing the lemon to pouring the water slowly, each step is an opportunity to pause and appreciate the present moment. Reflect on the interconnectedness of the lemon’s journey—how the earth, sun, rain, and many hands brought it to your kitchen. As you hold the cup in both hands, take a deep breath, savor the uplifting aroma, and smile. This moment is sacred. You are nourishing not only your body but also your spirit, grounding yourself in the simple joy of self-care.#warmlemonwater #morningroutine #mindfulness
I Used the JOVS 4D Laser Red Light Therapy Mask for 30 Days ❤️Jovs 4D Laser Red Light Therapy Mask Link for Purchase ❤️ https://jovs.com?sca_ref=6606651.BDN0EihsG77ZYQpa&utm_source=kol&utm_medium=melissa-west&utm_campaign=eaden-10In this video, I’m going on a 30-day challenge of using the JOVS 4D Laser Red Light Therapy Mask to see if it can help me fall asleep and stay asleep. As a menopausal woman facing the added challenges of jet lag and time zone changes from two upcoming trips, I’m putting this mask to the test under some seriously difficult conditions. My goal is to find out if the red light and NIR therapy can really boost melatonin production and improve sleep, or if it’s just better to stick to the known skin benefits and look elsewhere for sleep support.Throughout the challenge, I document my experience using the mask while traveling, from packing it in my luggage to using it in different locations and dealing with unexpected obstacles that came my way. With sleep being such a common struggle among my viewers, especially during menopause and stressful situations, I know how important it is to find solutions that truly work. Watch to see if the JOVS 4D Laser Mask in action, or if I end up regretting this experiment with my sleep, my family visits, and emotional well-being on the line.❤️Jovs 4D Laser Red Light Therapy Mask Link for Purchase ❤️https://jovs.com?sca_ref=6606651.BDN0EihsG77ZYQpa&utm_source=kol&utm_medium=melissa-west&utm_campaign=eaden-10
100G+ PROTEIN WHAT I EAT IN A DAY✪ PDF WITH RECIPEShttps://melissawest.com/protein/As a menopausal woman, I hear again and again, eat protein, lift heavy. Well, I’m constantly worried that I’m not getting enough protein in my diet every day. This video helped me track my protein throughout my day to see that I actually am getting enough protein in my diet.Pre Breakfast Chia Pudding 25 grams of proteinMega Protein Breakfast Salad 65 grams of proteinBurger Bowls 44 grams of proteinLight Dinner Finished Chia Pudding 25 grams of proteinTotal Protein = 159 grams of proteinLINK TO NAKED PROTEIN - https://amzn.to/4dFYRHULINK TO AIR FRYER - https://amzn.to/4dP3CyXPlease note I sometimes receive a commission from Amazon if you decide to purchase an item at no additional cost to you.#100gprotein #whatieatinaday #yogawithmelissa
Try these vagus nerve exercises to find relief from stress and anxiety with these easy to follow techniques by Melissa West. In just a few minutes, Melissa guides you through simple yet powerful nervous system regulation designed to activate and stimulate the vagus nerve, your body's natural stress-relief system.Learn how to use mindfulness and breathing exercises specifically tailored to calm your nervous system and promote relaxation. This video offers quick relief that is easy to implement into your daily routine so that you can feel calm. Let go of stress and anxiety and welcome in a peaceful, centered you with Melissa West's vagus nerve techniques.Discover the secrets to overcoming stress and anxiety with Melissa West's vagus nerve exercises. In this video, Melissa shares effective techniques to activate and stimulate your vagus nerve, offering fast relief from overwhelming emotions. From simple breathing exercises to soothing meditations, you'll learn practical tools to destress and find calm simply and easily. Relieve tension from your body and find calm with your vagus nerve. If you're ready to reclaim control over your emotional well-being, this video is your guide to relieve stress and anxiety.Vagus Nerve Technique for Stress & AnxietyPurchase my Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/ 💕Revive & Thrive Incubator http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
In this short video I am going to share 6, easy to remember acupressure points to help you overcome insomnia. These points are specifically designed to get to the root cause of insomnia: overexcitement, anxiety, and worry. The acupressure points are designed to calm your nervous system and promote deep rejuvenating sleep. These acupressure points can be easily incorporated into your bedtime routine. They are simple to follow even if you are completely new to acupressure.
In this vlog style video I am finally sharing my story with you about “yoga for weight loss” across my 22 years of yoga teaching, 15 of them on YouTube. It has been quite a journey and I have a lot I haven’t been saying about it over the years. It is time to speak my truth about this. I’m ready!
Unlock the secret that experts like Stephen Porges, Deb Dana, and Stanley Rosenberg prioritize but you might not be! Dive into the intriguing world of polyvagal theory, the polyvagal ladder and the vagus nerve where we explore the wisdom of Deb Dana, Stephen Porges, Stanley Rosenberg and their profound insights into the nervous system.Discover what is most important about vagus nerve regulation.Find out about emotional regulation and safety.
To purchase my Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/ 💕Join Our Membership Community 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembershipIn this short video, I will share with you the secrets behind the basic exercise. If you are curious what creates a parasympathetic nervous system response in the nervous system reset, I will show you in this video.This video will begin by going step-by-step through the vagus nerve reset or basic exercise. Then we will delve into the science behind the yawn, sigh, and saliva production response initiated by the specific eye movements of the exercise.You can follow along as I demonstrate the exercise and find out how the movements can regulate your nervous system.Here is the link to the full 1 hour Vagus Nerve Reset Yoga Video🍃 💚 🌿 🍃 💚 🌿 🍃 💚 🌿 🍃 💚 🌿 🍃 💚 🌿#vagusnerve #vagusnervereset #melissawestvagusnerve
In this video I will demonstrate 2 easy acupressure points on your feet to relieve headaches fast.Great surge: Also known as LIVER-3 or Tai Chong, this point sits in the valley between the big toe and the second toe around 1-2 inches back from the toes. It may help decrease stress, insomnia, and anxiety.Above tears: This is also called GallBladder-41 or Zulinqi, and is located between and slightly back from the fourth and fifth toes. A 2017 studyTrusted Source suggested that acupuncture at GB41 and other points was better for reducing migraine episodes than Botox injections or medication.Hold each point for 3 mins
Struggling with sleepless nights? 🌙✨ In this video I will share with you 3 breathing exercises to guide you into restful sleep. These three breathing techniques are designed to access your parasympathetic nervous system or your “rest and digest.” It will help you unwind, relax, before you go to bed.🌙 Moon Channel Breathing: Allows you to access the calming energy of the your parasympathetic nervous system and rest and digest. Regulate your nervous system and create calming and soothing energy so you can fall asleep.🌬️ Alternate Nostril Breathing: Is a breath that is known to create balance in your nervous system and also to calm and clear your mind.🌬️ 3 Part Breathing: This is one of my favourite breathing techniques for sleep because I find it mimics the rhythm of “falling” asleep.Try all three of these breathing techniques and see which one works best for you to invite deep and restful sleep 😴🌟
Self Massage Constipation Relief in 2 mins💩 Constipation Course 💩 https://melissawest.com/constipationcourse💩 Yoga for Constipation 💩 http://bit.ly/youtubeconstipationSelf Massage Constipation Relief in 2 minsAbdominal massage is one of the best ways to solve constipation. You can do it right before you go to bed and right after you wake up in the morning. Usually you will feel the need to clear your bowels after doing this abdominal self-massage for constipation.1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor2. Rub your hands together until they are warm3. Take your first two fingers (index and middle) and make clockwise circles around your navel4. Now massage your large intestine. Start from the bottom right hand side, go across the top and then go down the bottom left side. Circline 9-18 times as you move up, across and down. If you find a painful spot or knot, spend more time there.5. To massage your small intestines, come into the area inside of the large intestines. Now make small circles in this inner circle 3-9 times as you circle back into the navel.6. If you feel a big lump while you are doing the massage at bedtime, put your palm over it and sleep with it there until morning. This will soften the knot, release pain and allow you to release your bowels more easily the next morning.Purchase Sesame Oil for Your Self Massage for Constipation from:Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3tZFeEuAmazon.ca https://amzn.to/39ktdQv(Amazon are affiliate links where I earn a small percentage if you choose to purchase)
If your stomach and spleen meridian system is out of balance you might experience worry.One of the best poses to release worry in yin yoga is lunge pose. There are two ways to do it. One is more active and one is more passive and doesn’t require weight bearing on your knees.In yin yoga lunge pose is also known as dragon pose. It pulls and pressurizes the stomach meridian. If we do winged dragon, we can also draw on the transformative power of the spleen to transform worry. We can receive the nurturing, nourishing, receptive energy of the stomach meridian.As we are in the pose we can use the purging breath “Hoo” to release stagnant energy and emotions from your stomach and spleen organ meridian systems. Inhale soft yellow energy, the colour of the stomach and spleen and exhale grey smoke.We can also massage and shake the stomach and spleen to further release stuck and blocked emotions.
4 Vagus Nerve Massage for Stress & AnxietyPurchase my Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/ 💕Join Our Membership Community 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembershipVagus nerve massage, or vagal nerve stimulation is a technique that involves gently massaging the general area where your vagus nerve innervates your body. Your vagus nerve is a major nerve that runs from the brainstem down to the abdomen. Of course you are not directly stimulating this nerve, but you are indirectly soothing the areas that are affected.Your vagus nerve plays a crucial role in regulates stress and anxiety by influencing your heart rate, digestion, and the "rest and digest" response of the parasympathetic nervous system.When we massage anywhere from the brainstem down to the abdomen, the pathway of the vagus nerve, it can have a calming effect on your body. That message gets transmitted up to your mind.Here are the 4 vagus nerve massage techniques I am going to demonstrate in this video:1. Neck and Throat Massage:Gently massage the sides of your neck with your fingers using circular motions.Apply light pressure to the sides of your throat, moving from your jawline downward.2. Humming or GarglingBehind the Ear Massage:Use your index and middle fingers to gently massage the area behind your ears in a circular motion.This area includes the mastoid bone, which is located just behind the earlobe.3. Chest and Heart Area Massage:Gently massage your chest, especially around the heart area, using gentle circular motions.This can help stimulate the vagus nerve and activate the parasympathetic response.4. Abdominal Massage:Lie down in a comfortable position and gently massage your abdomen in a clockwise circular motion using your palms.The vagus nerve connects to various organs in the abdomen, so stimulating this area can help activate the nerve.
Yoga Stretches for People Who Stand All Day | Relieve Pain & FatigueStay Up to Date on My Forthcoming Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/💕Join Our Membership Community 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembershipStanding all day can take a toll on your body, causing muscle fatigue, foot pain, joint pain, and back issues. In this short video, I will share my simple, beginner friendly yoga poses to relieve your pain and fatigue.! I will guide you through a series of yoga stretches specifically designed to alleviate the discomfort and fatigue associated with standing for long hours.I will begin by addressing muscle fatigue in your feet, legs, and low back. Take a break and elevate your legs, allowing them to rest on a chair for 10-20 minutes. This nurturing position helps restore energy and reduce swelling in your legs and feet.Next, we move on to stretches for your legs and low back. Knees to chest pose with leg extensions and gentle rocking motion will provide relief to tired muscles. Circle your ankles as you extend your legs, targeting joint pain and swelling in your feet and ankles.If foot pain is an issue, Dead Bug Pose will help you to shake it out. Then, while seated, I’ll guide you through a soothing self-massage for your feet, targeting the heels, balls of the feet, arches, tops of the feet and ankles, and even getting in between your toes.For joint pain in your knees and hips, we'll incorporate the figure four pose with ankle rotations, helping to release tension and improve mobility.Finally, we'll address back pain and spinal issues with Cat Pose variations, including side stretches and rotations, followed by a relaxing Child's Pose to breathing into your low back to release discomfort and stiffness.These targeted yoga poses will support you in releasing the discomfort and fatigue of standing all day. Take care of your body and prioritize self-care. Let's get started on your journey to pain relief and rejuvenation!Remember to like, comment, and subscribe for more videos to support your well-being.People who stand all day https://youtu.be/l1fOlOvZYhITips when on your feet all day https://youtu.be/sJ4jYFUmXFU3 yoga poses when on feet all day https://youtu.be/Lb9aay0U_4QFoot Pain Relief https://youtu.be/Lb9aay0U_4QEvening Routine after Standing All Day https://youtu.be/htD6UrV-5VA
Nature is always writing codes that you can align with to experience harmony in your body and life. Through Traditional Chinese Medicine and Five Element theory you can activate the dormant nature codes and frequencies that are traveling along the meridian pathways of your body.Avoid these 9 mistakes in earth element season.1. Worry - emotional, wasted energy2. Weak Boundaries3. Lack of Support3. Continuing to be Yang4. Not being nurturing and compassionate toward yourself5. Not nesting and creating a home you love6. Not feeling gratitude for the sweetness, harvest of life7. Neglecting your own self care8. Overthinking9. Eating too much refined sugarFor a more indepth practice, I highly recommend my book:Five Element Yin Yoga: Practicing and Teaching in Harmony with the Seasons🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/ 💕Join Our Membership Community 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
Unlock the soothing benefits of this head, neck and scalp self-massage for headaches and migraines.I know what it is like to suffer from frequent headaches and migraines. I also know how beneficial self-massage can be when I am experiencing headaches and migraines and as a prevention to getting headaches and migraines.In this video I am going to share with you some simple self-massage techniques to help alleviate the tension associated with headaches. I will show you step-by-step how to release your tight muscles, stimulate circulation, and activate pressure points on your head, neck and scalp.Self-massage is one tool you can put into your tool-box to relieve headaches naturally. It also helps to release the tension and stress that accumulates from having headaches and migraines. Self-massage stimulates blood flow which enhances circulation and increases nourishment and oxygen to the muscles and tissues in the area, promoting their relaxation and healing.You can practice self-massage anytime of day, but if you include it as part of your bedtime routine, it could improve your sleep quality by relaxing your body and mind.Overall, this self-massage for headaches should boost your mood and mental clarity providing you with improved focus and mental clarity if you are suffering from a headache.
How & Why of my Barefoot Transition + Foot Exercises 👣Joomra Minimalist Shoeshttps://amzn.to/3KgI29r 👣Join me as I share my beginner journey of transitioning safely and slowly to barefoot shoes and the reasons behind it. I realized that despite practicing yoga and myofascial release for my feet, my traditional shoes were undoing the progress I made. So, I decided to try barefoot shoes as they have minimal cushioning and encourage natural foot movement. I compare Vibram's which are highly recommended but expensive to Joomra's more affordable barefoot shoes.I will demonstrate several different yoga foot exercises that I am using to support the transition. These exercises help strengthen and improve the flexibility of my ankle, feet and toes, which are crucial for stability and support in barefoot shoes. I also share tips on how I am making the transition gradually and listening to my body's feedback. If you have been practicing yoga for a long time and are perhaps frustrated with how shoes undo everything you do on the yoga mat, then maybe you are like me and you're curious about barefoot shoes or looking to make the switch. Join me on my journey as I try out barefoot shoes, also known as minimalist shoes or zero gravity shoes and learn from my experiences!Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more videos on yoga, yoga lifestyle, and wellness.Thank you for watching!👣 Joomra Minimalist Shoeshttps://amzn.to/3KgI29r 👣Some of the links are Amazon affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Nature is always writing codes that you can align with to experience harmony in your body and life. Through Traditional Chinese Medicine and Five Element theory you can activate the dormant nature codes and frequencies that are traveling along the meridian pathways of your body.In the summer season, fire element is at its peak and influences your body, thoughts, emotions, energy and spirit. This happens in June, July and August in the Northern Hemisphere and December January and February in the Southern Hemisphere.In this video I will share with you 5 mistakes you want to avoid in Fire Element Season according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. For a more in depth practice, I highly recommend my book:Five Element Yin Yoga: Practicing and Teaching in Harmony with the SeasonsSome of the issues of fire element season include: restlessness, irritability, insomnia, agitation, anxiety, excessive thirst, mouth sores, red complexion, hot flashes, night sweats, dry mouth, irritability, digestive disturbances and poor memory.
Gentle Massage with Diaphragmatic breathing can indirectly stimulate your vagus nerve and help to relieve anxiety. Your vagus nerve is part of your parasympathetic nervous system, also known as “rest and digest” and can help you to feel more calm and relaxed if you are experiencing stress.Your vagus nerve innervates several organs of your body, including your heart, lungs, diaphragm and digestive system. When you stimulate your vagus nerve, it can help to activate a relaxation response, slow down your heart rate, lower blood pressure and leave you feeling more calm.When we take slow, deep gentle breaths, and offer our heart a soft and soothing massage, this can help to stimulate your vagus nerve indirectly and activate your body’s relaxation response. Activating your vagus nerve and stimulating your parasympathetic response counteracts the sympathetic nervous system stress response, promotes relaxation and a more peaceful state, and regulates your emotions.
Abdominal Massage & Yoga Pose for Constipation Relief💩 Constipation Relief Under 10 Days 💩 https://melissawest.com/constipated/💩 Constipation Course 💩 https://melissawest.com/constipationcourseConstipation is uncomfortable. You might have pain in your abdomen or low back. You might experience infrequent bowel movements. Maybe you strain to have a bowel movement. Maybe your stool is hard and dry, difficult to pass. Perhaps even once you’ve had a bowel movement you don’t feel like you have fully released your bowels.Today we are going to combine a simple yoga pose with a self-massage to relieve constipation.You will need a yoga block or a small stool like a squatty potty.This yoga pose and massage works by supporting the position of your pelvis, activating peristalsis, relaxing your pelvic floor, increasing circulation and alleviating gas.The self-massage to relieve constipation will engage your vagus nerve which will support your rest and digest.The yoga pose we are going to take is called Garland Pose. It can relieve constipation and promote healthy bowel movements.#1. Positioning of your pelvis. Garland pose places your pelvis in the natural position for elimination which will support the elimination of stool.Let’s start our Self Massage.Rub your hands together to create some healing energy. Place your hands on your abdomen just below your navel. Allow yourself to receive the warming and relaxing energy from your hands.While we’re doing this let’s look at the second reason that Garland pose supports you in relieving constipation.#2. Activates Peristalsis. When you are in garland pose, your thighs press on your abdomen and provide a gentle massage to your digestive organs including your intestines. This stimulation helps to activate peristalsis which is the wave-like muscular contractions that will move food through your digestive system.Before I continue with your abdominal massage, showing you the specific technique, I want to let you know about a couple of links in the show notes below the video:The first is my constipation relief in under 10 days that I will send right to your inboxThe second is my comprehensive constipation course including yoga, MFR, recipes, journaling, massage, tips, teas for constipation.Apply gentle pressure: Using the flats of your hands, apply gentle and circular pressure on your abdomen in a clockwise direction. Start from the lower right side of your abdomen, move upward toward the ribs, across to the left side, and then down towards the lower left side of your abdomen. This follows the path of the large intestine.The third reason why Garland pose relieves constipation is because:#3 Relaxes your Pelvic Floor. Garland pose relaxes your pelvic floor allowing for easier bowel movements. Returning our Focus to our Abdominal Massage we can focus on our breathing. As you massage your abdomen, breathe in through your nose, let your belly be soft and allow it to expand, breathe out slowly through your mouth and allow your abdomen to soften and relax. You can imagine your diaphragm moving down towards your feet as you inhale, and softening up towards your heart as you exhale. This will engage your vagus nerve which will support your rest and “digest”Garland pose is also supportive because it will:#4 . Garland pose can improve blood flow to your abdomen including your digestive organs. Enhanced circulation promotes digestive function and aids in the overall process of elimination. We can enhance the circulation and blood flow by adding a twist.In the past I have shown you this massage lying down. Doing this massage sitting up will improve its effectiveness by aligning with the downward flow of gravity.Garland pose is supportive because it:#5 Alleviates bloating and gas: By compressing your abdomen you will help release trapped gas and reduce bloating, which are some of the common symptoms you may experience b...
If you suffer from digestive issues such as IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), Crohn's, or ulcerative colitis, characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, this video is for you! In this video, I will guide you through a soothing yoga pose (with a block) that gently stretches your abdomen, calms your nervous system, stimulate your vagus nerve, and promote relaxation, all while supporting digestion.The vagus nerve, also known as the "wandering nerve," is a crucial component of the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for rest and “digest.” By coming into a pose that supports the parasympathetic nervous system, you can experience inner calm, reset your nervous system, lower brain activity, and relax your muscles, all of which support digestion.But that's not all! I will also share with you a way to augment the effectiveness of the pose by stimulating the vagus nerve, regulating heart rate variability (HRV), and reducing inflammation through the release of anti-inflammatory neurotransmitters.Join me in accessing the healing and recharging parts of your nervous system, toning down the overactive part (sympathetic nervous system), and supporting your digestion through this powerful combination of yoga and special bonus.Don't forget to like this video, subscribe to my Yoga Lifestyle channel for more videos like this, and let me know in the comments if you accessed your rest and digest mode!
Join me for this short daily face yoga where we will begin by applying moisturizing skin cream in a way that is beneficial for your skin. The way you apply your skin care can support you in calming and clearing your mind. It can boost circulation in your face, encourage lymph flow, release tightness and tension and wake up your skin.Throughout this follow along self massage facial video I will share with you acupressure points and meridians for your liver and gallbladder that will release stress, anger, frustration, irritation and resentment.This yoga self massage for your face will focus on your neck, forehead, eyes, ears and lymphatic drainage. You will release puffiness and dark circles around your eyes, relieve jaw tension and encourage lymphatic drainage to release toxins.If you love face yoga and would like more, I highly recommend: Danielle Collins, Face Yoga Expert on YouTube.For this video I am using (#gifted)IGame Skin Repair CreamPeptide and Ceramides to improve skin texture, smoothness, and hydrationHyaluronic Acid makes skin flexible, reduces wrinklesHydratingChamomile calmingVacuum Pump bottle to avoid contaminationNon-comedogenic (will not block pores)Paraben free (good because research has shown is disrupts endocrine capacity for women)Fragrance free means it is more suitable for sensitive skinTo purchase the IGame Cream on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZA1QufPlease note I sometimes receive a commission from Amazon if you decide to purchase an item at no additional cost to you.
