Melanie Green (she/her)
If you are looking for an Ashtanga yoga teacher who will meet you where you are, help you honor your body, and allow space to be yourself, come try a class with Melanie. She strives to make yoga accessible to all students. While encouraging students to focus on their breath and sensations, she teaches students to deepen their practice as they more deeply understand their bodies. Yoga, at its roots, is a means for liberation. We must always remember it is a gift from India. Melanie values the spiritual aspects of yoga integrated with the asanas as a way to become better humans and to create a more just world. The physicality of the poses are just as necessary as the profound inner lessons of yoga: attention to the breath, letting go of thoughts and ego, perseverance through practice, and radical acceptance. In each class, the student is invited to let go and have fun.
Melanie Green is dedicated to social equity in her teaching and life and strives to bring the eight limbs into daily life with her wife, children, and community. She continues to learn and grow as a yoga teacher, as the co-owner of the Berkeley Yoga Center and how to best support all peoples. She has been practicing yoga for almost 30 years and teaching since 2000. Her yoga background includes extensive study in Ashtanga. She has also trained in Iyengar, Pre/Postnatal and Vipassna Meditation.
Melanie currently teaches Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, Slow flow and Stretch yoga, meditation, yoga to kindergartners at Ruth Acty Elementary, yoga for the Berkeley High School Mountain Bike Team, and works with individuals through wellness and nutrition. In recent times, Melanie has taught Yoga for Freedom - teaching yoga to previously incarcerated men at The Berkeley Yoga Center. For nearly two decades Melanie has volunteered her time teaching yoga to children, teens, and young adults. Melanie also offers private instruction and workshops.