Monthly Archives: April 2020

Melly sitting with legs crossed and eyes closed meditating on yoga mat

How to Get Started with Mindfulness Meditation

I’ve always been a pretty calm and level-headed person. It usually takes a lot to get me upset. However, I am unfortunately someone that stresses easily and I am always inside of my own head worrying about something I said or what someone said to me, etc. Living like this can make it hard to […]

Woman doing yoga by pool while another woman assists her

Yoga in the Garden of Good and Evil

I’ve been practicing yoga since 2016 and it always makes me feel better. I love forgetting about all of my stressors for 45 minutes to an hour and just leaving it all on my mat. A good yoga class always leaves me feeling lighter. I never once thought that yoga was evil or that I […]

Melly doing a seated yoga pose in the grass

Melanated Zen: It’s Not Just Yoga It’s My Life

Welcome to Melanated Zen! This site began as a project to fulfill the requirements for my masters program but over time the vision evolved. I knew I wanted to provide instructional yoga videos, to Black people especially, and discuss mindfulness meditation, spirituality, and other related topics. But I also wanted to get vulnerable about my […]