This follow-along video shows you how relieve neck and shoulder pain with self massage and other tools.When we experience an injury or an illness that continuously saturates our brain with pain or other unpleasant sensations, those pathways will strengthen. Neuroplasticity tells us, neurons that fire together, wire together. Pain, means more pain.The good news is that we can offer our brain a counter-stimulus. We can literally give our brain something to process other than pain.It could be self massage, the sensations we feel in our body when we do a yoga pose, visualization or a tool like the olynvolt pocket.It is called: “competitive plasticity” when we consciously tell the pain-producing parts of the brain to disengage using a counter stimulus.But, we can rewire our brain, consistently and slowly over time to turn off pain if we offer it a counter stimulus.1. Sit in a chair, find a neutral posture, breathe into lower belly,2. Place your fingers on your head, your thumbs on your occipital ridge, press and release as you move along your hairline, pressing and releasing until your reach your ears.3. Place all 4 fingers on either side of your vertebra of neck, press and release working down neck, do little circles, pull skin gently away from neck. Work from base of skull down to shouldersToday I’m going to show you a tool called the olynvolt pocket that I like to use to provide some competitive plasticity when I am in pain.I get neck pain that causes migraines. And if I can provide a counter stimulus then I can slowly and consistently over time rewire my brain and turn off those pain signals.So olynvolt gifted me this small travel size tens machine and what I love about it is the size and the design. I can stick it in my purse and have it with me for when I am traveling on trips in the car and if I’m experiencing pain I can provide some competitive plasticity and counter stimulus.There are 16 levels, so you can gradually add a little stimulus and be gentle with your nervous system.There are 5 modes:1. Pounding mode2. Kneading mode3. Intelligent mode4 soothing mode5. Scraping mode6. Press modeSo there are lots of variations on counter stimulus to offer competitive plasticity to my brain.Shoulder Self-Massage1. Hold onto opposite elbow, place palm on opposite shoulder, massage from neck to shoulder breathing long slow deep breaths2. Armpits - squeeze and release, lymphatic drainage and shoulder tensionTo Purchase a Olynvolt Unit click here: https://amzn.to/46cmtPtPlease note I sometimes receive a commission from Amazon if you decide to purchase an item at no additional cost to you.
Best Affordable Yoga Clothes | CRZ Yogahttps://ca.crzyoga.com/discount/MELISSASWEST?ref=DbD5tMlB for 10% off MELISSASWEST for 10% offI’m so excited to share with you my review on these super affordable line of yoga clothes that are not only soft and comfortable, but also affordable.In this video I will share with you my thoughts on the material, fit, functionality, price, and style.Whether you are a seasoned yogi or just starting out, you won't want to miss my review of these buttery soft yoga clothes.CRZ Yoga offers a wide selection of affordable, comfortable yoga activewear that will help you have the most relaxing yoga practice ever. Their signature fabric is ultra-soft, lightweight and stretchy, allowing for maximum flexibility and movement during every yoga pose. The pants have gentle compression making them easy to breathe in.Whether you’re a beginner or experienced yogi, CRZ yoga clothing is designed to support and enhance your practice. There are a large range of colors and styles so you can find the perfect look to match your personal style.Pieces in the video:High Rise Leggings in MauveCRZ Yoga Link https://us.crzyoga.com/products/r583pu19Amazon Link https://amzn.to/3XrlyGLHalf Zipped Long Sleeve Cropped Dark CarbonCRZ Yoga Link https://us.crzyoga.com/products/rz49pu1Amazon Link https://amzn.to/3X6rUM0Pocket Leggings in Blue AshesCRZ Yoga Link https://us.crzyoga.com/products/r584pu10?variant=39631707209813Amazon Link https://amzn.to/3GGSzs6Long Bra - V front, U Back - Lavender MistCRZ Yoga Link https://us.crzyoga.com/products/h174cpu1Amazon Link https://amzn.to/3XGEDFpLeggings with V Cross Waist - Deep PurpleCRZ Yoga Link https://us.crzyoga.com/products/r596pu1Amazon Link https://amzn.to/3GzDRmrBra Y Back in Deep PurpleCRZ Yoga Link https://us.crzyoga.com/products/h165spu1Amazon Link https://amzn.to/3GCObdmLeggings Super High Waist 25” Notilucence RedCRZ Yoga Link https://us.crzyoga.com/products/r589pu5Amazon Link https://amzn.to/3ixpuqNFull Zip Pocketed Hoodies Thumb Holes - Taupe and BlackCRZ Yoga Link https://us.crzyoga.com/products/rz04apu1Amazon Link https://amzn.to/3X2tOxt
Golden Milk Turmeric Recipe for Sleep7 days of Yoga to Better Sleep https://melissawest.com/sleep/Do you struggle with sleep?Do you experience insomnia?Today we are going to make a simple Golden Milk Turmeric Recipe for Sleep. Golden Milk is a warm drink that you can drink before bed to help you sleep.How does Golden Milk help you sleep:Certain compounds in milk — specifically tryptophan and melatonin — may help you fall asleep.At its base, turmeric reduces inflammation, lowers your blood sugar levels, helps your liver to detoxify, boosts your immune system and eases your digestive system – all of which help you to get to sleep faster, to sleep better, and to wake up feeling refreshed. Turmeric reduces inflammation and ease your digestive system, helping you get to sleep faster.The ginger in golden milk can help to calm your stomach and promote the rest and digest phase of sleeping.Coconut oil contains high amounts of dodecanoic acid (aka lauric acid), which has been linked with more restful sleep.Black pepper exerts a hypnotic effect by increasing the duration of sleeping time.Honey may promote melatonin formation due to its possible tryptophan content (a precursor to melatonin) that both helps to initiate sleep as well as promote release of hormones that facilitate whole body recovery during sleep.Golden Milk Turmeric Recipe:1 cup whole cow’s milk (or non dairy milk)1 tsp ground turmeric1/2 tsp ground ginger1 tsp coconut oilPinch freshly ground black pepper1/2 tsp raw honeyDirections:In a small saucepan, warm your milk uncovered on medium-low for 2-5 minutes, until you see steam rising out of the pan. Add all the other ingredients and whisk by hand or with an immersion blender until combined.Pour into a mug, sweeten with honey and have sweet dreams.#goldenmilk #turmericlatte #yogawithmelissa
In this video I am going to be reacting to a self massage technique called perineum self-massage for constipation. Your perineum is the area between your anus and genitals. Now I am a total prude, so the idea of massaging this area, doesn’t actually appeal. However, apparently massaging this area stimulates the muscles of the pelvic floor and can support you in having a bowel movement. It is supposed to be a natural way to relieve constipation.In this video I am going to react to a popular video explaining the perineum self massage technique for constipation. I have no idea how effective it is. I’ll leave that to you to let me know.What I will share with you is a way to use a coregeous ball, or a 9” pilates ball to give you a PG 13 way to release your pelvic floor and we can see if that works.Coregeous Ball is available in our Amazon Store for Constipation Please note I sometimes receive a commission from Amazon if you decide to purchase an item at no additional cost to you.So if you suffer from constipation and you want to try a new natural remedy, we can watch this technique together, I can give you a PG-13 option that you can do while you are watching TV and you can see if the perineum self-massage works for you!
Autumn is the perfect time to curl up with some cozy autumn reads and flip through some comforting oracle decks. Here are my top picks for autumn.Books Mentioned:Understanding Human Design: The New Science of Astrology: Discover Who You Really Are by Karen Curry https://amzn.to/3els9SyTao of Tantric Arts for Women: Cultivating Sexual Energy, Love, and Spirit by Minke de Vos https://amzn.to/3RUujpUYoga for Emotional Trauma Meditations and Practices for Healing Pain and Suffering by Mary NurrieStearns and Rick NurrieStearns https://amzn.to/3rNSGLqWomb Wisdom: Awakening the Creative and Forgotten Powers of the Feminine by Padma Aon Prakasha and Anaiya Aon Prakash https://amzn.to/3RYBwFbTrusting the Gold Uncovering Your Natural Goodness by Tara Brach https://amzn.to/3SV2EGqOracle Card DecksThe Sacred Cycles Oracle by Jill Pyle & Em Dewey Illustrations by Jessie Whitehttps://amzn.to/3RNeYHyPlease note I sometimes receive a commission from Amazon if you decide to purchase an item at no additional cost to you.Reclaim Oracle by Marion Costentinhttps://little-darkness.com/en-ca/products/reclaim-oracle-deck-2022-editionWisdom of the Shadow by Jenny Hanh and Jessica Ricchettihttps://intuitiveartandalchemy.com/wisdomoftheshadow
Meno Rage - Mushti MudraTouch the tip of your thumb to the base of your ring finger. Close your fingers around your thumb to form a fist. Rest the hands against the lower belly. Hold for 5-45 minutes.Helps to release pent-up emotions like suppressed anger, frustration, and irritation and is perfect for meno-rage.InsomniaShakti MudraThis mudra will connect you with the divine feminine and induce a sound sleep.Join the tips of the ring and the baby fingers.Fold the thumbs into the palms of your hands and cover them with your index and middle fingers.Hold for 5 to 45 minutesNotice how it calms your mind, connects you with the divine feminine, lunar rhythms and the cycles of nature, including your sleep cycle.This next one is probably what you are here for, but before I show it to you, let me know if this kind of content is useful to you by subscribing, liking the video and letting me know if you are in perimenopause, menopause or post menopause like me in the comments.And if you are a member of our community, I have put a real-time mudra flow for menopause in our video library including these and even more mudras that will support you in menopausal symptoms like meno-rage, insomnia, hot flashes and night sweats.Hot Flashes & Night SweatsGod of The Sea Mudra or Varuna MudraConnect your thumb and your baby finger, extend your other fingersThis mudra allows you to connect with the cooling qualities of water element. Imagine sinking into the depths of a cool glacier fed mountain stream. Feel the spirit of water cooling you and calming you from hot flashes and night sweats.Hold for 5-45 mins.
In this video I will take you through 5 obstacles to happiness and then share with you the easiest way to overcome them. I have a quick happiness hack that is like a game that is super easy that will help you overcome the barriers to happiness and allow you to generate joy and happiness.These teachings are based on the Four Brahmavirhas or the Divine Abodes or Dwelling Places. Sympathetic Joy or Appreciative Joy is one of the Dwelling Places of our mind on the path to enlightenment to end our suffering according to the teachings of Buddhism. In this video we will cover the near and far enemies of sympathetic joy.Sympathetic Joy will be the theme of our membership community in July 2022 with support of a Yoga Calendar, Daily Yoga Connection and a Live Yoga Class 💕Join Our Membership Community 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
Constipation Morning Routine
Before you even get out of bed we can start your constipation morning routine with some simple and effective constipation yoga to pull and pressurize the ascending and descending colon. This will help to move the stool along and encourage your bowel movement in the morning.
When you get out of bed we will continue with some gentle stretching to lengthen and relax the colon to make elimination of your bowels easier.
Moving into the bathroom, I will show you a simple dry skin brushing technique that you can use before you get into the shower to increase the circulation to your digestive organs.
In the kitchen we will start our day with:
1 tsp of olive oil to line our digestive tract and encourage elimination
Warm Lemon Water which promotes peristalsis (this means the contraction of the muscles in your colon, keeping waste moving out of your body)
and
Overnight Oats. Oats are loaded with soluble fiber, so more water remains in the stool. Stool is softer and larger and easier to pass.
If you would like my 3 Favorite Breakfast Recipes to Beat Constipation this Summer CLICK HERE and I will be sure to send it to you!
Breathing Exercise & Visualization for Sleep
- Rub the bottom of your foot from the heel to the ball of the foot 100Xs
(this is the first point of the kidney channel and regulates your mind’s sleep/waking cycles)
Here is the first visualization: feel the energy from your head (the thinking that keeps you awake, go from your head, through your chest, your legs and out the bottom of your feet)
- Switch feet - rub the other foot from the heel to the ball of the foot 100xs
Visualize the energy from your head - and imagine the hamster wheel of thinking go from your head, through your torso, legs and out the bottom of your feet
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Lie down in bed. Place your hands on your belly. Breathe slow and deep into belly.
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VISUALIZE warm energy from your head, through your torso, legs, and out your feet.
Repeat this visualization for 36 breaths.
Breathing Exercise for Anxiety
In this video I will share 3 acupressure points for anxiety, stress and insomnia that are combined with gentle breathing. These acupressure points along with breathing and visualization are designed to relieve anxiety, nervousness, stress and are also great for insomnia.
- CALMING NATURE
Place your index fingers on the tops of your ears, trace up to the crown point
Use first and middle finger to press down, BREATHE out gently and quietly, focus on exhale
Visualize anxiety leaving your body with each EXHALE
Hold for 1-2 mins
- HAMSTER WHEEL BRAIN - when mind is spinning, mental restlessness, anxiety
Place middle finger on your third eye, feel calm wash over you as you focus on exhale
Hold 1-2 mins
- CALM HEART
Place a middle finger on the center of your breast bone
BREATHE out gently and quietly, focus on exhale
Visualize anxiety leaving your body with each EXHALE
Hold 1-2 mins
Vagus Nerve Exercises for Relaxation
- Vagus Nerve Breathing Exercise for Relaxation
The vagus nerve does pass through the diaphragm which supports breathing
This diaphragmatic stimulation regulates your vagus nerve and stimulates your relaxation response.
- Sounding A E I O U while rolling down through spine
The vagus nerve is connected to your vocal cords and the muscles at the back of your throat. Singing, humming, chanting and gargling can activate these muscles and stimulate your vagus nerve.
- Neck and shoulder rotations
Since the vagal nerve passes through your neck, stiffness, tightness and decreased elasticity in your neck may compress the vagal nerve, by doing this exercise, you are opening the passageway and allowing for regulated vagus nerve function
Remember, the most important thing for vagus nerve function is safe connection. HUGS!
Self Massage for Irritation
Spring can be a disturbing season with wild fluctuations of energy surging through nature. There is a strong momentum created by spring Qi. Spring bulbs thrust up through barely thawed ground. In humans the qi rises as well, moving up into the chest where it stimulates the liver with fresh vitality. Rising qi carries with it the potential for problems.This rising liver qi influences irritation, resentment and bitterness
If the liver contains any stagnant blood and metabolic waste, which is normal after winter’s inactivity it will obstruct the flow of qi. Any obstruction to the smooth and easy flow of qi will cause disruption to qi and blood circulation. Mentally and Emotionally this causes frustration and irritability. These exercises will release stagnation or obstruction of qi and blood in the liver. These knots can be undone with yin yoga, qigong, or self massage like we are doing today.
Yin Liver Massage
Gallbladder Massage
Smoothing the Gallbladder and LIver Meridian
Vagus Nerve Massage for Insomnia
Eye/Neck Magic for Safe Sleep Golden Bamboo to Release the Day Visceral Massage for Vagal Tone and Deep Sleep
If the ventral branch of the vagus nerve is not functioning properly it is not uncommon to have difficulty sleeping.
Eye/Neck Magic for Safe Sleep
80% of the fibers of the vagus nerve are afferent sensory fibers - which means they bring information from the body to the brain. When we do an exercise like this and improve our breathing pattern and neck alignment, our body tells our brain that we are safe and this in turn facilitates ventral vagus activity.
Forward head posture reduces the space available in the upper chest for breathing. Reducing forward head posture takes pressure off of the nerves that reach the spinal chord to the heart, lungs and visceral organs. Improving the alignment of the cervical vertebrae relives pressure on vertebral arteries relieving some pressure between the shoulders.
Golden Bamboo
This is a point on your face that is an endpoint of a large intestine acupuncture meridian. Your large intestine meridians can support you in letting go, and in letting go of the day. This acupuncture point will also support you in improved breathing. The muscles of your face are innervated by branches of the 7th cranial nerve. Changes to tension in our facial muscles provide feedback to our brain. In this case, we are telling our brain that it is safe to let go of the troubles of the day.
Visceral Massage for Vagal Tone and Deep Sleep
This organ massage for your vagus nerve will help you “rest and digest” the day. Stimulating the vagus nerve through your viscera acts as a natural tranquilizer. It signals to your brain that it is safe for you to go to sleep.
$25 dollars off your first order of $100 + of Girlfriend Collective Yoga Clothing when you use the code MELISSA25 click here https://glnk.io/7016/yoga
Vagus Nerve Massage
Vagus Nerve Massage for Stress & Anxiety Relief
PEACEFUL CALM DOORWAY TO THE SOUL POOL OF WIND
Peaceful Calm - Stress and Anxiety causes hearing loss, reduced hearing and changes the range in which you can hear. Normal conversations are harder to hear and high pitches are easier to hear.
Doorway to the Soul - Your eyes are connected to your entire nervous system. Because we spend so much time on our electronic devices it strains our eyes and drains the corresponding organ system (liver and gallbladder organ but also aggravates the ventral vagus nerve system and causes anxiety).
Pool of Wind - This is called your “Pool of Wind” because it tends to collect negative energy known as evil wind, when you rub here you feel a sense of calm and relaxation.
10 Things I Wish I Knew
Purification and Rejuvenation Savasana is the most important pose followed by Tadasana Off the mat is as important as on the mat Skeletal Structures limit your Poses, but Spiritual Friendship is Magical The Buddha is the Sangha - Thich Nhat Hanh Yoga is More than Your Body The Ordinary is Extraordinary Yin and Restorative Yoga are Incredibly Powerful Trauma Informed Yoga is the Bomb Your Nervous System Needs to Feel Safe for Change to Happen
self massage
Stress and anxiety have an upward moving energy like butterflies that start in the stomach and move upward to the heart mind. These simple qigong, acupressure and self massage movements will ground and root your emotions, sending them down to the ground and calm your mind. They are simple and easy to do. You will find them soothing and calming for your mind.
Louis Vuitton Yoga Mat
Would you buy a $2,390 yoga mat from Louis Vitton? How about A Gucci one, a bargain at only $500! Chanel’s luxury yoga mat offers a safe and comfortable workout for the price of $3, 304 Or you could slum it with Karl Largerfield for $200 USD or Valentino for $356 USD.
I had no idea that luxury designer yoga mats existed, did you?
Maybe your yoga mat is looking a little shabby and you are looking to upgrade. Would you upgrade to a luxury, designer yoga mat? Or are you looing for something more sustainable and higher end because you are committed to your yoga practice and you want your yoga mat to last and be good for the earth. I’m definitely curious about all the different materials for yoga mats, especially ones that are sustainable. I know many of you have been asking me to review sustainable yoga mats.
Should we mix spirituality and profit? Should yoga products be made out of animal materials? I’m looking forward to a kind and respectful debate in the comments.
26 Yoga Poses I Don’t Do Anymore
In this video I share with you 26 yoga poses I don’t do anymore. This video is honestly quite embarrassing. I couldn’t believe that there are over 20 poses that have been dropped from my yoga practice and yoga teaching over the last 25 years. This video opened my eyes to some of the trends in yoga as well as why they got dropped in the first place. It has me thinking about some of the ways that I can reintroduce the yoga poses that I actually love and find value in. Let me know in the comments if there are any poses that you have dropped that are not in the video. In my enthusiasm, I left out a pose, can you guess what it was?
Clear Emotional Blockages
This is a quick emotional release using qigong techniques that are simple to do and easy to remember. You can repeat these movements any time you are feeling excess emotions such as impatience, restlessness, sadness, grief, depression, anxiety, irritation, frustration and anger. Allow these simple movements that you can do anywhere to transform pent up emotions that are trapped in your body so that your emotions can flow with ease.
Top 5 Hidden Gem Yin Yoga Channels
In this video my friend Matt Depuis and I are going to share with you some of our favourite heart centered yoga teachers who are sharing their yoga on YouTube that you may not have come across because they are “smaller” channels. These are teachers that are generously sharing their teachings on YouTube on a regular schedule, that have good sound and lighting and are offering high quality instruction. In this video we will share why we enjoy their teaching and we hope that you will check them out.
- Claire Renee Yin Yoga for Liver Meridian
I appreciated Claire’s description of the meridian channels as they relate to the organs and traditional Chinese medicine at the beginning. One thing that I loved in her class was the way she used the block as a prop under the knees and then leaning back to do ankle stretch. I had never seen that and it was definitely an effective way to do a long yin hold for the fronts of the ankles. She discussed some of the symptoms of liver imbalance throughout the class. I love how she encouraged us to take up space in savasana and reflect on how we feel differently from the beginning and even just a few postures before.
- Yoga Candy Spooky Light Yin Yoga
I enjoyed this class, and it was in alignment with Halloween just around the corner. Candy is a giggly girl who makes you feel at home throughout the practice, and she is fun to follow and listen to. She takes the stress away from trying too hard to follow a yin yoga class on YouTube and makes you enjoy the practice. Throughout doing this with her, I felt connected to my inner child and had a fun time. One pose that was new to me and that I particularly enjoyed was a half frog with a strap around my ankle. The opening of my groin and hip on one side combined with the pulling of my leg and stretch in the front of my front thigh on the other was a great combination that left me feeling great on the rebound.
Candy has also been on YouTube since 2011 and has over 700 videos and classes to choose from. This is one channel that slipped between the cracks and deserved to be noticed not only for all the hard work that she has put through it but also because the quality of the instructions and the fun that you get doing her classes is worth your time.
3.Zen Yin Yoga with Michelle Yin Yoga for Menopause
October was menopause month and October 18th was world menopause day. Michelle started the video by sharing her journey with menopause and some of the things that helped her including her experience with hormone replacement and diet. The talking introduction was 10 minutes and then we went into a 35 minute yin yoga practice.
The class was intended to calm the body, to release cortisol and bring hormones into balance, and to relieve hot flashes. It was meant to soothe the mind, body and hormones. There were two different pranayama (including sitali and nadi shodhana breath) for cooling the body and hormones. Michelle also brought affirmations into the practice. The poses were soothing, calming and cooling. We did dragonfly, wide legged child’s pose, supported bridge and waterfall in addition to the pranayama, with a lot of focus on breathing in each pose.
