Hosts Dana and Eden sit down with yoga teacher, trainer, former studio owner, and mental health advocate Melanie Richards to trace her path into yoga. After opening with a guided RAIN meditation, Melanie shares how her first attraction to yoga was shaped by body image pressure and the acting world, and how the practice gradually became a deeper path of healing. She reflects on family instability, discovering a sense of self through yoga, training in Ottawa, and eventually opening Happy Tree in Montreal.
The conversation also explores the evolution of her teacher training over the years — including a growing emphasis on accessibility, trauma-informed teaching, inclusion, and mentorship — as well as her belief that yoga is far bigger than physical postures alone. Melanie also speaks about the personal roots of her “Fuck Skinny Movement,” a powerful rejection of diet culture and the belief that shrinking ourselves is the path to being enough.
Episode guide:
00:00 Intro – RAIN meditation, spring energy & studio catch-up
05:50 Meet Melanie – Happy Tree, teaching, advocacy & what she’s building now
07:45 How Yoga Found Her – Acting, body image pressure & the start of a healing path
16:30 Becoming a Teacher – Training, opening Happy Tree & learning on the fly
26:45 Teaching Teachers – How her training evolved through inclusion, accessibility & care
41:20 “Fuck Skinny” – Breaking up with diet culture and body-based worthiness
50:15 What She’d Tell New Teachers – Practice, purpose and where yoga meets real life
53:15 What’s Next – Retreats, online offerings & closing reflections
Topics covered:
Yoga for healing and self-discovery
Body image, diet culture, and self-worth
The path to becoming a yoga teacher
Building and running a yoga studio
Trauma-informed and accessible yoga
Mentorship and teaching philosophy
Yoga beyond physical practice
Mental health and nervous system regulation