#yoga

Point of Departure – a new look at resolution

Melissa Valentine

Dec 30, 2021
3 min

Point of Departure – a new look at resolution

If you don’t choose a different present, then your past will choose it for you. Rod Stryker As January 1st approaches we are again asked to reflect on the past and set our goals and intentions for the new year ahead. It seems cliche at this point. Regardless, the opportunity for a fresh start is tempting and in this post-Christmas holiday stupor, I could use a jolt of intentional energy. Honestly, it was never the banality of the tradition that kept me from setting those n

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Melissa Valentine

Aug 25, 2020
4 min

You really “should” read this blog

Recently I have added a list of triggering “shoulds”, (specifically Byron Katie’s list of Universal Beliefs) to my yoga therapy intake form. I will admit it seems a bit unusual amid the medical history and lists of symptoms and problems. I find, however, that stress and/ or trauma is nearly always on this problem list. In order to work with stress and trauma, we need to understand our own triggers. Many of these triggers are not physical events or activities but emotio

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Melissa Valentine

Aug 17, 2020
4 min

What is my Yoga personality?

So, you are fully committed to practicing Yoga at home. You have your equipment, you have set aside time and carefully considered your goals and intentions. You have experimented with different teachers and different practices. You are beginning to feel the energetic and emotional benefits of Yoga in addition to the physical ones. Now, it is time to figure out what yoga practice is therapeutic for you and your needs. You may find it interesting to learn that the answer t

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Yoga at Home: 10 steps to finding your way in the increasingly virtual world of Yoga

Melissa Valentine

Jul 7, 2020
6 min

Yoga at Home: 10 steps to finding your way in the increasingly virtual world of Yoga

2020 has offered quite a few challenges for us – not the least of which has been finding a way to keep going on our own, without our to-do list, without social pressure, and without our yoga studios. If you, like many, have started or are considering starting a virtual home practice, here are some things to help you find your way. 1. Find a space.Whether you have a small apartment or a large home, finding the right place to practice is often difficult. A perfectly peaceful

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2019 is on the Horizon – Can you SEE it?

Melissa Valentine

Dec 21, 2018
3 min

meditation

2019 is on the Horizon – Can you SEE it?

As each year closes, we face the urge to toss out undesired habits, start fresh and to move in new directions. Maybe you look forward to this “turning point” or maybe you are a bit hesitant after many years of watching January’s enthusiasm fizzle out as you fall back into the trenches of old habits by February. In fact, research has shown that about fifty percent of us make resolutions, however fewer than 10% of these keep them for more a few months. Whether you call it

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Solving the Unsolveable: 4 Steps in a Path to Healing & Preventing Chronic Pain

Melissa Valentine

May 30, 2018
4 min

meditation

Solving the Unsolveable: 4 Steps in a Path to Healing & Preventing Chronic Pain

Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are. – Rachel Naomi Remen Over the last 30 years I have gradually gotten myself into the business of chronic pain. I developed this niche not by claiming it but, rather, through following my interests and passion for all teachings and related to the mind-body connection. I first studied Psychology, and then Yo

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Moving from the Inside, Out – Experiencing Anatomy through Movement

Melissa Valentine

Feb 8, 2018
8 min

Asana

Moving from the Inside, Out – Experiencing Anatomy through Movement

Next time your yoga teacher asks you to “rest” in that Down Dog for just a few more breaths, look around you – no two Down Dogs are quite the same. Excepting severe injury, genetic anomaly or deformity, we all have the same muscles pulling on the same bones to create the hip and shoulder flexion needed to assume the Downward Dog position. What then, makes one person’s movement so different from another? Or what makes the same movement different when done with a different or

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Lineage – “Please, Tell Us About the Wall!”

Melissa Valentine

Jul 11, 2017
5 min

Musings

Lineage – “Please, Tell Us About the Wall!”

In yoga terminology, lineage refers to the historical succession of knowledge passed from teacher to teacher. With the foundation of lineage, a disciple of yoga gains insight not only from his/her own teacher, but from all the teachers that came before. The result of lineage is instruction that is enriched by many perspectives and free from the influence of any one teacher’s ego. Yoga Lineage is often depicted as a tree in which each teacher grows from the branch of his or he

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Moving Up to the Next Level: Progression in Yoga

Melissa Valentine

Feb 10, 2017
3 min

Asana

Moving Up to the Next Level: Progression in Yoga

“Remember it is not how deep into a posture you go – what does matter is who you are when you get there” ~Max Strom My students ask me all the time, “Do you think I am ready to move up to the next yoga class level?” or “How do I know when it is the right time to try out a more advanced class?” The truth is, there is no set algorhythm for determining readiness for progression in yoga. We cannot look at variables such as years experience, body type, age and current ability

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Melissa Valentine

Jan 5, 2017
2 min

Musings

Moving Your Mind in 2017

If we can make just 1% of the population meditative, the world will be a different place” ~Sadhguru If you listed among your New Year’s resolutions the desire to learn how to meditate or to meditate more often, then you are certainly not alone. With an ever-growing amount research and evidence stating that meditation is good for anything and everything from a healthy heart, to work productivity, to a better sex life, it is a wonder we don’t schedule the time to sit and breat

