A Note From Me, Moving Into the New Year
I write this newsletter the same way I speak and teach, grounded, honest, and rooted in lived experience.
This past year reshaped my relationship with health, self-care, and how I move through the world. As a public speaker and yoga teacher, I spend a lot of time translating complex ideas about the nervous system, embodiment, and identity into something people can actually live with.
This newsletter is where those reflections live in real time.
It’s not a productivity list or a personal brand broadcast. It’s a place where I share what I’m learning, what I’m questioning, and what’s genuinely helping me stay steady, clear, and creative.
What You’ll Find Here
When you subscribe, you’ll receive thoughtful, occasional emails that include:
- Reflections from my work as a public speaker exploring identity, communication, and presence
- Insights from yoga and yoga science, especially around the nervous system, regulation, and embodiment
- Personal essays about health, healing, creativity, and living well without urgency
- Tools, resources, and practices I actually use and trust
- A few favorite things that made me laugh, soften, or feel more human
Everything I share comes from lived experience, not trends or performance.
How I Approach This Work
I’m interested in how we care for ourselves without turning life into another optimization project.
My background in yoga science and somatic practice shapes how I think about growth. My work as a speaker shapes how I communicate it. I believe clarity comes from listening, not forcing, and that small, consistent shifts are often more powerful than dramatic change.
Sometimes that means sharing a nervous system practice.
Sometimes it means naming what’s not working.
Sometimes it means pointing to a resource that genuinely helped me.
Before teaching yoga and stepping fully into speaking, I spent years working in marketing and IT operations. That experience trained me to think in systems, understand how people interact with technology, and translate complexity into clarity. It’s part of why my work today sits at the intersection of embodiment, communication, and practical tools that actually fit real life.
About Recommendations
Occasionally, I’ll share tools or resources that supported my own health or focus. When I do, it’s because they made a real difference for me, not because I’m trying to sell you something.
You’ll always know why I’m sharing it, and you’re never expected to buy anything to stay here.
Tools I Come Back to (and Share Often)
I’m thoughtful about what I share here. When I mention a tool or resource, it’s because it has earned a place in my own life, not because it’s trending or convenient.
These are two tools I return to regularly, for different reasons, and in different seasons.
What Actually Helped
🧠 Health, Without Guesswork
Function Health
Function Health gave me access to comprehensive health data I couldn’t easily get through insurance or traditional care.
What it is:
A preventative health platform offering 100+ lab tests, run twice a year at the same cost, so you can track changes over time instead of reacting once something breaks.
Why it mattered to me:
- Full-body insight across heart, hormones, immune system, metabolic health, toxins, brain health, and more
- Access to discounted MRI and CT scans
- HSA/FSA eligible
- Clear, organized results that made conversations with providers easier
Cost: $499/year
(This includes both lab cycles!)
👉 Explore Function Health: MCOLMAN10
(use my referral code for additional benefits)
Here’s to 100 years, and having the information to support them.
🎧 Ever feel like it's ‘You against the World’?
Does this sound familiar…?
You wake up feeling anxious even though there’s nothing to be anxious about.
You fear you’re going to be late for work even though you’ve always arrived on time.
People in traffic irritate you even though there’s nothing you (or them) can do about it.
Or maybe you experience panic attacks as soon as something doesn’t go as planned.
It’s like the world and everyone in it is conspiring against you.
It’s a common feeling especially with all the fear and negativity being broadcasted on TV and in our social media feeds.
I want to tell you that you’re not alone.
I also want to tell you that there’s a solution, which is…
Meditation.
By learning how to be present to the moment, you’re NOT able to forecast negative events that *could* happen in the future. And you’re not ruminating on events that happened in the past that you can’t change.
You’re able to tap into a peace and calm in the moment detached from your thoughts.
You observe your thoughts, but you don’t identify with them. That’s the key.
One of the best tools I’ve come across to tap into the present moment is from Muse.
They have a brain-sensing headband called Muse S that uses real-time biofeedback to help you train your attention to focus on the present moment.
Teaching you the art of focus.
This allows you to take back control of your thoughts and realize the world isn’t out to ‘get you’.
If something doesn’t go as planned you’re able to calmly assess the situation and respond accordingly.
You’re more relaxed.
You’re more at peace.
You’re happier.
If you want to tap into the present moment and experience the many benefits of adopting a mediation practice, then I highly recommend checking out the Muse S headband by clicking here.
I was able to secure a 20% off discount for a limited time just for you so go ahead and take advantage of it before its too late.
👉 If you’re curious, I share my affiliate link when I mention Muse.
I’m not interested in optimizing life for productivity alone. I care about clarity, sustainability, and feeling at home in myself again.
If this resonates, you’re welcome to stay connected.
With warmth,
Mellysa
✨ Reflect. ✨ Reprogram.✨ Rise.
Manifest Magic | Hack Reality