- Yoga with Elani Yin Yoga for Low Back Care
Elani's channel features different styles of yoga, including: gentle yoga, Hatha, vinyasa, yin yoga, chair yoga, and meditation practices. The Class I did was a Yin Yoga class for low back care. This Class had a voice-over where Elani gave you very gentle and soft guidance throughout the entire yin sequence. She is very clear and calming while instructing her class, and I find that this makes her classes very suitable for beginners or anybody who just wants to jump on their mat and try a yin yoga class right away without much experience. Her soft-spoken voice combined with her smooth background music provides a very calming and relaxing environment throughout the whole class.
Abdominal Self-Massage for Constipation
Abdominal massage is one of the best ways to solve constipation. You can do it right before you go to bed and right after you wake up in the morning. Usually you will feel the need to clear your bowels after doing this abdominal self-massage for constipation.
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Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor
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Rub your hands together until they are warm
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Take your first two fingers (index and middle) and make clockwise circles around your navel
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Now massage your large intestine. Start from the bottom right hand side, go across the top and then go down the bottom left side. Circline 9-18 times as you move up, across and down. If you find a painful spot or knot, spend more time there.
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To massage your small intestines, come into the area inside of the large intestines. Now make small circles in this inner circle 3-9 times as you circle back into the navel.
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If you feel a big lump while you are doing the massage at bedtime, put your palm over it and sleep with it there until morning. This will soften the knot, release pain and allow you to release your bowels more easily the next morning.
Purchase Sesame Oil for Your Self Massage for Constipation from: Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3tZFeEu Amazon.ca https://amzn.to/39ktdQv (Amazon are affiliate links where I earn a small percentage if you choose to purchase)
Jubel https://www.jubelnaturals.ca/products/serenity-massage-oil (as shown in video)
PART 2
What has been the most challenging part of your YouTube journey? Did you get discouraged at some point and how did you overcome it? (yogastanya) Greatest Gifts?
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned about YOURSELF over the last 12 years? (jupitermoon)
Congratulations! What kept you so persistent over the last 12 years?
Does Tim practice your yoga videos?
Does Trinity practice your yoga videos?
Is there a comment or some feedback that stands out in your mind over the last 12 years?
What do you do outside of YouTube?
What was the hardest part of your Ph.D.? What was the best part of your Ph.D.? What was the most unexpected part of your Ph.D.? Do you want to do any more higher education?
How big is your team?
Did you take any breaks? (go on vacation?)
What are your plans for Yoga with Melissa in the future?
INTERVIEW
Carolynne teaches empaths and sensitive souls how to create a collaborative relationship with their bodies through cozy, accessible yoga and self care practices in order to live a life filled with less doing and more being. She is a fellow Canadian who strives to offer a safe and welcoming space for people who might have felt discouraged by lack of options offered in other classes. She releases weekly either yin or gentle hatha with the intention to leave you feeling calmer, grounded and a little bit better.
How did you get so clear on your intention?
How did you focus your intention so clearly?
Take us through the steps....
Tell us about feeling it out, the trials and the errors, changing it over time .....
How do you balance this between your needs as a person and the needs of your students
Yoga with Carolynne
Top Five Little Known Yin
12 Year YouTube Anniversary Q & A Part 1 | Celebration!
Why did you start doing YouTube?
Do you still remember the first class you taught?
What was your favourite filming location ever? (Brenda Bohun)
When did you feel you found your style? (yogastanya)
How do you always guarantee to renew your content (keep it fresh).
Did you ever think about the positive impact your videos would have on people?
Rituals for Yoga
In this video Sharlene Anders, creativity coach, and I will discuss yoga rituals to deepen your yoga practice.
What are yoga rituals?
When should I practice yoga rituals?
How can I deepen my yoga practice with ritual?
How can I start and end my yoga practice with ritual?
Why are yoga rituals important?
How your yoga practice can become more sacred through ritual. Morning yoga rituals to start your day. In this video we will offer you 8 yoga rituals beyond lighting a stick of incense to deepen your yoga practice. I love #7!
wrap your mala into a piece of cloth Rolling out your yoga mat Getting dressed for the practice use essential oil have a special playlist for your practice Use a mantra. Read a poem, or even song lyrics Write one sentence before & after or just after practice.
As a creativity coach Sharlene Anders specializes in working with singers. Her approach to
unlocking an artist's potential is a combination of empathy, hands-on philosophy and the teachings of Julia Cameron („The Artist's Way“) and Eric Maisel („Fearless Creating“). For a taste of her unique work check out her socials:
https://www.youtube.com/c/Shallalla
https://www.instagram.com/iamshallalla/
https://twitter.com/iamshallalla
hello@iamshallalla.com
Sharlene is hosting an audio summit in September called Starving to Thriving - Artists Rocking Their Money Mindset to Create Healthy Finances
To find out more about it please go to https://thrivingartist.iamshallalla.com/
husbandwifetag
Celebrate our twenty five year wedding anniversary with this sit down, casual Q & A with us from the beaches of beautiful British Columbia. When did we meet? What was your first opinion of me? When did you know I was the one? How long did it take to plan the wedding? When did we get married? How long have we been married? How did you propose? How many children did I want before marriage? What does my family think of you? What does my friend think of you? What is my worst habit? What is my best habit? Who wears the pants in the relationship? If you could get rid of one thing that belongs to me what would it be? Who is the better cook? What do we argue most about? Have you ever pretend to sleep at to avoid an argument? What was our last argument about? What was the last text message I sent you? Who is more affectionate? What is something the I enjoy doing with you? Who is the more romantic one? Who is the funny one? Who is more outgoing? Would I prefer to stay in or go out on Friday night? Have you ever lied to avoid getting in trouble with me? Have I ever gotten something for you, you didn’t like? What is the best gift I have ever gotten for you? What is something I cannot live without? Use one word to describe Me? What is my best physical trait? What is my best personality trait? Who is more likely to get into a fight?
25yearanniversary #husbandwifetag #yogawithmelissa
Post Pandemic Friendships
This video is about manifesting friends in the world of post-pandemic friendship. If you are looking to recover your post-covid friendships or how to reconnect with your friends after you’ve grown apart in the 2020, 2021 years of coronavirus, then you are going to love my guest Andrea Schulman who teaches people about consciousness, spirituality and the law of attraction. In this session, Andrea and I talked about the impact of covid-19 on friendships and how to rekindle friendships after covid 19. We answer specific questions such as:
What did covid do to friendships?
How to have more friends in real life after lockdown?
Is it normal to lose friends during covid 19 lockdown?
Andrea uses her claricognizant abilities to offer simple, easy to follow through, baby steps for manifesting friends after the pandemic. Although this is a stressful topic she coached me through how to reconnect with friends post-pandemic in a way that was fun and easy.
You will want to have a pen and paper with you to take notes and add this video to your favourites for repeated listening so that you can increase the size of your friend group again post covid 19.
📚Book: Friendships Don't Just Happen!: The Guide to Creating a Meaningful Circle of GirlFriends
Shasta Nelson
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📚Book: Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness
Shasta Nelson
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(If you choose to purchase through the above links 👆 Melissa will earn a small affiliate percentage.)
Book Writing Update July 2021
In this video I will take you through a day in the life of the writing of my forthcoming book The Elemental Self: Five Element Yin Yoga. A lot of you have been asking me when my book will be coming out, so I thought the best thing to do would be to film an update. This update is vlog style and I will show you exactly where I am in the writing process, you will even get to see what I was writing on this exact day.
I finished an incredibly rough draft in August of 2020. Since then I have been doing major revisions of the chapters getting the book ready for editing. I am currently on the last body chapter of the book, the earth chapter. All the other chapters: wood, fire, metal and water are ready for the fine tooth comb of an editor. Once I am finished with the earth element chapter, then I will be moving on to writing the introduction and conclusion chapters for the book in its entirety. At this stage I am thinking more about the intention behind the book as a whole and what purpose I want the book to serve as it heads out into the world.
The next phases of the book will be more collaborative as I work with an editor, photographer and designer for the layout of the book. Thanks for joining me for a day in the life of writing! I appreciate all your interest and support.
Best Glamping
Nature’s Chef Tipi is hosted by Nature’s Chef Tom Kral. Tom is a private chef who forages from the land and sea just outside of Sooke B.C.
Upon arrival we were greeted with a wild, foraged charcuterie board and tepid tea infusion. This appetizer to hold us over until dinner was foraged from the land and the sea. It featured smoked bison jerky, fresh snap peas, young radishes and mustard flowers from the garden, smoked trout from the lake, pickled bull kelp from the ocean, lentil flatbread that was made specially for our gluten free dietary request and his own fermented mustard that was out of this world! Our tea was a blend of lemon balm, mint and some kind of spruce or evergreen tree that I can’t quite remember right now! It was incredibly refreshing and also began the process of supporting and preparing our digestive system for the wonderful foods that were to come.
Part of what was so wonderful about the entire visit was the way that our hosts Tom and his two workaway helpers Lance and Jupiter hosted us through the entire stay. When we arrived, they greeted us at the outdoor lounge space. The space was shaded with an overhead cover. It was a lovely space to sit and enjoy the charcuterie board and share in great conversation.
From there, Tom gave us a tour of the 8 acres of land, just a 10 minute walk from the beach and ocean. It was an adventure to travel the same paths as the deer and animals to our tent (when we stayed the tipi was being repaired). These tunnels inside blackberry, salal berry and salmonberry bushes are quite an experience and added to the overall experience of staying in this special place. When we stayed, the salmon berries were in season. As we entered into the covered pathways, the salmon berries lit up the tunnels like twinkle lights. The nukta flowers or wild roses were also in full bloom and during the daylight sunlight hours you were treated with the aromatherapy of wild roses. There is a composting toilet by the tipi. This was our first experience with a composting outhouse. I’ve seen a lot of them in tiny house shows and the rave reviews were spot on.
Attention to detail extended to the indoor spaces as well. Inside our tent was a double bed with comfortable bedding. Wildflowers were collected and arranged in a bouquet in the tent for our enjoyment. There was also a selection of reading for us to delve into that added to the feeling of the trip with themes from mindfulness, fishing, cooking, and foraging. Inside our spacious tent was a jug of fresh water, candles and incense to support our stay as well.
Before dinner we took a 10 minute walk down to the ocean and sat on the driftwood watching the waves roll in.
For dinner, Tom and his crew created a beautiful table setting on the picnic tables in the outdoor dining area. The fire was burning and Tom prepared most of our dinner over the hot coals of an open fire. For our main course we had wild pacific salmon sourced from Finest At Sea https://www.finestatsea.com/ which provides wild, locally sourced, sustainable fish in Victoria BC.
The first course was a wild seaweed soba bowl. The biggest surprise of this bowl were the wild spruce tips which Tom preserved in apple cider vinegar. Their citrusy flavour was a delight to the tastebuds. The soba bowls included a variety of different foraged seaweeds from the sea, soba noodles and cucumber, radishes and green onion from the garden.
The main course features wild pacific salmon from Finest At Sea over a thick and crispy pattie of brown and black rice with seaweed and salmon berries on the side as well as a blackberry reduction.
The meal was paired with a rhubarb, ginger and wild rose ferment which was incredible.
For dessert there was a blackberry brownie that was so rich and chewy, OMG! Paired with a nukta rose vanilla ice cream and salmon berry compote flamed over the fire, topped with toasted hazelnuts.
Top 5 Little Known Yoga Channels You Need to Follow Summer 2021
In this video my friend Matt Depuis and I are going to share with you some of our favourite heart centered yoga teachers who are sharing their yoga on YouTube that you may not have come across because they are “smaller” channels. These are teachers that are generously sharing their teachings on YouTube on a regular schedule, that have good sound and lighting and are offering high quality instruction. In this video we will share why we enjoy their teaching and we hope that you will check them out.
Chocolate Twist Yoga https://www.youtube.com/c/ChocolateTwistYoga/videos
The classes are given by teacher Kali Sampson Alexander and feature beginner-friendly yoga classes to help you feel and live better in your body. She teaches Yin yoga, vinyasa flow, hatha, and therapeutic yoga classes drawn upon her background in Traditional Chinese Medicine and African diasporic wisdom and culture.
The class I did was a Yin Yoga class to Amplify Your Vibration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5vVsHANaCo
This class was really a beginner friendly class and she gives a lot of guidance and uses many props. She has great instructions and we went through a lot of asanas. This was definitely a great and beginner friendly yoga class and because we moved at a faster pace through the class, I felt energized and it definitely raised my vibrations.
Bea Yoga & Well Being https://www.youtube.com/c/BeaYogaWellbeing/
Beatrice is a yoga teacher and a clinical massage therapist living in the UK. She helps people manage pain, stress and anxiety through gentle movement, meditation, self massage and she teaches yin yoga, gentle hatha, meditation and yoga nidra. Bea uploads new classes every Thursday.
I love Bea’s well planned classes. For this video I practiced her yin yoga for the front body: https://youtu.be/E7j7H6yT-zE
I enjoyed every minute of this class from the supported bridges with the blocks to begin and end to everything in between. I appreciated the modification in broken wing pose and I loved the way Bea moved the blocks back in dragon pose to open up the chest. That really allowed me to breath with more ease and open the sensation down through my psoas and into my quadricep.
Karling Dallyn Yoga & Wellness https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsFVN-GUH2s8pBRBgVAdAPQ/featured
Karling has a soft spoken teacher voice and her calm energy drags you into a meditative state while doing her classes. The class I did was was a 60 Min Full Yin Yoga Class to fully de-stress the body. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mR_PHgIbvM
During this class I was able to fall into the relaxing vibe and calming practice that Karling was putting as the intention here. She was guiding me smoothly from asana to asana using plenty of time, pauses and deep holds which I find is the best way to go about a relaxing and stress relieving class. She had smooth music playing in the background which was helping get into the zone as well.
Yoga with Carolynne https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ8blZQ0C69zmG5HfEP9z6Q/videos
Carolynne teaches empaths and sensitive souls how to create a collaborative relationship with their bodies through crazy accessible yoga and self care practices in order to live a life filled with less doing and more being. She is a fellow Canadian who strives to offer a safe and welcoming space for people who might have felt discouraged by lack of options offered in other classes. She releases weekly either yin or gentle hatha with the intention to leave you feeling calmer, grounded and a little bit better.
For this video I practiced her Deep Hip Stretch for Every BODY. https://youtu.be/4TGpTnK_T1Y
If it weren’t for Carolynne’s loving and encouraging presence, I’m not sure I would have been able to stick with this practice. It included some super challenging for me poses including dr...
Balancing Fire Element
Fire element is the most yang of all the five elements. It is outward and expansive. Fire element people get their energy from being with other people. Today we are going to talk to one of my yoga students, Magdalena, who recently participated in one of our membership challenges and courses. Magdalena has a lot of fire and earth element in her. She will share with you how she approached the fire element course and brought balance and harmony to her fire element.
“I am approaching this week/challenge differently than I usually would. By that I mean that instead of going all the way, I made an intention of doing less, to receive and digest the teaching throughout the day, and doing the one pose that Melissa showcased for that day.
Today Thursday, I am glad that I listen to my body and heart. All week I slept through the night, my mind has been clearer day by day, even my body feels as if I had done a whole 90 minute class. Off the mat, I have nurture myself by nature, leaving social media and sitting in silence.” Magdalena
Back Massage Chair Pad Review
This video is an unboxing and review of the RENPHO Back Massager with Heat, Shiatsu Rolling Chair Massage Pad for Full Back Shoulder Neck, Height Adjustable, Massage Cushion with Heat for Full Body Fatigue Relief for Relax.
The portable massage chair combines shiatsu, kneading, rolling,vibration and heat functions to help you eliminate fatigue, stress and relieve muscle pain. The neck height is adjustable. The back and neck massage chair features 4 unique neck massage modes that offer deep tissue massage to your neck and shoulders.
You can use the chair to massage in 3 zones: Full Back, Upper back & lower Back. The spot function allows you to concentrate the kneading nodes on specific areas to pin-point panful areas and soothe your muscles.
The manufacturer suggests using a blanket or towel on your back if you need a softer massage or if the intensity is too much. There are 3 different settings of intensity as well.
One issue I did find is that the way the neck part sticks out means that it is harder for it to reach my low back, but you could just focus on your low back and not do the neck and low back at the same time.
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Food Therapy
Kim Ashton and I met in a Yin Yoga Facebook group over a discussion about 5 element theory. Kim does something fascinating called: Qi Food Therapy.
In this interview we will talk about 5 element theory and the energetics of food.
I will ask her:
What is food energetics? What is food therapy? How does food energetics and food therapy affect our emotions? How does five element theory intersect with food?
We also talk about anxiety, insomnia and racing mind and how food can help to solve these common problems. Kim is based in Sydney, Australia. She is a Wellness coach, Chinese Medicine Food Therapist, Macrobiotic counselor, Emotional Anatomy consultant, Energy Medicine Practitioner, and author based in Australia & Asia. She teaches the Energetics of nutrition and Food Therapy workshops in Yoga training and other events.
Kim spent over 16 years in Shanghai, 6 of which she co-owned China’s first health food store & plant-based nutrition cooking studio. She also previously owned a small health food café.
Kim loves intuitive cooking with seasonal varieties of vegetables, sea vegetables, natural foods, and applying the 5 Element theory. She is passionate about teaching the Energetics of nutrition in relation to how food & cooking methods affect Qi, transform physical health, mood, emotional & spiritual well-being.
In 2019 Kim published a theory & cookbook “Chinese Superfoods,” in Chinese, which has sold over 7000 copies. Through the book, she encourages new generations of food therapy enthusiasts to explore Asian traditional foods, cook with everyday ingredients & get into the kitchen. She has taken many of the recipes into her new e-books and offerings at www.qifoodtherapy.com
Outside of the kitchen, she loves to practice Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga, Qigong & Meditation as part of holistic well-being, cultivating Qi, and balancing emotional health. She also loves water and swimming in the ocean.
How to be an Authentic Person
Today on Yoga Lifestyle with Melissa I am going to be interviewing an incredible human being that I discovered on YouTube through my love of oracle and tarot cards. Stormie Atlantis drew me in through her honest and raw authentic expression.
So today I am going to talk to her about:
Never have I ever Tarot on Arcane Panda
How to be authentically yourself?
How to be authentic on YouTube?
How to be authentic and confident?
How to be authentic as a leader?
How to be authentic as an artist?
How to be authentic on instagram?
How does she express herself so authentically and not care about what other people think? Or maybe she does care about what other people think?
How does living authentically free up our life force energy?
How does holding back our true selves cause us pain and suffering?
What advice does she have for us to authentically express ourselves if we are scared of being judged or maybe even loss of some sort?
How do we know the difference between authentic self expression and fake expression?
How can we remove our masks in a way that feels safe and gentle?
For those of you who like the language of the chakras we are going to be talking about the throat chakra, the fifth chakra and how to balance and harmonize your throat chakra. If you want to know how to clear the blockage in your throat chakra, how to unblock your throat chakra and open your throat chakra, then you are going to love this interview.
minimal cues yoga class vs. yoga classes
In this video I am going to be talking about which is better: minimal cues yoga class vs. yoga classes with instruction.
These are my thoughts and experiences on what is a minimal cues class, who they are for, when they are beneficial, why they are beneficial and why you would want to practice them. I am also going to talk about the place of yoga classes with instruction.
This video will cover:
What is a minimal cues yoga class?
Who is a minimal cues class for?
Who should avoid minimal cues classes?
What are the benefits of a minimal cues class?
What are the differences between a minimal cues class and yoga classes with instruction?
What are yoga classes with instruction?
Who are instructional yoga classes good for? When is it necessary to ditch the instructional yoga classes?
Prevent Constipation with Yoga
In this video I share with you a more holistic approach to preventing constipation with yoga, one that focuses on the physical, mental and emotional bodies. There are physical postures that support us in preventing constipation and when we combine them with mindful intention and support for our mental body the healing potential of yoga is quite inspiring.
In this video I will talk about some of the mental and emotional reasons why constipation happens and how the mindful aspects of yoga can support us in slowing down and relaxing so that we can let go. There are so many yoga poses that can support us in slowing down, relaxing, and opening up so that we can let go. In this video I will share some of my favourites.
I will also share some inspiring mantras and phrases that we can repeat to ourselves during our yoga practice to support us in trusting and accepting the people, experiences and emotions of our life so that we can release control and flow freely.
Physically it is most supportive to compress the colon with poses like knee to chest pose, elongate the colon with poses like lunge pose and twisting the colon with any yoga twist.
All of these things together: physically, mentally, emotionally will support you in preventing constipation with yoga.
Today’s video is about setting healthy boundaries for a balanced heart.
A few weeks ago I released a social media post about tending to our “gates”
Do you tend to your gates? Where in your life have you left your gate unintentionally open so that perhaps unconsciously energy is unintentionally flowing in and out without you even being aware of it? I’m talking about creating and maintaining secure boundaries within yourself that clearly express when you want to open your gate and when you need to close it to attend to our self care. We can be powerful gatekeepers to our own inner feelings and needs, allowing whatever sustains us to enter through our gates and closing our gates to whatever drains our energy.
Carol responded: This is a fabulous and intriguing question and topic; where can we find more information please?
With five element theory a branch of traditional Chinese medicine, the gates that open and close to our heart are a metaphor for our heart protector meridian, also known as your pericardium.
Your pericardium is a sac that surrounds and protects your heart.
Our heart protector is extremely important when it comes to opening and closing the gate to our heart in terms of letting in the experiences, relationships. When experiences and relationships are life giving our gates can open and let experiences flow freely in, but when experiences and relationships are depleting and toxic our gates should close protecting our heart from injury. When our heart protector is not protecting our heart we are vulnerable, but when it is doing its job it protects our heart with healthy boundaries to keep out that which is harmful and allow the trustworthy and peaceful experiences in.
If you would like to learn more about fire element, five element theory and what is involved in protecting your heart I will be running a course in May of 2021 that will be starting with a 5 day challenge in April of 2021. You can register for it at melissawest.com/fire
How to Clear Your Mind with Yoga
In this short video I am going to share with you how to clear your mind with yoga. I will show you which yoga poses work best to clear your mind. We will explore both the best types of yoga postures and the best yoga pose to clear your mind. This short demonstration with a yoga pose to clear your mind will help with brain fog and will cleanse your mind with a yoga pose.
