Melissa Lago, M.A., grew up in Ojai, California and began studying yoga when she was fifteen years old as a way to calm her mind and merge her love for movement and dance with meditation. Throughout high school and college she mainly practiced Ashtanga Yoga. After graduating from Yale University in 2004, she moved to New York City, where she began studying other forms of yoga including Prana Flow. She is deeply grateful to Shiva Rea for her warmth as a teacher and for the fluid movement she has inspired in her practice and teaching. Her M.A. in Philosophy and Religion, from the California Institute of Integral Studies, her mindfulness meditation practice and her pilgrimages further inform and enrich her teaching. Through her life’s journey, she has learned that as long as she is connecting her attention to her breath and body transformation occurs. Her wish to offer this experience to others is her inspiration to teach. Off the mat she en joys teaching in the Department of Arts and Humanities at Holy Names University and spending time in nature.