She is you.

Starting a yoga journey can be exciting, and yet nerve-wracking. Questions like, "Am I doing it right?", "Why doesn't my [body part] bend that way anymore?", and other fluctuations of the inner voice can plague you. And those are the questions that come AFTER you have already overcome the self-resistance to stepping on the mat!

Melanie Pfleger, age 57, knows the inner dialogue of a new yoga practitioner very well. She started her first yoga class with Pearl Yoga and Fitness' owner Janet Gallo almost two years ago at Melanie's church. In spite of a list of medical issues she was managing, she hoped yoga would be a form of movement that would agree with her body.

Fast-forward two years, and Melanie has been an original customer of Pearl, attending classes 2-4 times a week. "I tried it and I kept going back" Melanie said. In December of 2017, Janet sat down with Melanie to discuss Melanie's amazing story in hopes to inspire other people to see that yoga can be accessible to people who believe they can not do it.

Janet: You've been going [to class] consistently like 2-3 times a week. What starts to happen?

Melanie: I start to realize that I am losing weight, I am more flexible, not as sore when I wake up in the morning, all those aches and pains are starting to go away going away and my energy level is better.

Janet: What would you tell someone who wants to start a yoga but does not feel like they are not the right type of person for yoga?

Melanie: The first time I walked into the studio, I was 54 years old and 55 pounds heavier, I also have a muscular disease. If I can do it, anyone can.

Fast-forward 9 more months, and Melanie is now a certified Dharma Yoga Wheel instructor! Seriously! She spent a weekend with the co-founders of the prop that is changing peoples' yoga practice one heart at a time, and has earned the training to teach - and so she is.

Starting October 21, 2018, she is teaching a 4-week beginner Dharma Yoga Wheel for people who are curious about yoga and the yoga wheel prop. The series, taking place on Sundays from 4-5pm, is perfect for the beginner. Most of the best teachers are those who know the struggle to do basic movements that intermediate and advanced practitioners exercise with ease; and Melanie knows the struggle. To learn more about the series, visit www.pearlyogafitness.com/series-workshops and consider starting with someone who IS you.