Clear your mind
We live in a world of noise, excess information, and overwhelm. We are often overloaded , with too much of a good thing and our bodies, minds, emotions, energy and spirits cannot possibly adapt. The result is anxiety, insomnia, poor memory, confusion, brain fog, difficulty poor concentrating and a hard time prioritizing what is important to us.
In this video I am going to show you a simple and quick 3 minute guided breathing exercise that will support you in clearing your mind. The result will be a clear mind so that you have less anxiety, sleep more soundly, have a better memory and are able to concentrate and prioritize more effectively.
In this interview I have the honour of interviewing Norman Blair, author of Brightening Our Inner Skies: Yin and Yoga. I know Norman Blair as a yin yoga teacher and author of one of my most beloved and used yin yoga books: Brightening Our Inner skies. I personally go between 2 yin yoga books - Sarah Powers Insight Yoga and his Brightening Your Inner Skies. Of course, Sarah Powers wrote the forward for his Brightening Your inner Skies.
What I love about Norman Blair is the way that he embodies yin in his writing and in his teaching. I love howfor Norman, yin yoga is much more than the practice of anatomy, but that the body is a vehicle to access mindfulness, our energy body, our psycho emotional well being.
In this interview Norman and I talk about what drew him to yin yoga and what keeps him interested in yin yoga. We also talk about why yin yoga when he has such an interest in mindfulness and meditation.
We spend a lot of time talking about the principles of yin along with his current edge. We finish our interview together by talking about what captivates him most about teaching yin yoga right now and also what frustrates him most about teaching yin yoga right now.
You can learn more about Norman Blair, his teacher training, workshops and retreats at:
https://www.yogawithnorman.co.uk/
Top 5 Little Known Yoga Channels
In this video my friend, and fellow yin yoga teacher, Matt Depuis and I are going to share with you some of our favourite heart centered yoga teachers who are sharing their yoga on YouTube that you may not have come across because they are “smaller” channels. These are teachers that are generously sharing their teachings on YouTube on a regular schedule, that have good sound and lighting and are offering high quality instruction. In this video we will share why we enjoy their teaching and we hope that you will check them out.
The Yoga Gypsea, Kristen Schoeffel, teaches with minimal cues. There is A LOT of silence. She basically cues you into the pose and then the rest is silence, so if you love a lot of silence in your yin yoga classes, you are going to love her teaching. Kristen offers vinyasa yoga classes, yin yoga classes, restorative yoga classes, lunar yoga classes, and gentle yoga classes on her YouTube channel.
The Yoga Gypsea https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQglR7Mmu02fi9Fp4KBRhA
Silke Van den Broeck is a yoga teacher living in Mechelen, Belgium, she started her YouTube channel because she felt inspired to share what yoga has meant for her: a safe place to experience her body and be in the present moment. Mellomrom Yoga focuses on soft and gentle yoga classes to reconnect you to yourself, moving you out of your mind and into your body. Silke offers you the gift of space through her teachings.
Mellomrom Yoga https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI7WstYH8Bsuv2HtgKN3ebg
Yoga with Sarah J Collins offers yin yoga and meditation on her channel. Sarah lives in the UK and teaches both online and in person. Sarah has a wonderful ability to hold space in her teaching and offer beautiful instruction. Melissa especially loves her video for intense emotions.
Yoga with Sarah J Collins https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj9J46_L35IMtGma4my_1_g
Yoga with Alina offers classes three times a week every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Alina is from Russia and is based in South Florida. She always says that yoga healed her mind and body, which has become the reason she made this passion into a full-time career to share the practice with as many people she can.
Yoga with Alina https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCARaEaUjNIzpbXkm9ZTxfMw
Shanneuka has been teaching yoga since 2014. On YouTube she teaches no props yoga, flow yin yoga and meditation. Her intention is to provide classes that allow you to rest, relax and restore your body. She started on YouTube in April of 2020.
Yoga with Shaunneka https://www.youtube.com/c/YogawithShaunneka/
Yin Yoga with Matt https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfKzakbs3f_MpWBmQq8hUFg
In this video I share 5 tips for transitioning from beginner to intermediate level classes:
1 Foundational Knowledge of Yoga Poses
2 Knowledge of How to Modify Yoga Poses
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Knowledge of Props and You have Yoga Props you can use
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Ability to look after yourself - avoid injury
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Inner Sovereignty
Divine Feminine
We all have masculine 🕺 and feminine 💃 energy within us. In order to balance our masculine and feminine energy it is helpful 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.
This is why I have recently spent a lot of time awakening the divine feminine energy in my own yoga practice and bringing those qualities into my teachings more and more.
When we take the time to cultivate our divine feminine energy we bring the masculine and feminine energies into union and this gives our action and productivity inspiration.
In this video I am going to share with you 5 qualities we can bring into our yoga practice to awaken the sacred feminine with yoga.
The five qualities we can bring into our yoga practice to awaken the divine feminine are:
1 body wisdom
2 emotions
3 being/receiving
4 intuition
5 creativity
In my
60 minute Yin Yoga to Cultivate Your Divine Feminine https://youtu.be/LVG5sICXBnM I will take you through these qualities in a yin yoga class in real time. In this video I will explain these qualities.
Trying a Vibrating 🥎 Massage Ball 🥎 for Pec Release and Shoulder Pain
10 Days of Yoga for Highly Sensitive People 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/hsp/
💕Join Our Membership Community 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
In this short video I will explain how vibrating massage balls work to reduce symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness and how they create a neurological response to help increase range of motion. Both of these benefits of using massage balls and vibrating massage balls could be of interest to yogis. I have shared the link to the references I have used below. I will also show a technique to change the pattern of tight pec minor muscles that come from rounded posture and screen time as well as show some options for shoulder pain.
I will discuss who the RubBall is for and whether the RubBall is worth it at its price point of $129 for yogis.
Vibration Therapy has been shown to reduce symptoms of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMs) after exercise. I site this article: Click here
Specifically: Darryl Cochrane, associate professor of sport and exercise at Massey University in New Zealand.
What is Self Myofascial Release?
https://youtu.be/X7xQ44MSvaM
How to Use Massage Gun for Sciatica
https://youtu.be/maj4EQeBF8M
Why a Soft Foam Roller
https://youtu.be/XoG3b2sKBX0
Top 5 Little Known Yoga Channels You Need to Follow Winter 2021
In this video my friend Matt Depuis and I are going to share with you some of our favourite heart centered yoga teachers who are sharing their yoga on YouTube that you may not have come across because they are “smaller” channels. These are teachers that are generously sharing their teachings on YouTube on a regular schedule, that have good sound and lighting and are offering high quality instruction. In this video we will share why we enjoy their teaching and we hope that you will check them out.
Yin Yoga with Matt
When Melissa first found Matt he had 38 subscribers and now, not surprisingly, he has over 2K subscribers. What Melissa loves about Matt is his ability to hold space for the quieter practice of yin. I can tell he has had a depth of real life experience that to me means he has been there and so he can hold me in the shadow space.
Timberlake Yoga
Brittney supports her yoga students in the slow and moving styles. You can tell as soon as you press play that she has a grounded presence that will hold you as you practice yoga with her.
Brittney’s Spotify Playlist Yin Vibes
Nourished Natasha
If you are looking for a breath of fresh air in the yoga world, then you are going to love Natasha. Melissa loves her witchy, tarot vibe. Natasha offers yoga flow with a focus on mantra, astrology, self love and self care. I love how she creates flows for the new moons and full moons as well as equinoxes and solstices.
Yin Yoga Garage
Vince has the kindest energy that comes through the screen that I have ever experienced. His
channel's mission is to be an instrument to help you be the kindest, calmest, most compassionate you through Mindfulness Yin Yoga. In my experience he has accomplished his mission. It is called Yin Yoga Garage because all Yin classes are recorded in his home garage room which was converted into a virtual studio during the COVID19 lockdown in the Philippines. Melissa loves listening to Vince give dharma talks all through his yin instruction as well as his variations on tried and true yin poses.
Laura Goellner
Laura is an Occupational Therapist and one of the most intelligent yoga teachers that I know. She brings her education and experience as an occupational therapist to her teaching. Melissa has studied anatomy with her and has collaborated with her in the past. I highly recommend subscribing to Laura’s channel and checking her out.
Yoga Mudra for Constipation: Mahatrika Mudra
Today I am going to show you how to do the mahatrika mudra to relieve pelvic congestion and constipation. So if you have abdominal cramping, are straining to have a bowel movement, or feel as though there is something preventing you from having a bowel movement stay with us for this simple and natural way to relieve your constipation. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable or in pain.
How long should you practice this mudra for?
You are going to hold this mudra for 5-45 minutes.
How often can you practice this mudra?
To increase the healing potential of this mudra you can practice it for 2-3 shorter sessions a day.
If you liked this video you are probably going to like my 2 minute massage for constipation
The Yin and Yang of a Daily Yoga Practice
In this video I am going to talk to you about balancing the yin and yang energies in our daily yoga practice. What is yin and what is yang and why would we want to think about balancing them in our daily yoga practice.
We tend to live in a yang dominant culture. One that values competition, goal-setting, being in action, focuses on performance and growth, and moving towards peak experience. When yang is at its fullest expression bigger is better and we are in an expanded state. Yang tends to be quite linear, focused on the mind, and involves planning a controlled and certain outcome of the future.
Yin is cooperation, circulating, connecting, focus on quality over quantity, focus on endurance, intuition, focus on intuition, focus on conservation, and focus on cycles and rhythms.
When it comes to our daily yoga practice we need a balance of yin and yang, we can’t have one without the other.
Give this video a thumbs up and put: I am balancing my yin and yang energy in the comments if you are love videos like this and share this with a friend who loves to live in balance too.
Thanks for subscribing, it only takes a minute.
When we are planning our daily yoga practice which is a yang oriented focus, we want to make sure we have the qualities of yin and yang in balance.
If you liked this video you are probably going to like my video: Why are the principles of yin yoga important?
In it I explain those yin qualities of softness, stillness and balancing yin and yang.
3 Ways to Let Go of Perfectionism in Your Daily Yoga Practice
3 mindful and supportive ways that you can organically breathe into your life that will allow you to let go of perfectionism as easily as you exhale.
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Become aware of the ordinary moments in your body
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Make choices that support your well-being
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Make space for uncertainty
In our membership community, I created a brand new 10 minute Daily Yoga reset that will support you in letting go of the inner pusher and perfectionist so you can tune into what is happening in your being with compassion, kindness and without judgment.
In this short daily yoga reset you will tune into your human physical, mental, emotional, energetic experiences.
Then you will connect with the innermost part of yourself that holds all of your experience in an unconditional embrace.
When you tune into your intimate heart of hearts you will discern the most compassionate and kind thing that you can offer yourself in your daily yoga practice today.
Link for members
Link to become a member
How to Start and Maintain a Daily Yoga Practice
53% of my yoga students say their goal for their yoga in 2021 is to start or maintain a daily yoga practice.
This is over becoming more flexible or stronger with a yoga practice.
In this video I will share with you 3 tips for starting and maintaining a daily yoga practice that are different from other YouTube videos. We will not talk about creating a physical space, but the mental space required for a yoga practice. We will talk about the planning that goes into your yoga practice. I will share with you some important questions you should be asking yourself before you plan your daily yoga practice. We also talk about how to let go of perfectionism.
If you liked this video you are going to like this video on 3 ways to increase your motivation to practice daily https://youtu.be/NBTfya8ABgA In it I share practical, easy to implement tips to increase your motivation for a daily yoga practice
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Melissa earns a small percentage when you purchase from the above links
Daily Yoga for Balance : Activate These 3 Things Daily to Improve Your Balance
Today we are going to talk about three things you want to do daily to improve your balance with yoga.
1. Activate Your Vestibular System.
This is just a fancy way of saying engage your inner ear. Your inner ear sense information about motion, equilibrium and spatial orientation. This information is collected in your inner ear by the utricle, saccule and three semicircular canals.
Your utricle and saccule detect gravity, that is information in a linear orientation, as well as linear movement. Your semicircular canals detect rotational movement.
It is super simple to activate your vestibular system. All you need to do is come into your balancing pose and move your head slowly as if you are saying yes or no. This will challenge your balance.
2 Your Proprioceptive System
Proprioception is defined as the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself. We receive proprioceptive input from our skin, muscles, joints and sensory receptors that are sensitive to movement and pressure in our connective tissue
3 Your Visual System
You have sensory receptors in your retina called rods and cones. When light strikes the rods and cones of your retina, the rods and cones send impulses to your brain that provide visual cues that tell your brain how you are oriented relative to the objects around you.
If you liked this video you are probably going to like my video: Beginner Yoga for Balance Video
https://youtu.be/ZvoCBc4AUQE
In it I: share these 3 systems for beginners
Yoga Essentials:
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Melissa earns a small percentage from the above links
Eye Yoga Doesn’t Work - The Way You Think it Does
So many people want to know how to improve their eyesight with yoga. When it comes down to improving our vision at home naturally we want to know: Will it really work? How long will it take to work? Will I be able to get rid of my glasses? Will I be able to get rid of astigmatism? So first of all, let’s look at my scope of practice. I am a yoga instructor with a Ph.D. in communications and cultural studies. Which means I can show you how to do some yoga exercises for your eyes, but I am not an optometrist.
However, because I am a Ph.D. I am also good at researching, which means I was able to research exactly what the scientific data shows that eye yoga exercises can do for you and what it cannot. In this video I will separate fact from fiction and the truth of eye yoga from the lies of eye yoga.
In this video I will share with you what eye yoga can not do and what eye yoga is absolutely brilliant at doing.
Yoga Essentials:
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Melissa earns a small percentage from the above links.
I failed at Maintaining a Daily Yoga Practice: How I’m Recovering
This video is about how to develop, commit and maintain a daily yoga practice in a way that is kind, compassionate and sustainable.
Over the last couple of months I’ve completely failed to commit to and maintain and daily yoga practice. Maybe you’ve been through periods like this in your own yoga journey. In this video I am going to share with you the road to my recovery and how the act of failing at keeping my yoga practicing going has actually been more helpful than keeping my yoga practice going in many ways.
So if you are interested in developing a daily yoga practice, committing to a daily yoga practice and maintaining a daily yoga practice and would like to learn from my experience, challenges and failing forward then watch this video.
Also just to let you know that starting in December and through the new year of 2021 I am going to be supporting our members in the 4 Ps of daily yoga practice which are:
1 Letting go of Perfectionism
2 Pondering: as in Mindset Tools
3 Practical Tips for Setting up and Maintaining a Daily Yoga Practice
4 Planning Tips for Setting up and Maintaining a Daily Yoga Practice
If any of that sounds helpful and supportive to you there are links to join our community at https://melissawest.com
Yoga Essentials:
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Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristen Neff https://amzn.to/3lFgTOh
The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive https://amzn.to/3qruPPv
Melissa earns a small percentage from the above affiliate links
What to do on Vancouver Island: Tofino and Ucluelet
I know we are all on lockdown right now and I don’t know about you, but for me, it is causing my mental health to suffer. For the next few weeks in BC we have been asked to stay in place in our own cities. We went on this family trip before that mandate was in place.
A few nights ago, Tim asked me to imagine where I would like to go in the future. Because of the increased restrictions my mind had gone into a fixed mindset. Just the question started to open things up. I hope this vlog will inspire us to imagine a time when we will be able to travel freely again and when we do here are some things you can do on Vancouver Island.
Need ideas on what to do on Vancouver Island? In this vlog we will share accommodation in the heart of Ucluelet that still feels like you are living in the middle of a rainforest. We will share our favourite places to eat in Tofino. We also share our favourite hikes in Ucluelet: the wild pacific trail and in Tofino: the rainforest trail. Of course no trip to Tofino is complete without the mandatory road trip stop to goats on the roof.
Accommodations: Elephant Cottage in Ucluelet
Goats on the Roof
Rainforest Trail
Wild Pacific Trail
Tacofino Tofino
Wolf in the Fog
Abbondanza Pizza Ucluelet Address: 1972 Peninsula Rd A, Ucluelet, BC V0R 3A0 Phone: (250) 266-2037
The Wild Coast, Volume 1: A Kayaking, Hiking and Recreation Guide for North and West Vancouver Island (The Wild Coast) Amazon.ca Amazon.com
The Great Western Canada Bucket List: One-of-a-Kind Travel Experiences (The Great Canadian Bucket List Amazon.ca Amazon.com
251 Things to Do in Tofino: And it is NOT just about Surfing Amazon.ca Amazon.com
The Wild Side Guide to Vancouver Island's Pacific Rim: Long Beach, Tofino, Ucluelet, Port Alberni, Nitinat & Bamfield Amazon.ca Amazon.com
Tofino Guide Amazon.ca Amazon.com
The Sobo Cookbook: Recipes from the Tofino Restaurant at the End of the Canadian Road Amazon.ca Amazon.com
Constipation Relief
If you do this one thing before your yoga poses for constipation your constipation will be relieved with much greater ease.
You probably already know the yoga poses that will relieve your constipation, the poses that will put pressure on your colon, the poses that will twist your colon and the poses that will relax your colon. But do you know the secrets that yogis have been using every morning prior to doing their yoga that helps to aid with elimination in addition to yoga?
5 Best Hatha Yoga Poses for Constipation
Links
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Frozen Shoulder
During the pain phase of frozen shoulder there have been 3 things that have helped me most with the pain. I thought I would share them with you here today.
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You Won’t Believe the Wildlife We Saw on Our First Day in Jasper National Park
Join us on our road trip from Victoria B.C. to go camping in Wapiti Campground at Jasper National Park.
Our trip begins at Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal in Victoria BC with a short crossing over to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal in Vancouver BC. We had a short stop at Harveston Mill in Chilliwack BC to meet on of my yoga students for lunch.
We also stopped in Merrit BC for the night to rest.
Our first beautiful lookout was Kamloops Lake Lookout Point. A gorgeous rest point for breakfast. As promised here are the recipes for the morning glory cookies and morning glory bread that I like to make for breakfast. The cookies travel well and make a great breakfast on the road.
Roasted Root Morning Glory Cookies
Roasted Root Morning Glory Bread
When we arrived at Wapiti Campground in the early evening, which is a great time to view wildlife. We asked the park attendant the best place to view wildlife. She recommended we take a drive down Maligne Lake Road to Maligne Lake. You won’t believe the wildlife we saw on our first day in Jasper National Park.
Yoga and Poetry: Poetry as Meditative Practice
I received some wonderful questions on my YouTube channel the other day from Jessica. She asks: I’m curious how you read poetry. I borrowed a Mary Oliver book from the library and started reading it. It doesn’t impact me the same way they do when you read them in class. Any tips? Flip open to a random page? Read from start to finish ? Thanks, Melissa.
These are great questions. How do you read poetry so that it comes alive? Why does it come alive when I read it in class? Why was a Mary Oliver poem not enough on its own?
These are questions that I answer in this Yoga Lifestyle video, where we explore poetry as a meditative practice.
What happens when we enter into a meditative space? We take some time to prepare our bodies and minds to receive the poetry. Maybe you feel the earth underneath you, you align your body, you slow your breathing, you feel the space in your body and you take a few breaths.
Then you turn your attention to the page. Now notice what it is like to receive this poem in an open and spacious way. Is it different?
I have more tips in this video below on how I read poetry to you in our yoga classes, so be sure to click play and watch the entire video.
Our community is filled with so much wisdom. How do you read poetry? Let me know in the comments below.
How to Plan a Daily Yoga Practice
Today we are going to talk about how to plan a daily yoga practice.
Barb’s question: I would like to start doing a daily yoga practice. I would like to do Hatha some days, Yin other days etc. I have done some of the courses like the daily hatha yoga, yoga for strength and monthly themes. Wondering if you have any curated lists on the membership site of various episodes for a general continuing daily practice ? I am a bit overwhelmed trying to devise a balanced daily practice for myself that includes some hatha and yin videos and hoping there might be some curated lists on the site that I could use to create a schedule for myself. Is there a series that has both of these styles or a Hatha series and a Yin series that you recommend I combine? Every single day of the year in our community we put together a daily yoga connection. It follows our theme of the quarter, which gets further broken down by month and week. The intention is exactly as you describe, to take away the overwhelm of choice by providing a weekly reflection and 7 curated classes each week. The classes are balanced and include a variety of yin yoga, hatha yoga, and meditation classes.
If you are not a member, I would recommend choosing a series on the Yoga with Melissa channel. The series tends to be well balanced with a combination of yin yoga, qigong flows, restorative yoga, hatha yoga and yoga nidra meditations. So if you went through a series in a week you would get a balance of classes. On YouTube a series is organized into playlists. I have tagged our 30 day beginner yoga challenge in this video for example, however we have lots of series to choose from in our community. This autumn, I am so happy to be sharing our Clean Home Clean Heart/Mind series for example.
Give this video a thumbs up and put, I am balanced in the comments. Subscribe for more videos like this and feel free to leave your questions in the comments.
Namaste, Melissa
Horne Lake Caves
In today’s vlog we are going on an adventure: a guided tour of Horne Lake Caves, just north of Parksville on on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is approximately a two and a half hour drive from Victoria B.C. Our guide was so knowledgeable and hilariously entertaining as well. We climbed deep down into the depths of the earth and learned so much about life forms that haven’t even been discovered yet. The rock formations were absolutely gorgeous. At one point we all turned our head lanterns off and you wouldn’t have believed how dark and quiet it was.
I highly recommend the guided tour. Definitely bring gloves.
Just to reiterate, this was filmed in June of 2019. It is with so much gratitude that we are releasing these vlogs that we were able to film last summer and with all our fingers and toes crossed that we will be able to go out and do similar things this summer.
Much love, Tim and Melissa
Discovering Nelson BC and the Kootenays Summer 2020
In this vlog, using Nelson B.C. as our base we take a little roadtrip around the Kootenays.
If you love West Coast scenery then you are going to love this travel vlog.
Join us as we drive through the mountains, beside Kootenay Lake.
Our first stop was beautiful Coffee Creek. Fletcher Falls was our next destination: the falls and the view of Kootenay Lake was spectacular there.
From Fletcher Falls we moved on to Kaslo.
Unity Bridge, just outside of Kaslo is super adorable.
We took a free ferry ride over to Harrop and drove to Proctor and then back again to make it back to Nelson BC for some yummy dinner.
