Melanie's first essay into yoga was in 1993 under the instruction of Ruby Diamond (AKA Carroll MacDonald). "We were yoga gypsy's from the start - holding class wherever we could find space, practicing without mats, simply following our leader." Yoga quickly became more than a physical practice for Melanie - it became a solace, a vehicle of self-discovery and a new lens through which to view the world. Ten years later, while living in Edmond, OK, one of Melanie's teachers, Rachel Mor, suggested Melanie take over teaching a yoga class at a local private high school. "I was a yoga gypsy again. The high school hadn't secured a space for the class, nor did we have yoga mats. We were moved room to room in a nearby YMCA. At one point, we practiced on a racquetball court. At another, there were 25 of us in a cramped, unheated storage room. The girls would tumble out of vrksasana onto one another. It was a blast. I knew then that I really wanted to teach." It was during her time at Mor's studio that Melanie had the good fortune to study with many teachers and enjoyed a variety of yoga styles, including vinyasa, hatha, Iyengar, restorative and Ashtanga. She lucked into an intensive with one of the founders of American Power Yoga, Beryl Bender Birch. "I was pretty much clueless. I'd heard of Birch and I enjoyed the flow of vinyasa-style classes, but I wasn't familiar with the rigors of Ashtanga. It was a new awakening. That's the thing about yoga. There are so many layers, subtleties, mysteries. It offers a journey for many lifetimes."

 

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