About Melanie Fawer

Melanie has been practicing Ashtanga yoga for almost twenty years. She teaches and believes wholly in the Ashtanga yoga system as put forth by her teacher, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India, and holds the honor of Certification, one of only 35 teachers worldwide to achieve this recognition.

Melanie first discovered Ashtanga yoga with Jois when she was 25 years old, drawn to travel India from her interest in eastern text.  On her first day in his shala, she was led to the back to observe the other students in the midst of their practice. The grace, intense focus, electric energy, and pulsating breath within an otherwise silent room captivated her.

Melanie returned to New Orleans a passionate and steadfast Ashtanga practitioner, frequently returning to India to learn from Guriji until his death in 2009. In 1996, with Guruji’s permission, she introduced Ashtanga to the New Orleans community, and in 2001, she received Certification.

While many teachers opt to travel to teach yoga, Melanie chose to dedicate her knowledge to the local New Orleans community where she can hand down the lineage of her teacher.  Guruji taught in Mysore, India for over 70 years with unyielding faith in the power of yoga.  Melanie strives to teach by his example and share her experience of yoga in her hometown of New Orleans.

Melanie has a warm and encouraging teaching style known for its consistency to tradition, attention to breath, deft adjustments, precision of alignment and for a practice that is accessible to people of all ages and experience levels.  She is Certified to teach the Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced A series and holds a B.A. in Psychology from New York University.

When she is not practicing, you can find Melanie spending time with her son and family.