Qigong and Mudra Flow for Eczema + Skin Eczema Cream
Scentuals Unscented Hand Cream
In this video I will share with you one of my favourite creams to strengthen the boundary of your skin to repair and prevent eczema before I show you a qigong mudra flow to strengthen the boundary of your skin and a mudra to relieve dry skin and eczema.
A few months ago, in the middle of March 2020, at the beginning of COVID, I experienced probably the worst outbreak of eczema I’ve ever had on my right hand. I literally thought I was going to lose a layer of my skin.
According to traditional chinese medicine, our skin is like an outer lung on our body and is seen as a door of QI.
Today we are going to do a movement to build up our wei chi, which is guardian energy that surrounds your body, on the surface of your skin. When wei chi is over active you will experience things like eczema.
So this qigong flow in combination with a mudra will strengthen the boundary and relieve the dry skin irritation.
Road Trip
In this vlog we take you along for the 12-13 hour drive from Victoria B.C. to Nelson B.C.
This includes our ferry crossing from Swartz Bay terminal in Victoria B.C. from the Tsawwassen terminal in Vancouver.
The scenery through the mountains is incredible.
We get to drive through Manning Provincial Park, the Okanagan Valley, Osoyoos.
The Okanagan valley is known for its fruit.
We stopped and got lots of peaches and cherries for eating.
Coming from the island we were overwhelmed by the heat and dryness!
Come to Dance Class with Me! How Awkward?
In this vlog I am going to take you behind the scenes of Marvin’s Afro Dance class at Studio 4 Athletics in Victoria B.C.
This is the gym that Tim and I lift weights at several times a week.
In addition to personal training and working the front desk, Marvin teaches this dance class once a week.
When he invited Tim and I to come we of course said yes!
The class was super fun and had a wonderful community vibe. Marvin and his friends made dancing easy.
We all came away learning some fun dance moves.
I smiled through the whole class.
2 Ways to Relieve Constipation and Back Pain with Yoga Stretches
If you suffer from constipation and back pain, I am going to show you two yoga stretches in this short video to relieve your constipation and your back pain. Constipation is anything less than three bowel movements in a week. The blockage in your colon puts pressure on your lower back and can cause back pain in addition to the constipation you are experiencing.
There are simply yoga stretches that you can do to relieve both the constipation and release your low back pain at home with no special equipment needed.
How to Sit Cross Legged Without Knee Pain - The Secret!
If you have tight hips and you experience knee pain when trying to sit cross legged for yoga or meditation then let me let you in on a well known secret. In the yoga and meditation world, we use props to support our joints so that we don’t experience pain.
When ungloo reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to try out their triangle shaped blocks I said yes because the videos on this channel where I talk about knee pain and how to sit cross legged are extremely popular.
Here are the links to the ungloo meditation seat blocks
In this video I will show you how to support your knee joints in sitting cross legged so that your knees will not hurt and also so your back will not hurt.
Are You Still Making this Constipation Mistake? Even if you are doing Yoga?
I have been offering viewers of this channel constipation yoga exercises on this channel since 2013. The YouTube videos that I have filmed to relieve constipation with yoga are some of my most popular videos. Which leads to the question, are we getting at the root cause of constipation? Maybe there is something that is happening before the yoga that is contributing to the constipation that it is time to address.
In this short video we will talk about one of the major causes of constipation and how that may be contributing to constipation even if you are doing yoga.
There is a lot more that I could say about this, but one thing that I have put together to support you is a 5 Day Earth Element Challenge to Nourish and Replenish you. Constipation is not just physical, but also mental and emotional. In other words, we can be mentally constipated as well and this contributes to the physical constipation.
So far 2020 has been physically, mentally, emotionally, and energetically ungrounding. We need time to settle and calm our overactive minds and excessive worry.
In just 5 days we will focus on the main organ system of the earth element and the stomach meridian, to anchor us through this transitional time.
Each day we will take specific actions to encourage the overactive, top-heavy worry that rises up into your head and encourage that qi to anchor down and into the earth.
This offer is going to be available for 5 days only from Monday August 17th through Monday August 21st 2020 Click Here to Reserve Your Spot May I be free from all that is blocking my spiritual growth and freedom.
Namaste, Melissa
Do Yogis Need Massage Guns? Fitindex Massage Gun Review
Bonus: How to Use Massage Gun for Sciatica If you are wondering what massage gun to buy or which massage gun is the best, I have a great massage gun for you today.
I will talk about how massage guns work, who they are good for. In this video I will talk about when to use a massage gun. I will discuss the massage gun versus a foam roller or massage balls. I will talk about who should use a massage gun. I will speak about the effectiveness of massage guns. I will speak about the cost of the Fitindex massage gun and whether it is worth it at its price point. I will show you how I think a massage gun can help you with sciatica. Purchase link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07YB3GPKB 10% off discount code: Melissafit10 USA Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YB3GPKB
Myofascial Release Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qDJFCV9FUI&list=PLo7rSKIAt_6wRr7CEw3XbqeETapSn2BLR
Why a Soft Foam Roller https://youtu.be/XoG3b2sKBX0
Myofascial Release for your Shoulders https://youtu.be/WmkYCztkiZs
Sciatica Help https://youtu.be/0bzAJR-4FPg
Membership: https://www.melissawest.com/membership-landing-page/
Mudras
In this video I am going to share with you 5 techniques for increasing the effectiveness of any mudra. Mudras are basically yoga postures for your hands that facilitate the flow of energy in the subtle body to a specific end. Sometimes they are used to enhance meditation, sometimes they are used to improve some kind of physical ailment such as back pain or menstrual cramps. Mudras can also affect our mental or emotional well being such as calming anxiety or for focus. Mudras can give us more energy or encourage our spiritual practice with devotion.
Today I will share five techniques for increasing the effectiveness for any mudra. I made this video because I have been making several mudra flow sequences for our members. The most recent one is a ventral vagus activation mudra flow for safety, connection and resilience. If you would like to know more about that or becoming a member click here: Membership
Mudras are used to signify a gesture of your hands to create certain states of consciousness. Add your email address and I'll send you my PDF of the 9 Most Requested Hand Mudras
Teacup Twirls
In this short video I am going to show you a qigong inspired movement to open up your shoulders and increase their mobility using a yoga block. This movement is part of a longer class for ventral vagus activation that focuses on playful movements like this as an advanced technique for learning.
This fun movement intentionally moves your shoulders through their full range of motion and will help to gently restore their range of motion. It is a fun, but challenging exercise that also works the brain in a playful way. The movement also supports the range of motion in your neck and upper back.
This exercise is particularly helpful if you have painful shoulders, upper back and neck muscles. It is also helpful if you spend a lot of time sitting at a computer or using your cell phone.
Props needed: Yoga block
Vagus Nerve
In this video I am going to show you how to use a massage ball similar to Jill Miller’s courageous ball to stimulate your vagus nerve so that it is easier for you to speak your truth with a full and resonant voice.
Hi I’m Melissa from Yoga with Melissa. One of the most amazing things I have learned in the past year is the power of the vagus nerve. It is part of our autonomic nervous system that supports our response to stress. Basically we used to believe that there were only 2 sides of our nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system: fight or flight and the parasympathetic nervous system the rest and digest.
Stephen Porgest came along with polyvagal theory and suggested that actually, there are 2 parasympathetic branches. There is a dorsal sympathetic branch that is more primal which puts us into freeze, allows us to feel less pain and makes our memories become blurred. However there is also the ventral vagus branch. This branch allows us to feel safe and connected. In short, when we feel safe, we connect with others and when we connect with others we feel safe. This is all pretty important when it comes to speaking your truth and having a more resonant voice.
This connective tissue release or self massage is part of a longer video in a series of videos in my membership community designed to Activate the Vagus Nerve for Safety Connection and Resilience so if you are interested in more I will leave links for members as well as a link to learn more about my membership community. The classes are super fun, have a lot of neck release, breathing, sounding and are designed to increase your safety, connection and resilience.
One more thing, I learned this video from Jill Miller so I will leave a link to her video because she is super in depth on anatomy if that is your jam.
Jill Miller’s Vagus Nerve Calming Massage
Link to Full Video of Intermediate Yoga for Ventral Vagus Activation
Link to Become a Member
How to Release Anger
In this short video I am going to share with you a simple qigong healing sound technique to allow you to simply and easily release anger, frustration, irritation and resentment. This is a simple and easy technique that will allow you to release anger in a healthy way slowly over time. The effects of this practice are cumulative. When you practice this simple technique every day for just one to two minutes a day you will notice that over time your experience of anger, frustration, irritation and resentment will gradually reduce and that you will go with the flow and feel much more loving and kind towards yourself and others. May this video be of benefit to all beings.
Namaste, Melissa
Clear Your Mind
In this video I am going to show you a simple technique that I often use at the beginning of my yoga practice that relaxes my neck and shoulder muscles but has a welcome side effect, it clears my mind. Every time I use this technique at the beginning of my yoga practice I notice that it clears my mind quickly and easily, that my mind feels more clear and that it helps to calm and quiet my mind. No more brain fog. It is simple and easy. It feels super good and it takes almost no time at all. It is so easy that you can do it in bed at night when you need to clear your mind to sleep at night as well. I often use it when I am trying to clear my mind to focus on mental tasks such as studying too. May this video be of benefit.
The simple technique that I am going to show you to clear your mind is part of a beginner yoga class for ventral vagus activation. I actually included this exercises to increase blood flow to your brainstem where 5 cranial nerves for social engagement originate and to have a positive effect on ventral branch of vagus nerve. If you are interested in the whole class I will leave the links in the description.
Namaste, Melissa
How to Learn Beginner Yoga
- FIND A TEACHER THAT RESONATE WITH
I cannot emphasize this enough. I love the quote, “You may be the ripest, juiciest peach and the world and some people still do not like peaches.” There are so many yoga teachers in our world and this is a great thing, because chances are if you didn’t like one there will be another that will suite your personality better.
Each yoga teacher has a different way of delivering their yoga depending on their own personality. Depending on what you need in your life right now, you can search for a yoga teacher that is embodying those qualities. Maybe you are looking for somebody who embodies a super grounded, peaceful, and centered vibe. Maybe you want somebody who radiate positivity. Maybe you are looking for somebody who is light hearted and keeps things upbeat. I promise you, whatever you are looking for, there is a yoga teacher out there with that personality.
Additionally, you might have particular health challenges. No matter what we are going through in our lives, we are not alone. No matter how perfect you think yoga teachers are, I guarantee you they are not. We all struggle with our own mental, emotional and physical health issues as well. For example, because I have experienced chronic migraines for years, I tend to attract a lot of students who also have migraines. I think my students appreciate having a yoga instructor who understands what it is like to live through that experience and has empathy and compassion for what you are going through as well.
- FIND A TEACHER THAT OFFERS AN APPROACH THAT YOU RESONATE WITH
Each teacher offers a slightly different approach to yoga. Some teachers are super anatomy driven and keep their teaching focused on the physical body. Other teachers are super jived about the energetic body and focus in more on the subtle body. Some teachers focus on the philosophy of yoga, the emotions and or the spiritual aspects. You get the point. There is no right or wrong or better best. You can choose the teacher that resonates most with you at this time in your life.
If your mind and emotions are on overdrive and overwhelm it will be good to choose a teacher who has some training in mindfulness. If your main objective is to get in better shape physically, then choose a yoga teacher who is going to whip you into shape physically. If you are anxious, then it is important to choose a yoga instructor who understands how to move stress hormones through your body with movement.
- FIND A YOGA INSTRUCTOR THAT OFFERS A BALANCE IN THEIR APPROACH
What I mean by that is you want an approach in the styles of yoga that you are going to be offered. Just as you cannot be awake all the time, you can also not be asleep all the time either. In other words you need a balance between styles that are going to activate your energy and also calm your energy. We need to balance our yoga practice between more yang active styles which are going to strengthen our body, build endurance, and energy with movement and more yin styles which will nourish, replenish and restore our body; styles like yin yoga, restorative yoga and yoga nidra, also known as sleep yoga.
- MAKE SURE YOUR INSTRUCTOR UNDERSTANDS BEGINNER STUDENTS
There is a saying that I love. It goes like this: “Your yoga instructor should be a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.” That is they should actually be teaching you yoga, not performing yoga for you to watch. When you click on a beginner yoga video on youtube, just check and make sure it is a yoga class that you can actually do with lots of options and modifications.
Thanks so much for watching. I appreciate you. I would love the opportunity to teach you yoga. Remember you can go to melissawest.com/begin to start with me. Let me know how your yoga journey goes.
Namaste, Melissa
Sign Up for 30 Day Beginner Yoga Challenge: https://melissawest.com/begin/
Yoga Everyday?
Can I practice yoga everyday if I am a beginner? In this video I am going to offer five tips and some important guidelines about the frequency of yoga practice if you are a beginner. Listen to Your Body Most importantly, listen to your body. If you are feeling any pain or not feeling well in any way, remember it is ok to take some time off. It is not ok to push yourself in yoga. The no pain no gain thing does not apply in yoga. Take a Break Even though it is a 30 day yoga challenge, there is no rule that says you need to finish it in 30 days. We are yogis, we are flexible. It is totally fine to take a day or two off and pick up where you started. Recovery and rest is important, especially in yoga Take Your Time If you haven’t had a daily movement routine going before, remember it is also ok to start slowly. Maybe you will set a goal to practice yoga three times a week instead of everyday. Remember it is also a good idea to speak with your medical doctor if you have an injury or medical condition before you start any movement program that is designed to improve your range of motion, strength and endurance. Infinite Time and No Ambition We have a saying around our yoga community that goes like this, “Infinite time and no ambition.” It means that we don’t have to rush things. You don’t have to rush through the 30 day challenge. Often when we start something we go all in and try to do too much too soon. This is a recipe for muscle soreness in injury. It is a good idea to give yourself time to rest and recover. Restorative yoga and yoga nidra are styles of yoga that allow you to rest more deeply. I even have beginner restorative and beginner yoga nidra classes. Slow and Low Whenever I am starting something new, I like to remember the slogan, “slow and low.” This is why I love 10 minute practices. 10 minute practices are great for beginners to try a practice without getting overtired and to build endurance over time. It is also a great way for you to spread your yoga throughout the day. It is way better to practice 10 minutes of yoga everyday rather than 1 hour of yoga once a week. Remember a small amount of yoga is way more valuable than none at all.
times of uncertainty
So what is new moon yoga? This is a good question! How do the moon phases relate to our yoga practice? When we align our yoga practice with the phases of the moon we can bring awareness to the ebbing and flowing energy that is within us and all around us in nature. Just as the moon waxes and wanes, so too does our energy. When we align our practice with that waxing and waning energy then we are in harmony with the flow of energy rather than fighting against it.
The new moon is a time of darkness when we are asked to turn inwards to our own wisdom. Traditionally it has been a time of intention setting.
With all the uncertainty of covid-19 in our world right now, I have been talking to my members a lot about intention, especially since it was our theme for last month. One of our big take aways in March was to let go of Big I intentions for our life and Big V visions for our life especially during a time when the new few months are so unclear. In this video I will share with you my favourite way to connect with my small i intention as well as some resources that will support you.
Booty Band
A few months ago, I released a series of classes for our members with some booty bands but it ended up being a real hassle because the bands were slipping all over our yoga pants. Today I have no slip fabric booty bands to share with you that will stay in place while you are doing your yoga, especially when you wrap them around your legs.
Today we are going to practice 3 exercises with the booty band to strengthen your glutes. These include some classic movements from yoga as well as some classic movements that you will see with the booty band.
1 Combine a side plank variation with clam shells
The clamshell exercise can specifically help to strengthen the gluteus medius, which lays on the outer edge of the buttocks and is responsible for stabilizing your pelvis. Clamshell exercises can help to balance the muscular effort between your inner and outer thighs and your pelvic floor.
This variation of side plank helps to build strength in your obliques and your shoulders
2 Bird Dog Variation
The bird dog is a simple core exercise that improves stability, encourages a neutral spine, and relieves low back pain. It strengthens your core, hips, and back muscles. It also promotes proper posture and increases range of motion.
In this variation we are going to rainbow arch our leg to the outside and inside of our back foot. This will add some strengthening challenge to your gesture leg
3 1 legged Bridge Variation
The single leg bridge exercise is a great way to isolate and strengthen the gluteus (butt) muscles and hamstrings (back of the upper leg). If you do this exercise correctly, you will also find that it is a very powerful core strengthening technique.
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Dark Moon
Right now we are in a great time of uncertainty with the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus. This uncertainty has left me feeling destabilized to say the least and many of you too. In this video I will share with you some of the insights and discussions we have been having around the uncertainty due to covid-19 in our community.
Over the last few weeks I have been connecting with a lot of my students through live yoga and meditation classes with lots of time for us to speak about our experience afterwards. One of the things that stands out is that we are in a time of great uncertainty. The other thing that stands out is that most of us have been practicing for many decades and have a lot of yoga and meditation experience that we are bringing with us to the period of uncertainty and unknown due to covid-19.
A lot of us are experiencing quieter and stiller days right now. What I have found is that these times are asking me to move beyond the perfect way of doing things and doing things right and asking me to plunge into my inner world. This doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact frequent breaks through the day have been helpful rather than grand gestures. When I do this I am able to restore my energy and pay attention to my own well being. This sacred pause allows me to tune into my own emotions and feelings, let go of distractions like social media and news media and tune into my own inner wisdom.
The restorative yoga pose that I am enjoying right now is child’s pose. It allows me to be grounded, to soothe my inner child, to come to a place of inner rest, and to breathe into my kidneys and adrenals. I can stay until I feel rested and know that when I emerge I will feel more rested.
Ladysmith British Columbia
The plan was to go to Ladysmith to go for a hike, but it was raining buckets, so we decided to enjoy a day out and get some cinnamon buns and go for lunch in Ladysmith. The views were gorgeous on the Malahat because we were continually driving through the clouds, Our first stop was old town bakery. After Old Town Bakery, we went across the road to Wild Poppy Bistro which is entirely gluten free! Wild Poppy Bistro is an amazing place. I absolutely fell in love with this cute bistro. Their food was so fresh and good.
In this vlog we talk about trusting our gut and using our two feet to walk away when things don’t feel right. Does that ever happen to you?
I cannot recommend Wild Poppy Bistro highly enough. I checked and they are closed due to covid-19. As soon as they open, I will be driving back up to Ladysmith to support them and I encourage those of us who live in Vancouver Island to support this amazing local business.
We drove to Elliots Beach Community Park. Highly recommend it as a day trip from Victoria.
Namaste, Melissa and Tim
Sourdough Starter
Join us on this super cool adventure as we head out to one of my favourite places on Vancouver Island, Metchosin, to pick up my sourdough starter. You will get to meet lots of friendly animals on their farm: Blue Dog Farm Metchosin @blue.dog.farm.metchosin. Be sure to follow them on Instagram.
She directed us to Nookta Rose Milling in Metchosin, a small mill to get the flour for the bread, which was beyond cool!
We got some einkorn flour, an ancient grain which many people are able to digest more easily even if they are allergic to wheat. My friend Shannon, who is a professional chef recommended this flour. Follow Shannon @shannonsnaturalkitchen on Instagram. I don’t recommend using it in your sourdough starter - I didn’t like the texture. It made my sourdough starter runny, watery and in the end the starter separated. So this flour is a little tricky to work with.
You can watch me fumble my way through my first loaf of sour dough bread in this vlog.
Let me know your tips for baking better sourdough bread and your experiences with sourdough if you have gluten intolerances.
Thanks so much for watching. Namaste, Melissa
Behind the Scenes
This is a short vlog to show you behind the scenes in the making of the 30 day beginner yoga challenge. We both loved making the challenge because it gave us a positive focus during the coronavirus pandemic and it allowed us to make a positive difference in the world. Having a project that we can offer out in the the world with joy, gratitude and love helped us to stay grounded.
Our location was an hour drive outside of Victoria B.C. close to Metchosin. Because we live on an island where there are lots of trees, water and mountains it takes a long time to travel places.
Why we created this challenge at this time: We noticed that we had a lot more yoga students subscribing to both of our YouTube channels and becoming members of our channels. We noticed that we had a lot of new people that are beginners. The most popular videos on our main channel has always been our beginner videos. I’m receiving a lot of messages from people asking me: What yoga should I do right now? I am also receiving a lot of messages from people who are working from home who need short 10 minute yoga breaks in their day.
When I looked at what beginners were looking for in yoga classes, they wanted: prop free, wrist free, kneeling free, and inversion free yoga classes. So all of these beginner classes try to stick to that format as much as possible.
What is warming my heart the most is that people are practicing with their children and their elderly parents. Tim is practicing yoga everyday now!
The location we filmed in was so special. An enchanted forest with shooting star flowers, a moss covered ground, gorgeous old growth trees with old man’s beard, and deer, ravens and eagles all around us.
We are so grateful that we can film outside here in Victoria B.C. We know it is a privilege that many of you do not have around the rest of the world. For that we are sorry and we hope that these 30 videos that we have filmed can bring some of the outdoors indoors for you.
Thank you so much to Lole for my clothes which keep me toasty warm in the cool Canadian forests and thank you to Tim for filming and distributing the 30 day challenge to all of you.
May the 30 day challenge be of benefit to many.
Namaste, Melissa
Hatha Flow Yoga
Let your warrior spirit rise with this 30 minute hatha flow yoga class. The hatha yoga poses in this class will flow from your heart center to activate and kindness, generosity, compassion, and resilience. The intention behind the poses and teachings in this class is to feel the stability of your heart, deeply connected to the earth and while your warrior energy will naturally arise.
The hatha yoga poses in this class will release your thoracic spine and open your heart center in a grounded and stable way. We will focus on rotation and lateral flexion of your spine. We will practice warrior two pose, warrior one pose, warrior three pose, side angle pose, reverse warrior pose, and even some Goddess Victory Squat. There will also be some gentle flows to support the grounded activation of your heart center. May this class allow the warrior spirit that is already within you to rise up and allow its natural expression in the world to bring kindness, generosity and compassion to yourself and those in need. May your heart center be grounded and open. May this yoga class be of benefit to all beings in all directions of time.
