Melissa began practicing yoga in high school at the local YMCA. An avid runner, she believed that increasing flexibility would improve her speed; her strategy worked, and she thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing hatha practice. After college Melissa moved to Tahoe, California and then to Chicago and was introduced to the true philosophy and practice of yoga by a coworker. She continued to run long distances and was drawn to the more active vinyasa practices; after a year or so she found that yoga had become more of a priority than running, and was kinder on her body. Melissa stumbled into an Ashtanga class in 2006, and was impressed by the discipline, intensity and austerity of the practice. As an added bonus, her chronic back pain vanished and she eventually stopped running altogether. Melissa has been a devotee to Ashtanga yoga since that day in 2006; she believes that it heals the body, lifts the soul, quiets the mind and provides a deep radiance like no other activity she has found.

Melissa credits her Mysore practice for helping her through injury, illness, grief and heartache with a healing optimism that she looks forward to sharing with her students. She has studied with Lino Miele, Kino MacGregor and David Williams, who have all made an impact on her yoga practice and philosophy. Melissa feels incredibly lucky to study daily with Amy Beth Treciokas, Patricia Hyland, and Cara Jepsen, who are direct students of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Melissa enjoys yacht racing and has been sailing competitively for most of her life. Her other hobbies include skiing, painting and travel, with dreams of visiting every continent.