Background and History of MelMarie Yoga
Though, I teach yoga- I am writer and poet first which you can feel if you take a practice with me. With over a decade pioneering and teaching yoga, this is intended to share a light hearted glimpse of the journey Mel has walked that has led us to this season.
The start.
I have shared the story in many places on my genesis of teaching yoga. I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training at Asheville Yoga Center during my freshman year in college. By the following semester, I realized the path I desired to walk professionally along with my husband returning from Afghanistan and wanting to be with him. So I dropped out, moved to Fayetteville NC where I co-founded Living Balance Studios. I also completed my training to specialize as a Yoga Therapist and worked with the wounded warrior project, the military and other organizations while providing Yoga Therapy for a full client panel full time.
By 2015, we got orders for San Antonio.
After moving to San Antonio, I completed my holistic life coach certification and developed our Yoga Teacher Training programs. By 2017, we opened MelMarie Yoga in San Antonio, hosting 4 in person yoga teacher training cohorts each year along with my private clientele, community events and more.
In 2019, we grew and opened a private practice to compliment our full operating studio. We also opened the first yoga studio to ever open doors on a military base with our USO partnership which led to a lot of work and programs within the military that still continue today. I also co-owned Boerne yoga at the time until we sold the studio in 2021.
I personally began working with my Vedic mentor in 2018 and finally went to India in 2020 which expanded and deepened my love for the philosophy and practices.
Like everyone in the industry, the pandemic forced us to move our work online. To my delightful surprise- our module format training which originally was taught in person allowed us to expand online and reach communities around the globe. This allowed us to become more accessible serving in education, yoga therapy and more. I closed our Wurzbach studio in San Antonio and shut down my private practice in Stone Oak to focus more on yoga teacher trainings and support local studios through partnerships and by hosting our programs there. This allowed me to get more involved in our work with the military through program development (you can learn more about that here.)The yoga studio on Fort Sam officially got accepted and moved into a DOD run program that is now the Vogel Meditation Center.
In addition, I leaned into creative projects as well including getting my poetry anthology published and offering Jyotish to widen conversations in the yoga industry while infusing more creativity and texture to the delivery of yoga.
By 2022, we anchored into our first academic partnership with NWHSU and have now attained our Yoga Therapy Accreditation to train our community wider in integrative medicine and mindfulness based studies through Yoga Therapy. Our schools offer 200 Hour, 300 Hour and 500 Hour education allowing students to pursue their full 1000 Hour C-IAYT designation.
We author programs and advise the US Military in mindfulness and tactical mobility work along with pioneering projects with organizations and nonprofits.
The Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) Training and Illuminate Your Nature Deck launched in 2023 as we continue elevating education in embodiment through mind body modalities, self awareness and yogic philosophy.
Our Yoga Teacher Training Programs are recognized across the country for its level of excellence, person-centered approach and professional support for yoga teachers, mental health professionals and others looking to implement mind body modalities into their profession and lives. It is with the deepest heart and passion I continue to personally evolve, learn and share these timeless teachings that bring us back home to ourselves.
with love, Mel