Do you need restorative yoga?

For those people who still feel exhausted after an 8 (or 10) hour sleep, or after a weekend of "doing nothing", have you tried restorative yoga? Learning just one or two restorative yoga practices that you can practice at home could literally transform your life. Lying with your legs up against the wall doesn't take strength, balance or flexibility, yet this simple action can rejuvenate the body, bring life back to tired legs, and lift energy in a more sustainable way than a glass of wine or chocolate bar can.

Healing, Yoga, InsightMelanie SkinnerAugust 15, 2016Mel Skinner Yogarestorative yoga, rest, rest is radical, yoga, breath, yoga nidtra, pressure, choice, consequencesComment

Are you a spiritual snob?

We all know the type. The one who likes to tell you what time they go up to practice, how long they practice for, and how far their practice has 'progressed'. The ones who tell you that yoga has changed their life and it can change your life as well, hell, it probably should change your life, because if you're not doing yoga all the time then surely something is wrong. Whether you're getting these messages from that ever so loud and proud person in the changing room or from the onslaught of social media challenges and Insta-worthy pics, it's not that difficult to be cornered by a spiritual snob, or - gasp - turn into one.

Insight, YogaMelanie SkinnerAugust 8, 2016Mel Skinner Yogayoga, spirituality, happiness, self-inquiry, judgement, snobComment

Why it really is now or never

How do you when it's right to pause and wait, and when it's time to just take the leap? Procrastination isn't always a bad thing, but when we use it to hold ourselves back, we could be missing out on what life has to offer.

Courage, Happiness, Insight, Inspiration, YogaMelanie SkinnerAugust 3, 2016Mel Skinner Yogayoga, healing, heart, courage, life changing, advice, inspirationComment

Why the best is yet to come

We live in a time of overwhelming amounts of information. Learning to discern and sift through through all of it is an art most of us are still learning. But how it would be feel to take a step back from all that information? To take a moment to consider whether your beliefs about yourself and the world are being fed by what you read and who you talk to? How would it feel to tear up those stories and write some new ones? And how it would feel if, in those new stories, .you believed that the best was yet to come?

Why being bored is the key to creativity

No one likes being bored. Watching the clock tick down your last minutes at work, feeling at a loss of what to do if plans suddenly change, or simply feeling bored with your exercise routine, your wardrobe, or in extreme cases your entire life, we don't usually harbour fond feelings towards boredom. In a life where capturing every moment on social media can seem crucial to proving we have an exciting life, boredom is definitely not rated.

However, I'm here to suggest something different. That sometimes boredom can be, well, good.

Are these three demons holding you back?

In a world of aspiration and achievement, none of us really like to think we have demons. Some of us are reluctant to admit we even have weaknesses, or aspects of ourselves which we may be less proud of, but by welcoming in and accepting yourself in ourselves in our entirety is big part of all of our journeys, for healing, prosperity, fulfillment and freedom.

Create, don't compete

Insight, Happiness, InspirationMelanie SkinnerJuly 13, 2016Mel Skinner Yogayoga, competition, creativity, healing, happiness, faith, affirmations, universe, successComment

Find power in vulnerability

By shutting down our vulnerability, we're closing off not only an important part of our life experience, but we're also closing ourselves off to a greater power. Power in vulnerability? Yes, you hear me right.

To those who dare

Inspiration, PoetryMelanie SkinnerJune 27, 2016Mel Skinner Yogapoetry, inspiration, courageComment

Does balance exist?

Does balance exist? The world of yoga has you standing on you tip toes, on one leg, and sometimes on your head in an attempt to find out. As for me, I think balance comes with a warning. Does it exist? Sure. Can we control it? No way.

Insight, YogaMelanie SkinnerJune 14, 2016Mel Skinner Yogabreath, balance, yogaComment

Flames and ash!

This is the year of the fire monkey - learn how to manage the potential that comes from fire and heat so you end up feeling burnt into ashes.

Energy, InsightMelanie SkinnerJune 7, 2016Mel Skinner Yogaenergy, chinese astrology, fire monkey, yoga, feminine, respect, self care, creativityComment

To all the beautiful souls

A letter to all the beautiful souls, you courageous explorers and curious wanderers.

A whole new world

When opportunities come along which offer to take us into new territory - be it physical or energetic - we have to take them. A whole new world awaits.

Insight, Healing, EnergyMelanie SkinnerMay 20, 2016Mel Skinner Yogaenergy healing, energy, resistanceComment

Why it's OK to fail

Ever stopped yourself trying something different because you were scared of what other people would say, scared that you might fall flat on your face, or simply just scared without knowing why? We've all been there. But learning why it's OK to fail could, quite simply, change your life.

Courage, InsightMelanie SkinnerMay 16, 2016Mel Skinner Yogatravel, trust, failure, consequences, New ZealandComment

5 ways to practice yoga (clue - it involves getting OFF your mat)

5 ways to practice yoga which don't involve bending and twisting.

Yoga, Insight, HappinessMelanie SkinnerMay 11, 2016breathing, top tips, happiness, healing, life changingComment

Yoga for a stressed out generation

Yoga is good for stress, right? Well, yeah. Kind of. But if you're approaching yoga with the same "cultural values" of competitiveness, envy and insecurity that you apply to every other aspect of life, then yoga might be part of the problem, not the solution. There is one simple thing you can do though - try restorative yoga.

Yoga, Insight, HealingMelanie SkinnerMay 7, 2016Mel Skinner Yogayoga, stress, restorative yogaComment

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Why saying thanks could change your life.

Got much to be thankful for right now? I'm pretty sure you do. And here's why learning to say thank you could be the key to a happier, fulfilling and abundant life.

Yoga, Insight, Healing, HappinessMelanie SkinnerMay 6, 2016Mel Skinner Yogayoga, joy, gratitude, happiness, law of attraction, emotions, healingComment

What are you resisting?

Resistance is futile. Or is it? We spend so much time resisting, often holding ourselves back from more happiness, more peace, more joy. How do we overcome resistance? With force, willpower or can the gentle way be the most powerful? Yoga can help us to face our ego, and for me, there's nothing like Mysore Ashtanga to do that.

Yoga, Insight, HealingMelanie SkinnerMay 5, 2016Mel Skinner Yogayoga, story, ashtanga, healing, resistance, self-inquiry, kindnessComment

Curiouser and Curiouser

One thing I notice all the time when I teach yoga is how much striving seems to be going on. How much effort we put into trying to reach further than before, to go deeper than we have before, to be better than we have before. But how often are we curious about our yoga practice? I share here just why we should all become curiouser and curiouser about what happens when we're on the mat.

Yoga, InsightMelanie SkinnerApril 28, 2016Mel Skinner Yogayoga, curiousity, story, surrender, enpowerment, life changing, practice, emotions, energyComment

Stand In Your (Girl) Power

Standing in your power means standing in your truth. Trusting in your heart, connecting in with your intuition, and trusting that there is a much bigger, greater power than you simply have to tap into. We all have different ways of connecting into our power - from yoga, to mindfulness, creative outlets like writing and drawing, affirmations and mantras, there's a whole heap of tools out there to fill your toolbox with and get to work.

Courage, Happiness, InsightMelanie SkinnerApril 25, 2016Mel Skinner Yogayoga, happiness, enpowerment, intuition, menstrual cycleComment