Yoga with Melissa

In this restorative yoga practice we will focus on being as cozy as possible to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and allow your body to fully release tension. This restorative yoga class with props, including the furniture from your living space will allow your body to recover from stress and tension. By creating a comfortable environment and using props such as your couch or a chair and a bolster to support your body in each pose, this restorative yoga class will support your body to release tension and promote relaxation. Cozey Restorative Yoga Sequence Legs Up the Chair Hand to Big Toe Pose Front Lying Twist Wide Legged Seated Forward Fold Legs Up the Chair Props Needed: Chair or Couch, Yoga Strap, Bolster, Block Poem: Spring Blessing by ~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer ~ Thank you to Cozey for gifting me: The Ciello - Sunset Beige 1-Seater / With Ottoman / Sunset Beige The Solis Adjustable Table in Eclipse

Are you ready to start your day feeling energized and refreshed? This 10-minute morning yoga flow is designed to wake up your body and mind for a great way to start your day. I have been teaching real yoga for real people for over 20 years and I love supporting you in getting on your mat every day for a full body-yoga routine that will wake up your body. This class is a full-body yoga work-out that requires no-props. We will strengthen your legs, release your back and shoulders, open your chest. This class will leave you feeling ready to take on whatever comes your way today! I’ve designed this class for you to practice it first thing in the morning before you start your work-day, but you can practice it whenever you need a boost of energy. Come back to it again and again and you will notice a difference in your energy and overall well-being. I hope you enjoy this class and have a great day!

This 15 minute morning yoga practice will support you in alleviating neck and shoulder pain. It is perfect for those of you, who like me, suffer from chronic neck and shoulder pain. I didn’t even realize how exhausting and energy draining it was to have neck and shoulder pain until I built these simple yoga exercises into my daily routine. It is a perfect way to start your day. This yoga sequence of simple yoga poses will help to release tension in your neck and shoulders, improve your shoulder mobility, increase flexibility and free up energy that has been stagnant in your shoulder joints. All you need is a yoga strap and you can do this practice anywhere because all the poses are done standing. So this is a simple yoga sequence that you can take with you when you travel, because you don’t even need a yoga mat! I will talk you through the movements and demonstrate the neck and shoulder yoga exercises in real time for each pose. Remember, when it comes to neck movement, a little is a lot. I hope you find this practice as beneficial as I have! I can’t wait for you to try it! Props Needed: Yoga Strap Beginner Hatha Yoga for Neck and Shoulders https://youtu.be/XcGIKBYohfc Neck and Shoulder Pain Yoga https://youtu.be/igJhu4c9Eiw 10 min Beginner Yoga Stretches for Neck and Shoulder Pain https://youtu.be/5NyHB__AhL4 Restorative Yoga for Neck and Shoulders https://youtu.be/XhGcNzne03M Become a Member https://www.melissawest.com/membership/

This short 10 minute yoga nidra meditation or NSDR (non-sleep deep rest) is a guided journey of deep relaxation and restoration for your body and mind. In this guided meditation, I will guide you through a body scan and breathing to support you in releasing tension, soothing your nervous system, reducing stress, and cultivating a sense of inner peace and tranquility. Yoga nidra is an effortless meditation that will support you in surrendering the pushing, striving and hustling that keeps us from rest. Find a comfortable place to lie down, gravy a cozy blanket and get ready for 10 minutes of deep restorative self care. Feel free to make any adjustments and modifications along the way to make the practice even more restful for you. May this practice bring you calm, soothe your nervous system, reduce anxiety and detach stress from your body.

In this 60 minute restorative yoga class we will stimulate the vagus nerve through restorative yoga poses, breathing, sounding, and self massage to relieve anxiety. By stimulating the vagus nerve we will activate your parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for calming your body and reducing your stress response. Props Needed: Wall, Bolster, Blocks, Yoga Strap, Eye Pillow, Blanket

Are you looking for the perfect daily hatha yoga class that you can do anywhere? For this yoga class you don’t even need a yoga mat and you could do it outside or when you are travelling on vacation. The entire class is done standing so it is incredibly versatile to be able to practice this class whenever and wherever you want! We begin with a standing twist to stimulate energy flow and circulation throughout your entire body, plus it will take your spine through rotation and release your back. Standing Cat/Cow takes your spine through flexion and extension and will open up your chest, release your diaphragm and improve your breathing. Our dynamic lunges will release your back, groin, and support you in balance and releasing what no longer serves. The wide-legged side bend takes your spine through lateral flexion and will continue to open up your breathing capacity. Standing Knee to chest and figure four pose will allow you to continue to practice your balancing and offer a deep opening of the hips. Additionally it will support you in digestion. I hope you love this variation of extended tadasana where you will roll through your feet to strengthen your arches, open up your chest for breathing, add some jumping to stimulate your bone density, metabolism, increase the circulation of lymph, strengthen your heart, and increases vitality. Our variation of chair pose not only builds strength in your legs but opens your chest and improves shoulder mobility. Dancer pose is fantastic to release your psoas/hip complex and quads. It will also open your heart and activate your thyroid. We did a fun variation of boat pose to build your core strength and balance. Our final pose was malasana and uttanasana to open your hips, lower back, and hamstrings. It was also good for digestion and we added some thoracic rotations to the malasana. Of course we finished with some sitting meditation where we offered some loving awareness to our nervous system through breath awareness. Props Needed - Block Daily Hatha Yoga Sequence 1. Standing Twist - 2. Standing Cat Cow 3. Lunge side to side with ball toss - 4. Wide Legged Side Bend 5. Knee to Chest to Standing figure four 6. Tadasana 7. High Lunge 8.Chair Pose 9. Dancer 10. Boat 11. Malasana to Uttanasana 12. Sitting Meditation

