Mondays from 8-9p starting January 6, 2020

Every body has lessons to teach. Every being in a human body has the ability to practice yoga and to use this beautiful set of tools to access the innate wisdom already inside of them.

The aim of this class is to create a safe and accessible environment for students in larger bodies to explore yoga postures and practices without any of the pressures and assumptions that are often pervasive in yoga spaces. This is not a class aimed at weight loss--on the contrary, it’s focus is on physically supporting the larger body as it already exists and emotionally and energetically supporting the practitioner through mindful movement and guided self-inquiry. The instruction will be kept distinctly weight-neutral, and the instructor will work to ensure that everyone in the class is held to the same standard. Props and variation are encouraged and celebrated.

About
M(elanie) Camellia (they/them) is a yoga teacher and advocate, called to create profoundly accessible spaces for self-inquiry by integrating mindfulness and adaptive movement practices with the spirit of social justice. They believe that the goal of yoga, as of life, is collective liberation and in turn challenge contemporary yoga practitioners to dismantle the systems and beliefs that hold us all back. In addition to regular group classes and private sessions, Melanie teaches workshops that explore queer identity, body image, pleasure, and agency, trains yoga teachers in adaptive teaching methods for all bodies and abilities, co-leads the Yoga & Body Image Coalition, and administrates trainings internationally for Accessible Yoga. They’ve been called a “tour-de-force of encouraging radical self-love” (DC Refined) and listed among the “top thinkers and activists in the field of body positivity” (OmStars). Melanie’s classes are adaptive and trauma-informed and often intermingle gentle, dynamic flow elements with skill-building postural work and opportunities for individualized exploration. Experimentation with props and pose variations is always encouraged. Melanie lives in Silver Spring with their wife and two cats, Matcha and Chai.