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VATA- Grounding Ourselves for the Winds of Change

Melissa Valentine

Oct 26, 2016
2 min

Musings

VATA- Grounding Ourselves for the Winds of Change

When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build windmills” ~Chinese Proverb As my students entered the house today, each shivered a little and made a comment about the weather – the wind is gusting and there is a brisk coolness to the air. Fall has arrived and with it a bluster of action readying ourselves for the close of the year – holiday festivities, school exams, vacations, and family visits. It can all seem a bit dizzying sometimes. In the

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Melissa Valentine

Sep 26, 2016
2 min

Musings

A Good Retreat

A good retreat is better than a bad stand” ~Irish proverb As I was preparing to leave for my Yoga Retreat at Aldermarsh in the Pacific Northwest, my 8-year-old daughter asked “What does retreat mean?” Admittedly, I wasn’t exactly sure how to reply. The answer on the top of my head was “it means Mommy gets to go away to a place where no there are no kids and nobody she needs to take care of but herself – it is awesome!” Luckily, my 10-year old son chimed in first. “

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Melissa Valentine

Sep 26, 2016
4 min

Asana

Restorative Retreat

In need of a mini-retreat but no vacation in sight? Take 40 minutes out of your day to try the following restorative sequence for a guided practice of intention, acceptance and gratitude. You will emerge refreshed and battle-ready. The practice requires a rectangular bolster or 2-3 thick, but firm, blankets, and 1-2 blocks or additional firm bolster or folded blanket. Reclined, Supported Easy Sit or Reclined, Supported Cobbler Place your bolster lengthwise on your mat suppo

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Melissa Valentine

Sep 2, 2016
2 min

Musings

Yoga – “The Everlasting Gobstopper”

You can suck ’em, and suck ’em, and suck ’em, and they never get any smaller” ~Willie Wonka I really love Gene Wilder and the original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of only a handful of movies I will watch over and over again. My love for this movie is almost 100% attributable to the amazing character of Willie Wonka, played by Gene Wilder. I also love Janet Stone — someone most of you have not been fortunate enough to become familiar with. Janet is a y

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Melissa Valentine

Aug 23, 2016
2 min

Asana

Putting “Therapy” into Your Yoga

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. ~BKS Iyengar I am often asked “What is Yoga Therapy?” and “How is Therapeutic Yoga different from regular yoga and from Physical Therapy or other forms of traditional therapy?”. First of all, let me say that not all Yoga is “therapeutic” and not all “yoga therapy” is therapeutic for every person. At the core, Therapeutic Yoga begins with Awareness. In this, it is very personal and, often, dif

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Melissa Valentine

Jul 29, 2016
3 min

Musings

Finding Your Yoga Off the Mat

Go from a human being doing yoga to a human being yoga” ~ Baron Baptiste When your yoga teacher goes on vacation – what do you do? Do you take a day off from exercising? Run out to find an available spot in the nearest fitness class? Try a few poses on your own when you feel the urge to “get your yoga on”? Why not take advantage of the time off the mat to practice bringing yoga into your life wherever you find yourself. Here are a few ideas: Breathe (right here, right no

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PITTA – Embracing and Balancing the Heat of Summer

Melissa Valentine

Jul 14, 2016
2 min

Musings

PITTA – Embracing and Balancing the Heat of Summer

Sometimes it takes a meltdown to cool down. ~Evinda Lepins I’m hot, really hot. Literally, I am actually HOT and wet, according to Yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda, I am a PITTA, which means my body, mind and emotions are guided by the elements of heat and water. My hair is red, my intellect is quick and sharp and my emotions are hard to stir but strong when shaken. Maybe you are hot by nature, like me, or maybe you have just experienced one too many North Carolina

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Melissa Valentine

Jun 18, 2016
2 min

Musings

“Accessibility” / Yoga for ALL

If you can breathe, you can do yoga. ~Krishnamacharya This Tuesday, June 21st 2016, marks the second annual International Day of Yoga declared by the United Nations in 2014. The theme this year is “Yoga for All”. The goal is to inspire yoga teachers and studios all over the world to find & share ways to make yoga accessible to everyone regardless of race, gender, income and ability. How do we make yoga accessible? What exactly are

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Melissa Valentine

Jun 18, 2016
3 min

Asana

Folding Forward

Remember you can’t reach what’s in front of you until you let go of what is behind you. ~livelifehappy.com Folding forward, one becomes immediately aware of his or her limitations. Whether it is your hamstrings, the pain in your back or simply your belly that gets in your way – something will keep you from going too deep too fast. Even in a beginner yoga class there are so many opportuniti

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Melissa Valentine

Jun 8, 2016
2 min

Asana

Legs-up-the-Wall / Viparita Karani

It is not the load that breaks you down. It is the way you carry it. ~Lou Holtz Legs-up-the-wall is my very favorite pose – so easy and so profound. The beauty of this pose starts with the sanskrit name translated into “making action by turning things around”. The list of ailments of the mind and body that are eased by this pose are endless and yet there is no effort, no prerequisite pose and very few contraindications – you simply find a way to turn yourself upside-

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