Namaste, Melissa
Self Sacrifice is Not Sustainable
Currently we are experiencing a world pandemic with the coronavirus in our world. What I have noticed in connecting with my students is an outpouring of love and generosity and a desire to do something to make a difference to the covid-19 outbreak. In this video I am going to talk a little bit about the discussions we have been having and how self-sacrifice is not sustainable.
Now, more than ever, even though the media is sensationalist in its reporting, we are tuning into the preciousness of human life. We are recognizing more and more that our worth is determined by who we are, simply for being alive. I know I have found that this increased awareness of the preciousness and fleeting nature of life, that it is not what I do, it is not hustling that proves my worth. Now, more than ever, I value each living breathing being for being alive.
The mudra I want to share with you today is the mudra for your inner Self. This mudra will allow you to connect with your True Self. It will remind you, as it has reminded me, that when each one touches one in their own unique and powerful way, we do indeed touch all humanity.
Namaste, Melissa
full moon hatha yoga flow Maybe you have heard of full moon yoga or full moon yoga rituals, but you aren’t too sure what the full moon has to do with yoga or what the benefits of full moon yoga even are? One of the things that has been most interesting to me in my practice recently is how the constantly changing energy of the season, the moon, and the day affect us.
On the full moon it is a time of, well, fullness. Especially during these times, we are experiencing the intensity that the full moon represents before it begins to wane again. Everything is illuminated under the full moon.
As we come to the full moon we will feel the surge of energy and a maximum amount of life force energy surging through our body. The fullness of the moon is illuminating our insight and awareness at this phase of our journey. This is a time for us to connect with the insights and awarenesses that are being illuminated by the full moon.
In this video I will recommend yoga for the full moon and we will practice a full moon yoga pose together.
Berkeley Sonoma
In our fourth and final vlog of the San Francisco California series we visit the University town of Berkeley. We started our visit with some super yummy food at a tiny little restaurant. It was so good and fresh and full of flavour. Shannon and I visited her daughter’s alma mater, Berkeley and Shannon had a spiritual awakening in the library. You will see our reverence for education, learning and books come alive in the library. It seems the sky is always bright blue in San Francisco. Perhaps the only thing that Shannon and I love as much as learning and books is food!
Our final day in the Bay area we visited Sonoma Valley, wine country. This was probably one of my favourite parts of the visit. Sonoma is a beautiful town. We had a delicious and healthy lunch at Sunflower Cafe on their back patio. Our final stop was the Culinary Institute of America. This is a gorgeous place to study the culinary arts. A huge thank you to Shannon’s beautiful family for hosting us in California. I miss you so much Shannon. Wish we could live together everyday.
Our intention is to connect people with their subtle energy bodies and cycles of energy through yoga and meditation with our yoga and yoga lifestyle videos. This trip to San Francisco allowed us to film some gorgeous videos for our YouTube subscribers and the members of our membership community. We hope that the beautiful backdrops in the San Francisco Bay area allowed you to tune into your True Nature within and access your subtle energy body on a deeper level and connect with the ever changing cycles of energy in nature all around you.
We are forever grateful to everyone who supports us by watching our videos, recommending our videos to others, practicing yoga with us, becoming members and making donations. You make it POSSIBLE for us to continue with our life purpose and unique expression here on the planet. From our heart to yours. Thank you!
San Francisco
Welcome to our third travel vlog exploring San Francisco. In this vlog we share a beautiful location in Coyote Hills where we filmed a slow flow hatha yoga for Yoga with Melissa and a Qigong Yoga Fusion for Water Element for our Yoga with Melissa Members. Once we were able to finish our filming we spent some time exploring San Francisco.
We visited the Painted Ladies, drove through the many hills of San Francisco. We drove through windy Lombart Street. I love the tall beautiful palm trees. We saw Alcatraz. We took our daughter to do some shopping and of course ate some yummy food. Hope you enjoy. :)
How to do Dolphin Pose
In this short video I am going to share with you a shoulder stability exercise using the mini bands that is a fantastic way to prepare for dolphin pose. This rotator cuff exercise using the same flexion of the shoulder movement in dolphin pose creates the shoulder stability needed for dolphin pose. So when you flex your shoulders in dolphin pose, having done this rotator cuff preparatory pose, your shoulders will be stable and less prone to injury. This is just one of the preparatory progressions that is part of a short video on preparing our body for dolphin pose with props like blocks and mini bands in a short yoga class.
This video will give you a preview of and a sampling of a short video that I created for our members that offers step by step progressions into dolphin pose using 1 block and a different strength mini bands. Dolphin Pose or downward facing dog on your forearms is a fantastic pose for developing mobility and strength in your upper body. It will help you develop shoulder mobility, strength and stability, back strength, chest strength, core strength, tricep flexibility, and hamstring flexibility.
In this video I will show you how to do a shoulder stability exercise with the miniband to build into dolphin pose, give you a preview of the dolphin pose class that I created for our members and talk about the benefits of adding resistance training or strength training with the minibands into your yoga practice.
San Francisco Filming
Travelling to new places to film always sounds so exciting. Especially expansive beach locations with the ocean in the background. What could be better? This past January, we traveled to the San Francisco Bay area to film for our Yoga with Melissa channel and our membership community. We did some sightseeing in San Francisco, visited the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presido and Trinity enjoyed her time shopping on Haight Street.
Anytime we do outdoor filming we expose ourselves to the challenges of weather, lighting, and noise that we cannot control. When we travel we open ourselves up to even more challenges. In this vlog find out why things did not go according to plan and how we adapted because we are flexible like yogis.
How to do Reverse Plank
In this short video I am going to share a chest opening yoga pose using a mini band that is an excellent purvottanasana or reverse plank/upward plank prep pose. This chest opening movement is one that I often use in my yoga classes, but adding the mini-bands is something unique because it takes our shoulder joint through an active assisted range of motion, specifically extension. It is supporting your joint in moving behind you (the direction it will go in purvottanasana) while the mini band is providing some resistance. This is useful because when we push up into purvottanasana we are trying to lift our entire body weight, so if we get some experience with moving this joint through its range of motions with resistance BEFORE we lift our body weight then we are doing some good step by step preparation for purvottanasana or reverse plank. This kind of range of motions is similar to the kinds of movements that we will be doing in our day to day life as well. For example, reaching around behind us and pulling our yoga back from the back seat of the car to the front seat of the car.
This video offers a small sampling of a short video I created for our members that offers step by step progressions into purvottanasana. we will use the mini bands and 2 blocks to build regressions and progressions towards purvottanasana also known as east stretch posture, reverse plank, upward plank, inclined plane, inclined plank and upward plane. This pose requires strength and stability in your shoulders as well as the ability of them to be able to move quite fully into extension. We will also focus on ankle strength and mobility. Hip extension, strength and mobility and glute strength to support your body in being able to open up into reverse plank. Finally we will practice wrist strength so that when you lift up into purvottanasana you are lifting from a strong and stable base.
In this video I will show you how to do the shoulder extension exercise with the minibands and talk about the benefits of adding resistance training or strength training with the minibands into your yoga practice.
Qigong Yoga Fusion Flow
In this short qigong yoga fusion video I am going to demonstrate a short qigong inspired movement that I have shown you before to release neck tension but this time for a different reason. This movement will not only stimulate your kidneys to improve your essence energy, it will also support you in your ability to hear and listen deeply to your own inner wisdom.
This movement that I am going to share is part of a longer qigong yoga fusion class for water element kidney and bladder meridians. Water element is related to kidney and bladder meridian and winter season. It is the most quiet and inward time of the year. In winter there is little or no growth, we are in a holding pattern, hibernating, conserving our resources, waiting for spring to come again.
The longer class begins by stimulating kidney qi. The kidneys store our jing or essence energy and original qi which is inherited from our parents. In our culture, the kidneys are often depleted. We know it as adrenal exhaustion and experience it as extreme fatigue, premature aging, mental fuzziness, weight gain, insomnia and thyroid disorders. When we stimulate the kidneys and meridian lines we can build our energy reserves and recharge our batteries. This qigong yoga fusion class will help you store and conserve your energy.
There are several poses inspired by bear frolic movements of five animal frolics in qigong. The bear is related to water element and winter. Bear hibernates all winter long and stores his energy. The bear teaches us to sink into our power and strength and wait for spring with perseverance. Bear also teaches us how to conserve energy.
Several of these qigong yoga fusion movements are also about moving water they inspire the fluidity and adaptability of water in us. Water moves to take the form of its container. It moves to the lowest point. Think of rain falling from clouds, then a mountain stream, flowing down a river, into the ocean. Water always moves down to the lowest point. However, water keeps moving and it does so with flexibility and ease.
If you enjoyed this one movement from the qigong yoga fusion class and you would like the whole class with more movements to stimulate your kidney qi to build your energy reserves, bear movements to conserve your energy and connect with your strength and power and flowing water movements to connect with your fluidity and adaptability, then I will leave a direct link for our members and a link to become a member if you are not already a member. With the addition of this water element qigong yoga fusion, we now have flows for all five elements in our membership library.
Join Our Membership
Namaste, Melissa
Monterey Bay California
We started off 2020 with a trip to Northern California to do some filming for my main channel, Yoga with Melissa and our membership community. We stayed with one of my dear friends in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our first full day in California we took a day trip to Monterey Bay for some filming. On our way to Monterey Bay we drove through the mountains, down Highway One and stopped in Santa Cruz at Cafe Gratitude for lunch. My favourite part was the Brave Immunity Boosting Shot! Perfect for the day after travelling on an airplane.
We reached Monterey Bay just as the sun was going down and filmed a yoga nidra meditation for self love for our Yoga with Melissa channel for you. We had a lot of challenges with filming on this trip. The TSA had rooted around our filming equipment and was rather rough with my headset microphone and so we had a lot of challenges getting good sound.
The main thing Tim wanted to do in California was go to In ‘n Out Burger because of watching the classic film Pulp Fiction. In ‘n Out burger did not disappoint. The burgers were delicious and the price offered great value. Wish we had them here in Victoria B.C. too, although Big Wheel Burger is great too!
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Cafe Gratitude Santa Cruz
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$450 Van Conversion
For those of you following our channel for awhile you will know how much we love camping. One of the things that was a challenge this past summer was puddles in our tents. We have talked about buying a teardrop trailer, but more recently we settled on converting a toyota sienna minivan because of the economics and longevity of toyotas. We found an inexpensive toyota sienna on Vancouver Island where we live close to Victoria and we were able to purchase it for $450.
In this vlog we will share with you the story of purchasing a 2001 Sienna Toyota mini van. Cleaning up the mini van, some of the problems with the mini van that we will need to address to use it for camping and also some of our plans to convert it for camping this summer. We would love to know your ideas and tips for van conversion and also any places you love camping on Vancouver Island. We are looking forward to camping in Strathcona, Ucleulet and Tofino this summer in dryer conditions.
Thanks for watching, Tim and Melissa
Victoria Hike
This week we were looking for an easy hike close to Victoria BC. We decided to head out to Gowlland Tod Provincial Park. Our energy has been kind of low (because winter), so we were looking for a hike without too much incline and one that wasn’t too long either. We decided on Roundtree loop. The signs were kind of confusing. I think we were meant to go to the right rather than straight, so the beginning of our hike was a gravel road and not too deep in the forest. This trail was not marked at all and we had no idea where the loop was. However, there was a beautiful lookout point and eventually we found our way back to what was probably Roundtree Loop. Once we got onto Roundtree Loop in the forest, the trail was absolutely gorgeous and we were much happier. Our advice is to go to the right of the sign to start!
Gowlland Tod Provincial Park
Hiking Trails in Gowlland Tod Provincial Park
Mosi Bakery
Qigong Yoga Flow
This intermediate qigong flow focuses on the earth element and spleen and stomach organ systems. Just like the stomach and spleen are central to our digestion and lie in the middle of our body, the earth is the source. Mother earth is our stable, grounded connection that supports and nourishes us.
Your stomach is the most yang of all the organs and is responsible for nourishment of all the other organs. Your stomach is an organ of reception. Your stomach receives not just food, but also experiences, absorbs mental and intellectual material, emotional support from others, as well as energy flow and spiritual healing and development. The qigong inspired flows in this short intermediate class will open you to receiving the nourishment, caring and support of earth element.
Your stomach rots and ripens food and drink and transports the essence of food through your body. When your stomach qi is strong you will experience robust health, when it is weak you will experience fatigue and ill health. Your stomach controls the descent of qi. If your food or experiences do not descend properly then you will experience bloating and belching.
Through a balanced stomach organ meridian system you can experience an abundance of nourishment and satisfaction in all areas of your life. Through this qigong inspired yoga flow you can open up to receiving.
Your spleen organ system on the other hand assists your stomach in transforming food essences and transporting them through your body.Your spleen organ sends food qi upwards to your lungs to support your lungs in gathering qi from your breath. It also sends qi upwards from the heart to assist your heart in forming blood. Overall your spleen provides support and an upward lift to your body. If you feel sluggish, tired, fatigued and lack energy, you may be surprised how stimulating your spleen organ system can positively energize your system.
When your spleen meridian is strong, you will have a good appetite, digestion and elimination. However, when your spleen organ system is weak, you will have poor digestion, bloating and weak stools or diarrhea. When your spleen qi is transforming and transporting well your thinking will be clear and your thoughts will be settled. When your spleen qi is weak, your mind will be overwhelmed with obsessive thoughts and worry.
This intermediate qigong inspired flow combined with standing yoga postures is designed to cleanse and tonify the digestive system. Gentle twisting movements will massage the digestive organs. Many of the movements are designed to move excess energy from worry and overthinking out of your head, drawing energy to the center of your body for digestion. By pulling the excess energy of overthinking and worry from our head into grounded and balanced energy for digestion we can connect with our gut feelings and the wisdom of your belly brain. To unlock the rest of this class as well as a full series of 6 classes for digestion including:
Beginner Diaphragmatic Breathing for Digestion Beginner Myofascial Digestive Release Intermediate/Advanced Myofascial Release with Inflatable Ball Beginner Hatha Yoga for Digestion Intermediate Yoga Flow for Digestion Intermediate Qigong Flow for Digestion
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(not just for constipation)
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Sombrio Beach
In this vlog, Tim and I set out planning on going to Mystic Beach but changed our minds and decided to head to Sombrio Beach because we had not vlogged Sombrio beach for you before. Sombrio Beach is a little tricky to get to because the surfers like to keep it a secret and often take the signs down. Sombrio Beach is close to Sooke, China Beach, Mystic Beach and Botanical Beach. You can find it on google maps, but look it up before you go, because there is no cell service in the area. Access to Sombrio Beach has recently been improved so it is fairly easy to drive down from highway fourteen.
Sombrio Beach is part of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, if you go in the summer months you will see backpackers hiking across the beach. There are backpacking camp sites at Sombrio Beach including bear safe storage units for your food. Any other times of the year the beach is full of surfers.
Tim and I had planned to eat at Stoked Wood Fired Pizza, but it was closed when we arrived. This place has amazing pizza, but we learned the lesson the hard way. Make sure you check the hours before you go.
More info on Sombrio Beach: Click Here
Stoked Wood Fired Pizza
How to film yoga classes for YouTube
This past week we spent three days filming the first 6 of 14 classes of a Yoga for Perfectionism series for the Yoga with Melissa channel. This is something that is called batch filming in the industry. We thought we would take you behind the scenes and show you what is involved in filming hatha yoga classes, yin yoga classes and restorative yoga classes for our Yoga with Melissa channel, from coming up with the idea for a series all the way to publishing the one hour yoga video for you on YouTube.
So many of you ask how I come up with my ideas for yoga videos or yoga series. Mostly I am listening to you and your experience of yoga practice as well as my own inspiration from my own yoga and meditation practice. In this particular case, one of my students Kirsti mentioned something about perfectionism. She may have even requested a class on perfectionism and it lit something up inside of me and I decided to create a series on perfectionism.
Next I comes the research phase which begins by seeking out resources. I usually start on amazon and also my local library. For this series I settled on Pavel Somov’s book Present Perfect. It is unusual for me to settle on one book, usually I am drawing from multiple resources. I take notes and from the notes usually some sort of a class outline reveals itself. Also during this research phase I am reading lots of poetry books and gathering poetry for yoga classes.
Then comes the class planning phase. I look at the class outline and decide what kind of class would align with the class themes. While many of you love the yin and restorative yoga classes, I have had some questions about why I don’t teach more hatha yoga classes. The answer is balance, for both myself and you. It is not healthy to have all yang classes, for you or for me. So I make sure to have a balance of yin and yang classes. This is particularly important for me when I am filming, but also for the arch of teaching the course as well. If I am always hammering out yang classes, then you are going to burn out. You will never have a chance to draw the sweet energy of yin into your system.
Once I have written the classes, there is a lot of technical writing that has to happen for YouTube, our website, and social media. The time spent researching and writing a series probably takes about a month. Honestly the actual filming of the class is the smallest portion of time, although it can take 2-3 hours to film a one hour class.
In the video you will see is transforming our apartment from our home to a film studio by setting up lighting and sound. There are also other things to consider like hair, makeup and outfits. All these things take time and energy. In fact, I have a pile of clothes on a chair in my bedroom that would be considered this week’s wardrobe waiting to be put away!
After the filming, everything gets handed over to Tim. Tim is in charge of editing the videos, rendering them and uploading them to YouTube. Tim also looks after the comments section on YouTube. As much time as I spend preparing the series, Tim spends on each episode after it has been filmed.
It is an enormous effort to produce a one hour yoga show each week. This is why we batch film several in one week. Putting out that effort all at once, allows us to focus on our members and membership community the rest of the time.
It is an honour for both Tim and I to be able to do work that we love and serve you all in this way. Thank you for allowing us to live this life.
If you have any questions about the process, feel free to leave us a comment in the comment section.
Namaste, Melissa and Tim
Digestion
This intermediate hatha yoga flow for digestion was designed to break the cycles of bloating, gas, constipation and diarrhea that are common with irritable bowel syndrome. The gentle flow of this hatha yoga class is designed to restore motility of your gut, calm your nervous system and open your awareness to reduce stress and high levels of anxiety.
Twists and side bends will help to release tension around your abdomen, while twists and backbends will put gentle and appropriate pressure on your abdominal organs. In this way we can encourage contractions in your intestines that may have been slowed to the point of constipation or ease spasming that may be causing diarrhea. Cultivating gentle balance between pressure and release through these flowing sequences will support the digestive issues of irritable bowel syndrome whether you are trying to get your digestive system moving or trying to slow it down.
The flows in this class are slow enough so that you can feel from the inside, also known as interoception. This allows us to connect with our gut intuition and follow our internal guidance system through bodily sensations in a slow, safe and moving environment. With an intermediate hatha flow that is appropriately challenging to our mind body connection we will be able to have the experience that may bring up stress, anxiety, uncertainty, mixed feelings and confusion. Being with these feelings and sensations in the secure and slow moving environment of our mat allows us to be able to meet similar experiences off our mat with experience and prior practice.
By dropping fully into our bodies we can let go of a mind that is used to being in charge, sometimes overriding our body with overthinking and develop a deep trust to move from our core with grace and ease. Feeling into our body, following the flow, and moving your body in space is all part of digesting the experiences of life, absorbing nourishment, going with the flow and releasing what no longer serves.
To unlock the rest of this class as well as a full series of 6 classes for digestion including:
Beginner Diaphragmatic Breathing for Digestion Beginner Myofascial Digestive Release Intermediate/Advanced Myofascial Release with Inflatable Ball Beginner Hatha Yoga for Digestion Intermediate Yoga Flow for Digestion Intermediate Qigong Flow for Digestion
Click on the link below for members and the second link to join our membership community.
Member Link: Click here
(not just for constipation)
Want to join our membership? Click Here
Hand Mudras
One of the things I hear from my students almost everyday is frustration over not being able to continue with their physical yoga poses for various reasons. Maybe they are confined to their beds recovering from surgery or healing from illness. Maybe they have an injury. Maybe they are travelling and they do not have enough space to practice yoga.
This frustration always leaves me feeling frustrated too because the practice of yoga is so vast and not simply limited t o the physical yoga postures. postures. Yoga mudras which are a gesture or a mystical position of your hands that lead to the states of consciousness that they symbolize. Yoga mudras are an example of yoga that is always available to you anytime, anywhere, even if you do not have the strength to practice physical yoga postures.
Today we are talking about How Mudras work - those gestures or mystical positions of your hands - actually work.
Mudras engage certain areas of your brain and can exercise an influence on them. When you bend, cross, extend, and touch your fingers with other fingers the mudras you form engage and influence your body, mind, emotions, energy and spirit.
The effect of the mudra may be felt immediately, but it may also take several days of practice. For chronic complaints it can take several days, even weeks or months to experience changes.
I am going to do some cool demonstrations with you in this video to show you how mudras can change your breathing, but before I show you how mudras work with your breath I wanted to share with you something that I am super excited about. Right now in our community I have been putting together short mudra classes around specific themes.
The most recent one that I filmed for our members is a short mudra class for letting go. It helps to release the emotional and energetic knots in our brain, communication and heart to prepare us to let go. There are mudras to help us to empty out to prepare to receive. There are mudras that help to release negative energy and toxicity. All of the mudras in this series support you in your journey of letting go.
I also filmed a short mudra series for our members to practice at the end of their yoga practice or the end of their day to integrate their practice, to find the clarity, discernment and inner wisdom to take into their daily life.
I will leave the direct link for members and a link to become a member: Click Here
Click Here to receive a PDF download of the most highly requested mudras including: Mudras for high blood pressure, mudras for sleep, mudras for constipation, mudras for headaches, mudras for type 2 diabetes, mudras for back pain, mudras for eyesight go to and we will send that right to your inbox
So let's do an experiment together right now. Run your thumb along your finger tips in a gentle and conscious way. It is refreshing for your breath and there is a positive influence on your brain waves when your fingers touch. Many mudras synchronize your right and left hemispheres of your brain improving your memory, ability to recollect and creativity.
There is a direct relationship between your hands and your neck since the nerve paths run through the vertibral formina in the arms, hands and fingers. Flexibility in the hands affects flexibility in the neck. Hand exercises relieve neck tension.
