Melanie is a Calgary-based Manual Osteopath, 500hr RYT Yoga Teacher, Certified Nutritional Practitioner & Reiki Master.
Growing up as an athlete, Melanie always had a passion and curiosity for health & wellness. After becoming a Certified Nutritional Practitioner in 2013 she began to understand that being healthy wasn't just about the food you used to fuel your body, it was just as important to nourish the emotional, spiritual and energetic aspects of yourself as well. She began pursuing yoga initially for injury-prevention and fitness but quickly began to see positive shifts in her emotional, spiritual and energetic self that helped her find that whole-body balance she was looking for. She began teaching yoga in 2016 but that wasn’t the end of her journey. Plagued with injuries from sports, car accidents and scoliosis, Manual Osteopathic treatments became a monthly ritual to align and support her constantly moving body. She found this style of treatment revolutionary to her healing and decided to become one herself at the National Manual Osteopathic College. She graduated with Honours in 2021 and is now offering treatments out of her own clinic space in Calgary.
... Now let’s get into our interview!
You are an osteopath, nutritionist, yoga teacher & reiki master–what led you to this path?
I have two answers to this question–The first being I grew up as an athlete playing everything from baseball, to synchronized swimming, to rugby. I was highly motivated to be the best and that meant taking care of my body.
The other answer is fear. This came later into my teens and 20’s watching several of my family members die from cancer. My mom had cancer twice as well as struggled with her health since I was little and I didn’t want to end up like them, so I drove myself to find the answers I needed to heal my own body from Scoliosis, 10+ car accidents (I was only ever driving in 1!), Irritable Bowel Syndrome, as well as anxiety and panic attacks.
Each issue that came up in my life fuelled me to learn and take care of myself and thus I became a Manual Osteopath, Nutritionist, Yoga Teacher and Reiki Master! I address the physical, mental and energetic bodies and treat as a whole using my knowledge as a professional, as well as my own personal experience to help others.
What do all of these have in common? Is there a common thread?
The common thread is that they’re all tools to facilitate healing. I was young when I started to understand that I was a healer and each modality offers me a different perspective towards dysfunction in the body–allowing me to treat the body as a whole unit vs. segmentally or symptomatically.
*We love this ideology! A single problem in the body can be the underlying cause of many more. That’s why when we are healing our body, it is important to investigate so we can determine the root cause ex. stress or diet.
One of the reasons why I started Grounded Tea was because I felt like there was a gap in understanding nutrition and what the body needs. What are some common misconceptions that people have about nutrition?
The most common misconception I get with each new nutrition client is that eating healthy isn’t fun OR delicious! They’re always so afraid that they will have to give up their favourite foods and cut out everything they know and love to be healthy. I am all about sustainable nutrition which eliminates extremes and also leaves space to make choices for your body and for your soul. Sometimes the body needs a green smoothie and sometimes the soul needs a glass of wine. I think people are overwhelmed with change and create roadblocks for themselves and my job is to show people that eating healthy can be delicious, nutritious and easy and you won’t have to give up everything to do it!
If you had to recommend 5 things for people to do to live a better, more balanced, healthier life–what would they be?
I love this question!
Since we are obsessed with tea, can you speak to any of the benefits?
Herbal teas have been incredibly impactful in my healing journey, specifically with anxiety and sleep. I remember my herbal teacher listing off all of the plants that help to calm the body and nervous system. I frantically wrote them all down, rushed to the store and put them all together to make a not so delicious tea... LOL thank god for people like you who can make them taste amazing! Herbs are hugely impactful, but they’re subtle and take a bit longer to create shifts in the body which I believe is why they’re not as popular in a world that is accustomed to instant gratification. BUT they are potent and I prescribe them for my clients and myself regularly and see incredible results. Just need a little bit of patience!
Mel's fav Grounded Tea blends - Yogi, Hazelnut Honeybush & Caramel Cacao.
I feel like you are one of those people really living your purpose, is there any advice you could give to people out there who may be feeling a bit lost?
This is a BIG question. Here’s my best answer for you–follow your intuition. Our intuition may not always make sense to us and that is because it doesn’t come from the brain, it comes from your gut. You often can’t rationalize it’s nudges for you to do something or not, no matter how desperately the brain tries to. Every decision I made, was made quickly without overthinking, using my intuition and it has led me to where I am now–fulfilled. It doesn’t mean I didn’t question it after the fact, but when something came to me, it felt like I didn’t have a choice. Every fiber in my body knew this was happening. It’s not to say that intuition doesn’t lead you to struggle or hardships or heartache, that’s not what it’s about, it’s about your deeper purpose being fulfilled. Every experience is an opportunity for that purpose to grow, learn and flourish into what it’s meant to be. For me, that purpose was to be a healer and I’ve taken a very LONG road to get here (almost 10 years), but everything was perfectly placed and timed and now I can look back and understand the why behind it all. I would not have been ready to step into my current role without all the bumps and stops along the way.
Melanie, you are so inspirational. We admire you and how you live your life so authentically and with purpose. You are a reminder that living our healthiest, best lives is by living authentically and being in touch with our inner-selves.
Your advice helps emphasize the importance of uncovering the root of our health problems and begin our healing journey from there. This can make such a huge difference for so many people who are struggling with countless health problems, yet are feeling lost and confused as to why these issues keep arising. Dig deep within yourself and uncover parts of yourself that you need to heal.
We love that you are using your professional and personal knowledge to help others. Your healing capabilities are changing people’s lives. Keeping being you, Mel!
To learn more about Mel, please visit http://melanieemlyn.com/
Drink Grounded, Live Grounded.
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
