About
Machelle Lee
MA, E-RYT-500, CMT, YACEP
Founder of Roots & River Yoga
Machelle has 28 years of experience as a yoga teacher, massage therapist, and childbirth educator. She holds a Masters Degree in Mythology and Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and has completed a 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training in yoga psychology. With more than 11,000 hours of yoga teaching experience, Machelle is a long time student of Paul Grilley, founder of Yin Yoga and who brought comparative anatomy in yoga asana to the forefront of modern yoga culture.
Machelle guest lectures in YTT 200 and YTT 300 hour programs teaching anatomy, Yin Yoga theory and practice, and Meridian Theory of moving energy in asana practice. Committed to serving students in a way that best fits their unique abilities and anatomic structure, Machelle combines anatomy, storytelling, archetypes, poetry, neuroscience, psychology, and Five Element Meridian Theory across a variety of yoga styles in a way that is aimed at facilitating a creative and grounded approach to self-development.
What People Are Saying ❤
“Machelle is a once-in-a-lifetime teacher, not only teaching yoga but mixing yoga history, Chinese Medicine theory, Mythological Stories, physiology, and yes, even humor into your session. You will not only emerge more flexible and relaxed, but you will have learned a lot too!”
— Anni Bryner
“Beautiful setting and practice. Machelle does an amazing job of making those new to yoga feel comfortable and welcome. She does a great job blending and teaching the "art and science' of the practice. Her passion, intellect, and love for what she does is apparent and empowering!”
— Anthony Iannarino
Yin Yoga
Yin Yoga is a contemplative practice that utilizes muscularly relaxed poses performed on the floor that are held for 3-5+ minutes each. This approach stimulates connective tissue throughout the body utilizing modest traction and compression to benefit fascia throughout and ligaments in and around joint capsules.
Yin Yoga is especially effective for the densely wrapped joints such as the hips, sacrum, low spine, and knees. The Yin repertoire of poses is based of ancient Yogic and Taoist principles to support the body tissues for health and meditation.
Paul Grilley, is father of “Yin Yoga” the expanded upon these concepts and made more accessible an understanding of the structural, chemical, and energetic qualities of these poses that have endured through the ages.
Vinyasa
Vinyasa is a combination of two Sanskrit words. Nyasa implies "to place" and vi denotes "in a special way". Vinyasa is an ever evolving form of Hatha yoga that synchronizes breath and movement into a dynamic flow of postures. The practice is rooted in the classic Surya Namaskara (sun salutations) and frequently links a creative flow of poses through chutterunga, updog, downdog transitions.
Vinyasa is an active or "yang" practice relying on muscularly rhythmic movements that lend nicely to storytelling around themes of heroine and hero journeys, as well as tales of warriors and lovers. Bringing these myths into the practice allows us mimic these stories through the body, creating confidence and assuredness from the inside out.