Meet the Teachers Monday: Melanie Norton
Up next for #meettheteachermonday for Yoga Lee!
Each week we will be featuring one of the fabulous members of our yoga teacher team so you can better get to know them and find connection on AND off the mat.
This week we are so excited to share more about your favorite yoga teacher— Melanie!
Melanie is not only new to Yoga Lee but a new yoga teacher with a bright future ahead of her. You might recognize Melanie first as a dedicated yoga practitioner at Yoga Lee. It was only fitting that when she finished her 200 hour YTT at Kripalu this summer that she joined the Yoga Lee team, first as a sub and now as a full time teacher. Melanie’s classes are a mix of intuitive sequencing with alignment focused cues to bring you deeper into your body.
Let’s dive into the interview…
Tell us about your first yoga class- did you love it? hate it? what kind of class was it?
My first yoga class was a Vinyasa Flow at a New York Sports Club and I did not love it! Despite
being in shape, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the cues, asanas, and rituals. The impetus to
go back was largely to prove to myself I could master yoga - a naive thought as we never really
master yoga - but I’m grateful it pushed me to dive deeper. The past 15 years of my practice
have been critical in helping me work through trauma, regulate my nervous system, and most
importantly, breathe! When I look back to that first class, I’m almost certain I was holding my
breath for the full hour.
What made you want to take your first 200 hour YTT?
Becoming a yoga instructor has always been a pipe dream, but I never felt I was good enough
for the role. I happened to help out as an assistant at a yoga retreat and the experience
completely broke me open, which I now acknowledge was divine intervention! I realized that I
had the capacity to hold space for others in a unique way that resonated, and brought me closer
to my authentic self.
What made you want to teach yoga?
A few years ago I injured my lower back while strength training. The healing process brought
me through a landscape of modalities and practitioners, and I learned an incredible amount
about anatomy, meditation, embodiment, and the power of breath. This process healed both my
injury and my nervous system, and I wanted to be a guide for others in coming back to
themselves, their bodies, and their spirit in order to live their fullest lives.
What is your FAVORITE class to teach at Yoga Lee? What is your favorite class to take at
Yoga Lee?
My favorite class to teach is Feel Good Flow because I love the flexibility around flow and
theme. Some of my Feel Goods might be sweatier, some might be slower, some may clinic,
some may just flow - but all of them seek to help individuals foster mind-body-spirit connection
and come back to the breath.
My favorite class to take is Feel Strong - I really love the elements of pilates and body
conditioning that are incorporated and it’s a nice switch up from my daily Vinyasa practice!
What is something that Yoga has taught you?
Not to strive, and instead allow myself to witness, breathe, and feel. I have spent much of my
life trying to be the strongest, most flexible, most successful, most most most most most. Yoga
has taught me that it’s not about arriving at, or pushing towards, a specific destination. Instead
it’s about truly experiencing each moment, each breath, and each pose as it comes. Once I
stopped trying to impress, and started trying to feel, my entire practice changed and I was able
to find ease in even the most challenging asanas.
What is something you wish you could tell every yoga student that walked into your
class?
Allow yourself to flow with the current rather than paddle against it. When we paddle against the
current we spend so much of our energy fighting the river, just to get to some location at which
we THINK we need to arrive. When we go with the current, and trust the divine, we end up at
the point of the river to which we were meant to arrive. You never know what is waiting around
the next riverbend!
What other forms of movement and exercise do you love?
Skiing, hiking and pilates!
If you aren't in a yoga class, where can you be found?
Ideally...lying on my sun porch with my two dogs, Cheddar and Frankie, reading a great book.
Drop your favorite playlist/musicians/songs below.
See what I’m listening to, or access my Yoga playlists, on my Spotify!
Tell us one fun fact about you!
I’ve lived in 3 countries besides the US: England, Scotland, and Italy!
What's your favorite snack?
I can’t pick just one! I’m grateful to have access to an abundance of locally made treats here in
the Berkshires, and love trying something new at Guido’s or one of the many farm stands.
Currently obsessed with Bittersweet Farm’s homemade granola.
Last but not least, what's the best way to your heart?
A cheese board, a big hug, or a heartfelt conversation!
