Meet Melissa

Melissa lives for adventures, the ocean, the outdoors and her fur babies. Growing up an avid waterskier and mermaid at heart, Melissa is at home on the water.  She was first introduced to paddleboarding while living in Southern California, but it wasn’t until she returned home to Pittsburgh and its three rivers that she truly became an avid paddler.  Never too far from water, she began combining her love of yoga and her newfound passion for paddleboarding, routinely challenging herself to practice poses on her board. Eventually, this would inspire her to combine her two great loves into a newfound obsession and the addition of SUP Yoga to her regular teaching schedule.

Melissa has been teaching yoga since 2010 and sees her practice as a tremendous source of balance and healing. Through yoga, she has overcome the life-altering medical challenges of a stroke and chronic migraines. As an instructor, she brings a unique sense of empowerment and non-judgement non-judgement to her classes, teaching in a way that provides a safe place for students to explore and break boundaries. Her classes are always challenging with a focus on Sthira and Sukha - the balance between effort and ease.

Melissa is a Yoga Alliance registered E-RYT200 Continuing Education Provider (YACEP®) and a certified Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga Teacher/Trainer.

Melissa has been a Wanderlust Yoga & Music Festival instructor since 2017, teaching SUP Yoga and teaching classes for the Ford Warriors in Pink benefiting breast cancer survivors under 40. She is a Master Instructor with BOGA Surf & Paddle Company and hosts certification and training programs worldwide on the FitMat by BOGA Aquatic Fitness Platform. Melissa also leads public aquatic fitness classes as well as pre-habilitative cross training for collegiate and high school athletes. In addition, she is an Evolve Paddleboard Ambassador leading Yoga Alliance accredited SUP Yoga teacher trainings.

You can find Melissa leading aquatic and land-based fitness classes through her companies FluidMotion Pittsburgh and PuppyLove Pittsburgh, an organization benefiting rescue animals. She also teaches weekly yoga classes at Yoga Love Pittsburgh, Inhale Pittsburgh and Illume Pittsburgh as well as SUP Yoga at select Wanderlust events. You can also reach her here--she'd love to hear from you!