Our back becomes tight and painful with injury but also in response to stress and tension. When we are tight with fear, anxiety, and stress, we try to control our lives and our body tenses. When we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to succeed our body seizes up in responseAlways working hard, trying to do better, building up pressure to prove yourself personally and professionally takes its toll on your body and often can result in back pain. Tension myositis syndrome - weak, painful, aching muscles that get worse over time, as a result of tension and anxiety, usually occurs between 30-60 years of age, when you have the most responsibilities and pressures to succeed. When things feel out of control in our lives, our sympathetic nervous system activates and creates and maintains tension in our bodies. Through yoga we can gradually, step by step, shift from the anxiety, control, and physical tension to step by step trusting the mysterious unfolding of our lives. The habitual tendency to strive, grip and hold on tight only creates more of the same. Letting go and trusting is hard. But we don’t have to do it all at once. Plus we can have the support of each other. We are definitely not alone. We are all perfectly imperfect beings, trying hopelessly to control our lives. The pain that we experience is a messenger. It is a sacred opportunity to pause, be still and listen. As Rachel Krentzmen says, pain is our body’s way of asking us to “stop forcing and start feeling.” While slowing down and being in the physical postures of yoga, we can breathe, feel, and be present to our lived experience. Healing is not a quick fix. It is a process. Yoga is not a way to mask your pain or fight your pain. It is not like taking a “pain killer.” Instead we are present to the sensations in our body, including pain, with courage, patience, persistence, kindness, practice and acceptance. Gentle Yoga to Relieve Acute Back Pain Sequence Legs up the Chair Child’s Pose Knee’s to Chest Pose Cobra Back Support Breathing Hip Release Child’s Pose Legs Up the Chair Props Needed: Chair, Blanket, Block

This 30-minute Yin Yoga Full Body Deep Stretch Beginner class is just what you need to find balance in our hustle culture. Unlike most forms of yoga, yin yoga focuses on the deeper connective tissues in your hips, pelvis, and lower spine, helping you release tension and find stillness. In this class, you'll learn the three principles of yin yoga: finding your edge, resolving to be still, and staying for a while. With gentle, slow movements, you'll explore the yin qualities of surrender, ease, and relaxation, allowing gravity to take the weight of your body and access the deeper layers of your connective tissues. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced yogi, this class will help you drop into your body and find balance in your life. If you are brand new to yoga and get frustrated with other yoga classes on YouTube that don´t give modifications and are too hard to follow, don´t worry, our beginner yin yoga classes are actually for beginners, people who have never done yoga before. We offer slow, easy to follow, step by step instructions with lots of modifications. Props: 2 blocks, bolster (or pillows) 30 min Yin Yoga Full Body Deep Stretch Beginner Sequence Butterfly Bananasana Keyhole Broken Wing Supported Fish Pose Savasana Poem: What Silence Said by Julia Fehrenbacher

Welcome to a 30-minute Yin Yang Yoga class for Neck & Shoulder Pain Relief! If you're dealing with neck and shoulder pain, this class will help. My intention is to help you release tension, increase mobility, and find relief from discomfort. In this class, we'll start with a gentle Yin sequence to apply appropriate stress to the tissues that wrap around the joints of your body. We'll move through Supported Fish Pose, Heart Melting Pose, and Broken Wing Pose, focusing on finding an appropriate edge, softening, and being still. Remember, not every pose will be possible for every body, and that's okay! I’ll offer alternatives so you can find what works best for your body. Then, we'll transition to the Yang portion of the class, where we'll focus on building flexibility and mobility through standing postures such as Tadasana and Warrior One, and movements like shoulder circles and spinal mobility. We'll end with a relaxing Savasana to let the body integrate the benefits of the practice. Remember, it's not about what the pose looks like, but how it feels in your body. This is real yoga for real people. Yin Yang Yoga Sequence for Neck and Shoulder Relief Yin Portion Supported Fish Pose Heart Melting Pose Broken Wing Pose Yang Portion - Hatha Neck and Shoulder Mobility from Tadasana Chest Opening from Warrior One Shoulder Release from Wide-Legged Standing Forward fold Bow Pose Child’s Pose Savasana Poem: The Knots Prayer Anne & Bill Degnan

This 30 minute restorative yoga class is designed specifically to boost your immune system. In this class, we will focus on yoga poses that help increase your internal resistance and immunity so that you can remain healthy and vibrant. We will begin with legs up the wall pose, which allows the lymph nodes in our neck, armpits, and groin to work more efficiently. Next, we will practice supported fish pose to stimulate the thymus gland, which is responsible for producing T cells. We will also practice a restorative side bend to stimulate the spleen, which filters germs from our bloodstream. Finally, we will end with bound angle pose to open up the thymus and groin lymph nodes. Restorative yoga has a tonifying effect on the body and helps increase the activity and efficiency of the cells in our immune system. By strengthening our internal body and trusting its innate potential for maintaining health and to overcome illness, we can heal from within and restore balance to our bodies. This is real yoga for real people to experience the healing power of restorative yoga for your immune system. 30 min Restorative Yoga for Immune System Sequence Legs Up the Wall Supported Fish Side Bend Over Bolster Bound Angle Pose Props Needed: 2 blocks, bolster, yoga strap, blanket, eye pillow, wall Poem: The Cure for it All by Julia Fehrenbacher