Spreading the 10 fingers creates a reflex that causes the chest vertebrae to spread out. This increases the volume of air you can take into your lungs. Try this spread your fingers wide and breathe in. Make your hands into a fist and breathe in. Feel the difference?
So to reiterate, how do mudras work? The ends of the nerve pathways of the hands occupy a large area in the brain, much larger than the arms and legs. When we focus on our fingers and what they are resting in, they activate large areas of the brain.
Yoga for Digestion
This is a short beginner hatha yoga class for digestion. My beginner yoga classes focus on simple, easy to follow hatha yoga poses, with step by step instructions and lots of modifications. These beginner classes are actually for beginners and will not leave you frustrated because they are too hard or difficult to follow.
With six simple hatha yoga poses I will guide you deeply into your digestive system and the process of PERISTALSIS which is a wave-like squeezing motion that will nourish the digestive organs and promotes digestion and elimination. The beginner hatha yoga poses in this class alternate between compressing and elongating the organs of the digestive system to help you absorb the nourishment you are taking in from your food and life and let go of the waste from your food and things that are no longer serving you.
The hatha yoga poses and sequence for beginners focuses on simple, achievable twists, forward bends and side bends that will both compress and elongate the organs of the digestive system for maximum absorption and elimination of nutrients. Additionally these simple hatha yoga poses will encourage blood flow and oxygen to the digestive organs improving digestion overall.
This beginner hatha yoga class for digestion will move slowly and will stay close to the ground for a sense of safety, building trust so that we can listen to our internal gut feelings. This way we can connect with what feels right in our belly and let go of a mind that likes to override our gut intuition and internal felt sense.
This beginner hatha yoga class for digestion is beneficial for colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, good sensitivities, and celiac.
If you would like to access this full short, simple beginner yoga class for digestion, something that would be simple to incorporate into your daily routine along with a 6 class series for digestion including:
Beginner Diaphragmatic Breathing for Digestion Beginner Myofascial Digestive Release Intermediate Myofascial Digestive Release with 9 “ Inflatable Ball Intermediate Yoga Flow for Digestion Intermediate Qigong Flow for Digestion
Then click on the link below for members and the second link to join our membership community. https://www.members.melissawest.com/courses/yoga-for-digestion-constipation/beginner-hatha-yoga-for-digestion-20-mins/
https://melissawest.com/membership-landing-page/
Myofascial Digestive Release
In this short advanced myofascial release practice for your digestive system, we will use a 9” inflatable ball to take a journey through your digestive system.
The journey begins by stimulating your diaphragm and diaphragmatic breathing to bring more oxygen to your digestive organs so they can more effectively digest nutrients and allow your diaphragm to massage your digestive organs so that they can work more effectively.
From there we will stimulate the small intestines are where you absorb and assimilate nutrients. Your small intestine is 6 meters or 20 feet long. Its job is to sort the food that comes through the small intestine, to absorb what is useful into the bloodstream and pass along what is not.
Mentally and emotionally assimilation in the small intestines translates into absorbing what is useful mentally and releasing what is not.
Our small intestines are overtaxed in our modern times by nutritionally deficient foods and information overload. Meaning that they are continually sorting through excessive food that is not that useful and information that is not that useful. This drains our energy and often leaves us feeling overwhelmed and difficulties sorting through the immense amount of information that comes our way.
We will continue our journey through our myofascial release for the digestive system with the ileocecal valve. This valve is a one way sphincter valve blocks waste material from moving back into the small intestine. The ileocecal valve can become stuck shut or open due to stress or emotional tension. When the ileocecal valve is stuck shut it causes constipation and when it is stuck open it causes diarrhoea. Issues in the ileocecal valve can also be transferred and felt into your right shoulder, the right side of your pelvis, around your pelvis, cause headaches, dark circles under your eyes and flu like effects.
From there we will continue on to your liver and gallbladder. Tightness and congestion of the fascia around the liver can affect the liver’s ability to detoxify. Supporting our liver through myofascial release can help with digestive issues such as bloating and food intolerances since the liver’s role is to process the nutrients absorbed by the small intestine.
The stomach is greatly affected by stress. Chronic stress will lengthen the amount of time that food spends in your stomach and short term stress will decrease the amount of time that it spends in it. Relaxing the tissues around the stomach can support the digestive process. The stomach allows us to absorb what you need and eliminate what you do not, physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically and spiritually. When our stomach tissues are healthy we can receive nourishment from our food and from others. We will also allow ourselves to be nurtured. When we cannot stomach what has happened our stomach will churn with anxiety and we may use food to pacify our anxiety. Worry, overthinking and anxiety can be released here.
The spleen is also a part of this digestive journey through myofascial release. When your spleen is strong you will experience a strong appetite, digestion and elimination. When your spleen is weak you will have poor digestion, bloating and even diarrhoea. Your spleen, like your stomach is also tied to obsessive thoughts, worry, fuzzy thinking and poor memory. When the spleen is working optimally, you will have better energy because the spleen will send the energy from your food upwards to the lungs to support the lungs in gather energy from the breath which in turn sends energy from the heart to assist it in forming blood. So, if you are feeling low on energy as well, attending to your spleen can be helpful.
Finally the colon or large intestines are about releasing what your body is finished with. Once your body has absorbed what it needs, your colon excretes the waste. If constipation is an issue, myofascial release of the large intestines can help us to re...
Yoga in a Yurt
In this short video we show you behind the scenes of filming Yoga with Melissa in a Yurt. If you have ever wondered what it would be like living in a yurt in a temperate rain forest environment on Vancouver island B.C. then join us for this vlog. In this vlog we filmed in some beautiful locations around East Sooke including Aylard Farms, Muir Beach and Whiffin Spit. These are all beautiful lo visit if you are travelling to East Sooke and beyond. If you are interested in perhaps the best wood fired pizza ever, we highly recommend Stoked Wood Fired Pizza across from French Beach. They have gluten free crust options and are super accommodating to vegans as well. They are closed Wednesdays. Their website says they will be open until January, so there will be some closure until January.
Stoked Wood Fired Pizza
If you would like to go on your own Yurt Getaway on Vancouver Island then click the link below (this was not sponsored or gifted, we paid our own way to stay in this yurt). Tell them Tim and Melissa the yoga couple from Victoria B.C. sent you.
Airbnb link
Self Massage for Digestion
This short beginner myofascial release for your digestive system is essentially a self-massage for your digestive system that you can do anytime. Just five minutes in the morning will free you up your entire body for the day ahead and address stress and toxicity before they even had a chance to settle into the tissues of your body. I personally love this practice to set the pace of a new day so that I can go into my day with openness and acceptance to all the situations, emotions and people I will meet with a relaxed body.
Self myofascial release of the digestive system is beneficial for digestive stress, constipation, bloating, colitis and irritable bowel syndrome.
Stress and tension can interrupt the digestive process. Digestion is part of your your parasympathetic nervous system, known as rest and digest. When you are on high alert, your sympathetic nervous system kicks in and your parasympathetic nervous system turns off. As a result your digestion gets interrupted. The myofascial digestive release will relax the digestive organs including the liver and gallbladder, stomach, spleen, small intestines, large intestines/colon and allow them to work more efficiently.
In order to have regular bowel movements and avoid constipation the muscles of the digestive system rely on PERISTALSIS. Peristalsis is a wavelike involuntary contraction that moves contents along your digestive system. Myofascial release of your digestive system can gently stimulate peristalsis. In addition, self myofascial release improves the blood flow to all the internal organs of your digestive system, improving their function.
Anxiety, stress and past trauma can lead to constant tension and constriction in your abdominal area. You might feel like your stomach is contracted or spasming. Maybe you clench your stomach when you were stressed. Your stomach might twist and churn with anxiety and emotional stress. This is common with irritable bowel syndrome. Self-myofascial release can help you to unwind the stress and tension that is stored in the abdominal area.
Feelings of overwhelm, accumulated tension, irritation and holding onto intense feelings such as anger can lead to inflammation in the large intestine. This can happen with ulcerative colitis. Freeing up the abdominal area though myofascial release can help to free internalized emotions and inflammation.
To unlock this full beginner myofascial release for digestion class along with a full 6-class series on digestion including:
Beginner Diaphragmatic Breathing for Digestion Intermediate Myofascial Digestive Release with 9” Inflatable Ball Beginner Hatha Yoga for Digestion Intermediate Yoga Flow for Digestion Qigong Flow for Digestion
Join our membership by clicking on the link below
https://www.melissawest.com/membership-landing-page/
Breathing for Digestion
This short beginner diaphragmatic breathing class for digestion will activate your parasympathetic nervous system known as your rest and digest. It will help you avoid constipation, acid reflux and IBS. It will balance your alkalinity and reduce inflammation. It will detoxify your body by supporting your lymphatic system.
Your diaphragm separates your thoracic organs from your abdominal organs. Its fluid mobility with breath is incredibly important to optimal digestion for two reasons, #1 it will supply oxygen to help your body digest nutrients and #2 it will massage your digestive organs so that they work effectively.
When you breathe well with diaphragmatic breathing like I will teach you in this video, the cells of your digestive organs will be provided with ample oxygen to break down large particles of food into smaller units of sugars, fatty acids amino acids and nucleotides.
Secondly you will reduce acid reflux, GERD, constipation and IBS when your diaphragmatic breathing massage your stomach, spleen, small intestines, colon, and liver.
Because of our modern day postures hunched over smart phones and computers, our stomachs can attach themselves to our diaphragms leading to poor digestion. Your diaphragm is the ceiling to your abdominal organs including all of your digestive organs: stomach, spleen, liver, intestines. When we breathe properly it keeps your digestive organs massaged and optimally fed with nutrients so they can do their job properly. It also helps to remove waste and even negative emotions.
Our small intestines are also attached to the diaphragm through the ascending duodenum. It assists digestion by keeping space for digesting food to move through easily. If the diaphragm is restricted, then food cannot pass freely to be received by the small intestines.
The liver is also attached to the diaphragm and is an important organ of digestion in as it processes the nutrients absorbed from the small intestine. When your liver is overloaded, you will experience bloating, digestive issues, food intolerances as your liver is your second largest organ of detoxification.
There are tubes for your blood and lymphatic system that move through the diaphragm whose circulation is often restricted by diaphragm that is constantly constricted. In terms of digestion this can be a contributing factor to constipation.
Your diaphragm is meant to churn, squeeze, and massage your abdominal organs. A blocked diaphragm will lead to sluggish digestion with constipation, IBS and acid reflux.
All of the movements and breathing exercises in this short beginner diaphragmatic breathing yoga class will help you increase the oxygen to your digestive organs as well as massage your digestive organs through PERISTALSIS a wave-like squeezing motion that will nourish the digestive organs and promotes digestion and elimination.
To unlock this full class with step by step instructions on diaphragmatic breathing for digestion for beginners as well as a whole series of yoga classes for digestion including:
Beginner Myofascial Digestive Release Intermediate Myofascial Digestive Release with 9” Inflatable Ball Beginner Hatha Yoga for Digestion Intermediate Yoga Flow for Digestion Qigong Flow for Digestion
Join our membership community by clicking on the link below.
https://www.melissawest.com/membership/
Best Time for Yin Yoga
Every year it happens. I swear it won't and yet somehow it does. Back to school rolls around and what starts as enthusiastic passion reveals itself as overburdening myself with too many activities and an overflowing schedule.
The long days of summer start to slip away and the darkness of - dare I even say it? ( winter ) creeps back and I am forced to admit that I am feeling the effects of the frantic and overwhelmed pace of back to school yet again.
They are the classic signs of yang in excess: too much activity, overthinking, stress, irritability, working too hard. Here are my 5 reasons why I love yin yoga, to bring all that yang energy back into balance at this crazy-busy time of year.
1 In yin yoga we hold each pose for 3-5 minutes. These long holds allow us to slow down and experience a place of rest and refuge amidst the rush of back to school.
2 Yin Yoga asks us to find that just right edge and soften into the pose with non-abandoning attention. This kind of approach gives us the space in our ambitious and aggressive lives to be gentle and kind with ourselves.
3 During those long holds we get to release the stress that accumulates in our bodies as tension. After a yin yoga pose and session we experience a release of the constriction, ease and peace in our bodies and minds.
4 There are so many things to think about during back to school from registering for courses, picking up supplies and books and scheduling important meetings. During Yin Yoga we can give our minds a break and practice mindfulness, simply focusing on one thing at a time, such as our breath or the sensations in our bodies.
5 By taking the time for yin yoga, holding those poses for five minutes with gentle attention we create space to be present to be present for ourselves. Instead of pushing through stress, anxiety, and going over and over our laundry list of to-dos, we soften into our experience and feel all the feels. Taking time to be still with these emotions without judgment and criticism is a beautiful act of care, consideration and love that we can offer to ourselves during this wild and crazy time of year we call back to school.
For my best yoga videos for anxiety click here:
http://melissawest.com/anxiety
Electric Bike in Victoria Ride the Glideride electrified, Victoria is one of the most bike friendly cities in the Canada with hundreds of kilometers of bike paths and more being added everyday!
Thanks to Ride the Glide we were gifted electric bikes to tour our amazing city for the day. Here is our top 10 places to ride an electric bike in Victoria BC for the day. The best part is easy hills.
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Inner Harbour. Victoria’s waters are home to three resident pods of orcas, also known as killer whales.
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Fairmont Hotel. This has long been a bucket list destination for high tea. During the summer months, the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia, serves Afternoon Tea to more than 400 people per day. Apparently they serve half a million cups of tea annually!
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Emily Carr is one of Victoria’s most famous artists. She lived from 1871 - 1945 and was inspired by the first nations people and landscape of the island. This was incredibly avant garde at the time. She would have fit right in now with all the #vanlife instagramers as she had a camper. She also had a monkey.
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Totem Poles Royal British Columbia Museum. You can visit the outside of the museum and see the totem poles of the first Nation’s people of the west coast. Although people think that all first nation’s people made totem poles, only six West Coast First Nations people actually carved totem poles. Totem poles are carved from cedar because that wood is best at resisting rot. Totem poles are a traditional way of telling the stories of Aboriginal families and clans, and of keeping records of important historical events.
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The Parliament Buildings - If you can come back at night, the parliament buildings look beautiful all lit up with their 3300 energy efficient lights.
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Fisherman’s Wharf - Is simply adorable with their 33 resident float homes. We highly recommend the Fish Store for fish and chips.
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Ogden Point -This is where the locals go to cool off. It is a nice flat 1.6 km (1 mile) round trip walk or jog out to a lighthouse.
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Beacon Hill Park is home to world’s tallest free standing totem pole. It is here that you can also see the running of the goats. Victoria is known as the city of gardens, because it has a perfect growing environment. The total blooms counted in 2018 was over 3.4 billion.
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Government House - Royal family and dignitaries are greeted and often stay at Government House. In September of 2016 Prince William, Kate and their children stayed at Government house during their cross-Canada Tour.
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Craigdarroch Castle is an example of a “bonanzacastle” which is a fun way of saying a massive house built for entrepreneurs who became wealthy during the industrial age.
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China Town - Victoria’s China Town is Canada’s oldest China town and has Fan Tan alley, the narrowest street in Canada.
Bonus:
Fun Shopping on Government, Johnson Street and Trounce Alley
Smoking Lily: (Government Street)
Baggins: (Johnson Street)
SheShe Bags (Trounce Alley)
(nothing was gifted or sponsored from the shopping)
breathing exercises
This past month I listened to a Ted Talk by Max Strom called Breathe to Heal. This Ted Talk had quite an impact on me and in a moment, I will tell you why.
Max Strom is just as gentle and as kind as he is in his Ted Talk. I know, because I had an opportunity to meet him back in 2010 when I had a radio show called Returning to the Body Mind.
My name is Melissa. I teach breathing and yoga, mostly restorative styles of yoga like yin yoga, sleep yoga and restorative yoga on my main channel. I am super lucky that the foundations of my yoga study included a lot of teaching on breathing.
I will put a card to it up here to Max Strom’s Ted talk so you can watch it too. The reason why I am bringing up this talk so often, is because it changed the way I thought about anxiety. What Max said, is that when we repress emotions, and he was specifically talking about grief, it shows up as anxiety. This was a major aha moment for me. That anxiety, is a way that we hold our emotional life at bay.
Breath is a gentle way that we can open to feeling. In August I am going to do a short video on what exercises are good for anxiety. I will also be doing a second on how we can change our breathing to support our digestion whether we are experiencing IBS, GERD, crohs, colitis, constipation, bloating, heartburn, and celiac disease, there are ways we can gently change our breath to support our digestion.
One of the most popular videos on this channel is my video: How to grow taller with yoga. Because that video is so popular, I thought I would treat you all to a second video on the best yoga poses to grow taller. In that video I will pay special attention to your questions such as how often should I do these poses, for how long should I do these poses and how long will it take to see results. I am going to offer some of my best tips and tricks that I have used in the past in my yoga classrooms. I myself have always been amazed by the results. I used to see anywhere from half an inch to one and a half inch gains from my students with the exercises that I practiced with them. You are going to love this video.
Finally I will share with you a video on how to improve your digestion with yoga. Again, I hope to explore a range of digestive issues from IBS, GERD, crohs, colitis, constipation, bloating, heartburn, and celiac disease.
This month in August we will be taking a couple of weeks off to go camping. We have scheduled two weeks off in the middle of August. We are going to going back to Strathcona and heading over French Beach, Mystic Beach, Botanical Beach way. I will link to some of our past vlogs so you can see what beautiful places these are to visit!
This month on the Yoga with Melissa Lifestyle channel we will be focusing on breathing exercises, the best yoga poses to grow taller, breathwork for digestion and how to improve your digestion with yoga. Let’s break all of that down a little bit more.
On my main channel, Yoga with Melissa, I have been offering short 10 minute breathing exercises, belly breathing, or diaphragm breathing to help relieve anxiety. This month, I will answer the question, What breathing exercises are good for anxiety. I will also do a video talking about breathing for digestion. I hope to cover the full range of digestion from inflammatory digestion from crohns, colitis, IBS, to sluggish digestion like constipation. This will be in preparation for an in depth series that will be coming out in September 2019 in our membership community that focuses on digestion.
Because of the popularity of the video, How to Grow Taller with Yoga https://youtu.be/NapJQwTlvI8 I will be releasing a video this month that will share the best yoga poses to grow taller. Finally we will close out the month with how to improve digestion with yoga. Again we will focus on a wide range of digestive issues from IBS, GERD, crohs, colitis, constipation, bloating, heartburn, and celiac disease.
Grow Taller
The wall is a versatile prop, especially for working on posture. We spend so much time during the day looking down and reaching forward that we tend to develop rounded posture. This can even cause us to appear shorter. Using the wall as a prop helps us to stack the body, open the chest and bring the head over the shoulders. We can also use the wall as a place to create traction and decompress the spine.
This practice starts with posture work in mountain pose at the wall. We will use a block on top of the head to help us feel the effort against gravity that helps us to elongate. Then we turn the body around to downward facing dog with the hands on the wall. From this position we can explore some more accessible versions of warrior 3 that create nice space down the sides of the body. Moving from the wall to a bar, or in your home the kitchen sink/ counter top, we move deeper into natural traction by sinking our body weight back toward the pelvis while the arms are anchored.
Moving down onto the mat we practice the classic Balancing Table posture with the foot pressing into the wall and the opposite arm reaching away. This offers another opportunity to create space down both sides of the body. The feeling of lifting the body up against the pull of gravity is then explored in Staff pose with the feet pressing into the baseboard. From there we roll down onto the mat to feel the length in supine Mountain pose and Corpse Pose.
This sequence will improve your posture, open up new space for the breath and leave you feeling taller!
Thank You so much for watching & Thank You Melissa for having me on your channel! It is so wonderful to be able to collaborate with a yoga teacher that has been such a role model to me throughout my journey from yoga student to teacher! I can only imagine how many lives you have touched through your teaching!
To order "Yoga Therapy At The Wall" as an instant PDF download go to Laura's Etsy Store: HealthyFocusByLauraG:
To order a full color printed copy of "Yoga Therapy at The Wall" go on LuLu.com:
For information on upcoming Workshops & Trainings click here
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Stay up to date with Laura on Instagram @LauraGyoga and @Yoga_At_The_Wall
How to Sit Cross Legged
This short video explains how to sit cross legged without your legs or feet falling asleep. It answers the question, why you get pins and needles in your legs and feet when you sit cross legged in meditation on the floor. I will show how to set up your sitting meditation on the floor so that your legs and feet no longer fall asleep. The posture of meditation is foundational for an open and clear mind in meditation so you are doing the right thing by asking the question and taking care to sit cross legged in meditation properly. Having a comfortable cross legged meditation position will allow you to sit in meditation with ease for a long time.
Advice for Sitting Cross Legged: Click here
Best 9 Days of Yoga for Hips Ever!
Breathing
In this video I am going to explain how we can sometimes unintentionally use our sympathetic nervous system (our fight or flight) to turn on our parasympathetic nervous system (our rest and digest) and ultimately why breathing calms us down.
A couple of weeks ago I listened to an old Ted Talk by Max Strom called Breathe to Heal. I will put a card to it up here so you can watch it too, it is a pretty awesome talk. In this talk, what stood out most to me was his discussion about anxiety. What he was essentially saying is that when we repress emotions, and he was specifically talking about emotions, it shows up as anxiety. This was a major aha moment for me. That anxiety, is a way that we hold our emotional life at bay. When we breathe we can feel. It is just that we are terrified of our feelings.
My name is Melissa. I teach breathing and yoga, mostly restorative styles of yoga like yin yoga, sleep yoga and restorative yoga on my main channel. I am super lucky that the foundations of my yoga study included a lot of teaching on breathing.
This month I am answering your questions about breathing here and on my main channel I have a short, simple 10 min breathing exercise once a week. I would love to have you as a subscriber here and on my main channel as well.
Why does breathing calm us down? Well let’s start with what happens when it doesn’t.
When we are stressed and anxious we try to take in a deeper breath. My friend, Laura G Yoga has a podcast called Yoga Focus on Removing Restrictions to Find Essential Breath. This actually tends to be a willful upward pulling of energy that creates tension in the neck and shoulders, even though we are trying to draw in more breath to relax. It is a kind of compensatory pattern that ends up forcing and manipulating the breath into the top of the chest, rather than a downward pull of breath into the belly.
This kind of breathing actually reduces the carbon dioxide in the blood, including the carotid artery going to the brain, which further reduces the flow of blood through the body. No matter how much oxygen we breathe into our lungs, our body will experience a shortage of oxygen. This lack of oxygen switches on the fight or flight reflex making us tense, anxious and irritable. It reduces our ability to think clearly and it turns us towards obsessive thinking.
It is possible to turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, helping us to calm down, through our breath as well. We can do this by accessing certain cranial nerves, such as the vagus nerve that comes from the brain stem and also the ones that reside in our lower back region of our spine.
The parasympathetic nerve ganglia do not run down the spine, but are actually located near the organs they influence.
When we focus on that downward pull of breath with the diaphragm or lower belly breathing, it massages all the lower internal organs and lower back and stimulates the ganglia nerve in this area.
So that downward pull of breath, with a relaxed lower belly, that opens to your breath in a natural way, creates impulses that come from those ganglia. They reduce heart rate, dilate blood vessels, increase digestive peristalsis (which means the involuntary constriction and relaxation of the muscles of the intestine, creating wave-like movements that push the contents of the canal forward), constrict air passages in the lungs and help the body to slow down and restore itself.
Thank you for your calm breath.
Namaste, Melissa
Videos Referenced:
Ted Talk: Max Strom Breathe to Heal
Laura G: Essential Breath
Improve Eyesight
In January of 2018 I released a video on How to Improve Your Eyesight with Yoga that has recently become incredibly popular on this channel. In this video I am going to answer your most FAQs from the comments in that video. The eye yoga video had 6 yoga eye exercises to improve your eyesight. Because we spend so much time looking at computer screens we need yoga for healthy eyes now more than ever. The 6 eye exercises were designed to help improve your vision naturally and help so that you could have healthy eyes and you guys loved that video so much. There were so many questions in the comments!
1 Should I wear glasses when I practice eye yoga?
If you wear glasses or contact lenses, you should take them off when you practice eye yoga.
2 Should I wear glasses after eye yoga?
You can put your eyeglasses or contact lenses back on after you practice eye yoga. However, on the topic of eyeglasses, my resource, which I will share next, suggests leaving your glasses off during leisure time.
3 What is the source of these exercises?
These exercises come from a book by Swami Satyananda Saraswati called Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha. It is an Orange Book. I used to own a physical copy, but my copy got lost in a move about 5 years ago. I cannot tell you how many times I reach for this book!
4 How often should I practice eye yoga?
Once a day
5 When Should I practice eye yoga?
Early in the morning or in the evening
6 How many times should you do these exercises? In other words: what is the frequency and duration of the exercises?
The answer is, it depends on the exercise.
Prior to doing the eye yoga it is recommended that you splash cold water on your eyes 10xs. This will help stimulate blood flow to the eyes and tone up your eyes.
Remember to stay relaxed during the eye yoga exercises. Do not strain because this leads to tiredness and fatigue of your eyes. Keep your facial muscles, eyebrows and eyelids completely relaxed.
Between each eye yoga exercise, close your eyes and rest for one minute.
For Palming - you want to do this as long as you feel the heat and energy of your hands going into your eyes. You want to repeat the palming exercise three times.
For Sideways Viewing - you want to repeat this exercise 10xs each way. Afterwards close your eyes and rest. You may also do some palming between the exercises.
This brings us to another question:
7 Can you demonstrate the second exercise?
Sure: This is called front and sideways viewing. For this exercise you have one thumb to the left side and one thumb down in front. Inhale look to the left, exhale look down. Repeat ten times and then repeat the entire exercise to the right. In between close and rest your eyes or do some palming.
For the up and down viewing, rotational viewing and the nose tip gazing - each exercise should be repeated 10xs with your eyes closed to rest in between.
8 How can you remove black circles under your eyes?
One of the ways to reduce black circles under your eyes is with soothing eye treatments. The palming exercise that we did is a good one to try. The palming exercise releases tension in the eyes and revitalizes the eyes. The palming exercise is incredibly relaxing.
9 Is pain in your eyes normal during eye yoga?
Well, it is normal if you are pushing too hard and trying too hard. Remember to stay totally relaxed when doing eye yoga. Keep your eyebrows, eyelids, forehead and facial muscles relaxed. Remember to take time between each exercise to close your eyes and allow them to rest. Kind of like a mini savasana for your eyes, to allow them to be bathed in darkness before you do the next eye exercise. The palming exercise between each eye yoga exercise is also incredibly useful to help your eyes stay relaxed and free of tension.
10 What are the best foods for eyesight?
Kale and Spinach are good for your eyesight because they are high in lutein.
Breathe Through Your Nose
Breathwork is the hottest thing right now, from Wim Hoff to Buteyko the trend continues to be on the rise.
Nose breathing, both inhaling and exhaling through your nose is recommended by Dr. Buteyko for conditions such as anxiety, asthma, digestion, immunity, and sleep disorders. But why is nose breathing so important?
I first encountered breathwork, breathing or pranayama when I attended yoga classes in Toronto at Esther Myers Yoga studio in the late nineties. Breathing is one of the cornerstones of their approach to yoga training.
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The first reason why nose breathing is so important is because it filters the air we breathe. When you breathe in through your nose it removes particles from the air. This is super important for people with lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema or COPD. It is also important for people with heart disease, coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure.
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The second reason why breathing through your nose is so important is that nose breathing warms the air or cools the air to your body temperature. If you have a chronic lung condition such as asthma or COPD this is super important. Cold air in particular be a contributing factor to asthma attacks.
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The third reason why you want to breathe through your nose is that when you breathe through your nose, your nose will humidify the air before it reaches your airways. Breathing dry air can cause contribute to respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, and nosebleeds. If you are trying to avoid dehydration, then breathing through your nose will help to prevent that since body fluids are depleted during respiration.
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Number four. Breathing through your nose conditions the air with negative ions. So why are negative ions important? Well, lots of reasons and we will get to that.
What negative ions do is attach themselves to positive charged particles in large numbers and and negatively charge those particles. So viruses, bacteria, and pollen spores become too heavy to remain airborne and are thus prevented from entering your airways where they can make you sick. They form a kind of protective shield around you.
Negative ions neutralize free radicals, they revitalize cell metabolism, they enhance your immune system, they purify blood, they balance your autonomic nervous system, they promote deep sleep and healthy digestion.
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Number five. Nose breathing is more relaxing and reduces stress. Not only is it like a spa treatment, because of those negative ions, temperature and humidity, but breathing through your nose will also relax other parts of your body, including your diaphragm and your belly. Diaphragmatic breathing helps you to relax, it lowers the stress hormone cortisol in your body, it lowers your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure, improves your core stability, improves your endurance in exercise, and slows your breathing rate so that you expend less energy. If you would like to incorporate diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing into your day, join me over on my main channel Yoga with Melissa where I have videos on diaphragmatic breath work and we can practice together in real time.
So breathing in through your nose encourages more efficient oxygen use because your lungs will be able to draw in oxygen with more consistent and smooth breaths. Open mouth breathing on the other hand results in shorter breaths and because the air has not been warmed or humidified, the airways tighten and you will experience not only shorter, but also tighter breaths. When the muscles in the upper chest tighten, our posture changes for the worse.
There are times when it is useful to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. There are certain breathing exercises that are beneficial for anxiety for example that can help to release stored tension from the body that involve breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
July Yoga
The Yoga Lifestyle with Melissa YouTube channel was created as a secondary channel to answer the questions that were coming up in response to my yoga videos on my main channel, Yoga with Melissa.
Videos that are popular on Yoga Lifestyle with Melissa are yoga for eyesight, yoga for constipation, yoga for sleep, how to grow taller with yoga, breathing exercises, sitting cross legged and standing all day, yoga for anxiety, yoga for hormonal balance, yoga for neck pain and shoulder pain, myofascial release yoga to name a few.
In July of 2019 I will be releasing 7 short videos answering your questions about breathing, yoga for eyesight, constipation, how to grow taller with yoga, and how to sit cross legged.
Here is what you can expect in July of 2019 on Yoga Lifestyle with Melissa:
This month we will be focusing on some questions about breathing exercises to support the breathing exercise yoga videos that I will be launching on my main channel, Yoga with Melissa this month as well. I will answer some of your most frequently asked questions about breathing from:
Why do we breathe through our nose?
Why breathing calms us down?
and What breathing exercises are good for anxiety?
How to Avoid Constipation on a Keto Diet
Because yoga and self-massage videos for constipation have been incredibly popular on this channel I want to go a little deeper with this topic. I am going to be doing a video called: How to Avoid Constipation on a Keto Diet. I will not be bashing a keto diet. I am a huge fan of the keto diet or variations on it for treating neurological issues like migraines and epilepsy. I think diet is highly personal and if you find the keto diet helps you maintain your well-being, but you are finding yourself constipated, then I am going to talk about what food, liquids, yoga and breathing exercises could be most supportive for you.
FAQs about Yoga Exercises to Improve Eyesight
My yoga video about how to improve your eyesight has been incredibly popular, so I have gone through all your comments and pulled out the most frequently asked questions to answer them in a video this month.
How to Sit Cross Legged Without Your Legs Falling Asleep
I will also be doing a video on how to sit cross legged without your legs falling asleep. This video is important for meditators who sit for long periods of time on the floor. This is great for beginners who want to know how to sit properly. This video is also great for those of you who might want to sit on the floor cross legged without knee pain.
Laura G. will be a guest on my channel. I will be going on her channel with a short Yin Yoga at the wall sequence to celebrate her new book: Yoga Therapy at the Wall.
Yoga to Grow Taller At the Wall (with Guest Laura G. Yoga) : here
To buy a copy of Yoga Therapy at the Wall book electronically go to: here
To buy a print copy of Yoga Therapy at the Wall book go to: here
Namaste, Melissa
No Positive Affirmations?
Positive Affirmations are incredibly popular. Millions of people practice positive affirmations in the morning, to help them sleep, for success, for abundance, for self love, for manifestation, for anxiety, for work. There are positive affirmations for women, for men, and for children. There are daily affirmations, mantras and meditations for an abundance mindset.
However, I am not a fan of positive affirmations.
If you are new here, welcome, my name is Melissa, I teach yin yoga, restorative yoga, hatha yoga and yoga nidra. I am a student of Tibetan Buddhism in the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa with Dharma Ocean.
I tend to agree with Pema Chodron that: “Affirmations are like screaming that you're okay in order to overcome this whisper that you're not... maybe you're not okay. Well, no big deal. None of us is okay and all of us are fine.”
To me, affirmations are a way to fight against our reality. They are a desire to escape our current situation. When we push the agenda of positive affirmations we may be judging ourselves or our circumstances as some way inadequate. Positive affirmations often start from a place of judgement, resistance and striving for some kind of ego ideal that is currently not happening in our lives.
I believe that kind of judging and pushing to live up to some kind of ego-ideal is a kind of self-harm that alienates you and disconnects you from the expression of your True Self. It is a kind of inner violence that we inflict on ourselves to say, this shouldn't be happening in my life, I shouldn't be feeling this way, nobody else feels this way, I should get over this. It causes us distress emotionally, energetically and physically in our bodies.
I am much more inclined to turn towards myself and offer myself tenderness and compassion if I am feeling poverty and failure and ask myself:
Where do I feel failure in my body?
How does poverty feel in my body?
I try to remind myself that millions of other people in the world experience poverty and failure. Not only do they experience poverty and failure but they also experience feelings of poverty and feelings of failure several times a day! That is when I start to feel connection rather than isolation. No longer am ¨I¨ the only one experiencing these feelings and trying to push past them to success and abundance.
Then I can ask myself, ¨What do I need right now? What generosity can I offer myself in this moment?¨
Maybe a short walk in a nearby park reminds me of the lush resources available in our beautiful city and I reconnect with the feeling of blessing for living here. Maybe going back and reading some of the thank you notes I have received reminds me that I am not a failure. Maybe reaching out to others and thanking them for how they have contributed to my life and that gives me a sense of connection and expansion and opens my heart to connect others with a sense of abundant success.
Being a spiritual person doesn´t mean that all your experiences are only positive. This is what I call being a spiritual zombie or a spiritual pancake.
In my experience, the more my spiritual life has expanded, the greater the range of emotional and energetic experiences I have opened to. It is not always comfortable, but there is definitely a greater range of experience.
Positivity, happiness, calmness, peacefulness, groundedness and bliss are not the only barometers for spiritual presence. What happens when these states are not present? We tend to judge ourselves harshly and resist our emotional and energetic experience. We tend to feel as though we have failed.
There is both yin and yang in our lives. Sometimes our lives will be expanding and sometimes they will be contracting. Day turns into night. The tide comes in and it goes out.
To insist that: ¨Wealth constantly flows into my life,¨ goes against the natural flow and rhythm of yin and yang. We always have the opportunity to take a step back and ...
Five Bhavas?
Bhakti yoga is a yoga of the Hindu tradition that offers a total surrender and faith to God and develops our capacity to love. It is said when realization is reached on this path of devotion that you will love all and hate none. It is not about generating love for personal gain. Bhakti is said to be the easiest way to reach the Divine. I would agree with that statement and I will explain why that has been true in my own experience in a little bit.
As with any teaching, there is no right or wrong or better, best. There is only the way that resonates with you the most and allows you to awaken to express your own Highest Self for the benefit of all beings in the world. That will be unique for each one of us.
In the previous video I spoke about how my practice of the yoga of devotion has changed over the last five years as I have become a student of Tibetan Buddhism and taken refuge in the lineage of Dharma Ocean.
In this video I am going to talk a little bit about the Five Bhavas. The bhavas are a form of bhakti yoga and are a way of expressing love. They are the kind of mood or feeling, the different kinds of attitudes that the devotee may express to the Divine.
In 2012 I created a series of short 30 minute videos for our members centered around each of the five bhavas. Each video contained hatha yoga and concluded with a mudra with mantra chanting.
The way I used to experience the five bhavas was similar to the way I experienced bhakti yoga. It was in a totally external way. It was something to be delivered outwards rather than offered at the feet of the Divine within. In other words, it was something somebody else was able to demonstrate for another somebody else.
Since the summer of 2016 I have been studying in the lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. A lot has shifted in my experience of the divine and devotion since 2012. Now, I believe I am worthy of those attitudes of devotion. I believe the Divine within me is a worthy recipient. I also believe I have everything in me to be able to offer them into the world. I can and should just as lavishly offer them to myself as their natural expression will flow through me into the world when I have laid them at my own feet. So what are the five bhavas? Shanta Bhava Shanta Bhava is attitude of peace. I used to use the example of Ghandi living an example of peace in his life. I still think it is a good idea to reflect in your own life for heroes and people who inspire you to live in peace.
Now I think of peace as something that I can offer my highest Self. I may sit quietly in meditation. I might make sure to have less screen time, time in nature, time to let my mind float, time in quiet.
What does an attitude of peace mean to you?
In July of 2019 our members are going to spend the entire month focusing on the bhavas and cultivating one of the bhavas or all five as they feel inspired, using the classes for guidance. Dasya Bhava This is to take the attitude of a servant. Again, following the past example of Hanuman being a servant to Ram. I do think it is a good idea to find examples outside of us to inspire us.
At this time, dasya bhava for me this is about surrendering my life, my wishful thinking, my ideas, thoughts and beliefs about how things should be. This is about taking refuge in life as it is. It is about letting go of my ambition and agenda and laying myself bare at the feet of the Divine within.
What does it mean for you to be a servant to your Higher Self? Sakhya Bhava With Sakhya Bhava one cultivates reverence towards God as an attitude of friendship. Here I used to turn towards Arjuna and Krishna as the archetypes. Krishna may have been the God, but he was Arjuna’’s most intimate friend. I used to see this as cultivating an attitude of friendship with the Divine.
To me this is one of bhavas that has shifted most for me. It is about cultivating friendliness towards myself. It is about sleeping when I am tired,
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti Yoga is said to be the fast track to enlightenment. In this video I will explain what bhakti yoga is and how my practice of it has evolved over time.
Bhakti yoga is a yoga of the Hindu tradition that offers a total surrender and faith to God and develops our capacity to love. It is said when realization is reached on this path of devotion that you will love all and hate none. It is not about generating love for personal gain. Bhakti is said to be the easiest way to reach the Divine. I would agree with that statement and I will explain why that has been true in my own experience in a little bit.
As with any teaching, there is no right or wrong or better, best. There is only the way that resonates with you the most and allows you to awaken to express your own Highest Self for the benefit of all beings in the world. That will be unique for each one of us.
Hi I´m Melissa from Yoga with Melissa, I teach yin yoga, restorative yoga, hatha yoga and yoga nidra. I am a student of Tibetan Buddhism in the lineage of Dharma Ocean. If you are new here, welcome. I put out a video every Monday and Wednesday morning at 9:30 am PT and Friday at 9:30 am PT on my main channel I release a one hour yoga video.
What Bhakti Yoga has meant to me has changed over time. I have been teaching on YouTube since 2009, so we have a rather public record to look back on and explore how my attitude of devotion, surrender and cultivation of love has evolved.
If you go back to the Vishnu series in 2011, Ganesh Series in 2012, Shiva series in 2012 Lakshmi series in 2013, Durga series in 2013, I saw bhakti yoga as surrendering my devotion to an object outside of myself. At this stage of my spiritual development it was useful to have an archetypal representation of the divine. I think perhaps because it wasn’t possible for me to see these attributes within myself at this time.
Vishnu video
Ganesh video
Lakshi video
Durga video
Shiva video
What stands out to me is that these classes do not extend past 2013, definitely not past 2014. This was a time of great transition for me. I was dealing with a lot of personal ongoing illness with chronic migraines. Our family also made the decision to make a huge move across the country. The move allowed me to access new ways of practicing yoga, specifically yin yoga and meditation that focused much more on Taoism, Buddhism and the philosophies of chinese medicine. You will see that change slowly came into my teachings more and more.
When I moved to Victoria BC I was introduced to new teachers and teachings. Yin yoga was completely different from other kinds of yoga and my yin yoga teacher here, Carly Forest, taught me the importance of relaxing, yielding, letting go and resting as ways of nourishing and nurturing myself through a yin practice. In 2016 when I was introduced to the teachings of Reggie Ray and my meditation teacher here in Victoria BC, Neil McKinlay, I was introduced to a whole new way of meditating called somatic meditation. Suddenly meditation was no longer a disciplined and punishing practice. There was a lot of softness and compassion that came into the practice over the next few years.
Through yin yoga and somatic meditation, what bhakti yoga means to me has evolved. While what bhakti yoga means to me in still lines up with the definition in the traditional definition, it has definitely changed. It still means surrendering to the Divine and it probably means that in a deeper way than before. However, I do not see the Divine as a theistic deity external to my being. For me, now, after taking refuge vows and bodhisattva vows, it has evolved into being about surrendering my aggression, my agenda, my life planning, and letting go of my small ego-self.
It is about opening to the awareness, clarity, wisdom, love, and vastness of my higher Self as well as following its guidance in right action and right relationship in my life.
Lojong for 30 Days
There are lots of videos on YouTube out there under the umbrella of, “I tried ____ for 30 days and this is what happened”
I tried meditation for 30 days and this is what happened.
I tried yoga for 30 days and this is what happened.
Since I already practice yoga and meditation these are not going to work for an I tried video for me.
But there are also I tried cold showers for 30 days, I went to the gym for 30 days, I quit social media for 30 days, waste free or plastic free for the 30 days of water challenge, pushups for 30 days, pull ups for 30 days. You get the picture.
While there are merits to these practices, I thought what if I could come up with an I tried ___ for 30 days that was deeply aligned with my own values.
In the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Tibetan Buddhism there is a practice called lojong. It is a bodhicitta mind training for those of us who aspire to awaken for the benefit of all beings.
There are 59 slogans which are designed to reverse our ego-clinging and cultivate tenderness and compassion.
Here are the slogans: Click Here
This is not about progress, about doing it right, about succeeding, but about noticing how I open and close to the slogan that I choose.
My idea is that I will take this deck shuffle through the cards and whatever slogan jumps out at me I will have to stick with for 30 days. The thing about these slogans is that they are not all clear from the get go:
A slogan like: don’t expect applause or be grateful to everyone are pretty straight forward, but a slogan like: examine the nature of unborn awareness would probably take me way more than 30 days to find understanding in.
I honestly don’t know what I am hoping. I know whatever I choose it is going to kick my but in some way and it will also bring some illumination and awakening.
I will set an alarm on my phone so that I will remember to check in each day and let you know how I am doing. I plan to share the frustrations as well as the insights. Hopefully this video will not be too long!
My lojong for 30 days May 18-June 18 is “Don’t turn Gods into demons”
There are three books I am drawing from for this challenge. Chogyam Trungpa’s Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving Kindness, Pema Chodron’s Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living and Norman Fischers’ Teaching in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong.
I also love Judy Leif’s teachings on Lojong in Tricycle magazine. She was a student of Chogyam Trungpa’s and she has written on each of the 59 slogans in Tricycle.
https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/train-your-mind-dont-make-gods-into-demons/
I like to start with Chogyam Trungpa because he came first and seems closest to the source. With don’t turn gods into demons, he talks about our negativity bias and our tendency to complain. He says this slogan asks us to not make things that are joyful, painful.
The other thing that I love about what Chogyam Trungpa says is that dharma can become adharma. In other words, we can start using the teachings against ourselves. Oh my gosh, can I relate to that one. The number of times I have done that over the years, let’s be honest, in a single practice. This is something I can observe from minute to minute in my life.
He also talks about bringing awareness to the way we use the dharma to build up our ego. That is another aspect of this “don’t turn gods into demons” lojong slogan that I will notice throughout the month. How do I use what is good in my life to solidify my sense of self. Oh my gosh, that list is probably endless.
Day 1
I was reflecting on how the previous day my seventeen year old daughter had come into my bedroom and kissed me goodnight. I was quite touched by this tender act of affection. The next day, I said to my husband, did you ask her to do that? He said he did and then asked, did that make it any less special? Don’t turn gods into demons.