Do you ever wonder what it’s like to do something else for the day? Whether it’s choosing a different career path or stepping out of your comfort zone, this series dives into the crazy-interesting lives of those we’ve always admired. From pilots and chefs to charities making a difference, go ahead and read a page in their life.

Today’s post is all about Dr. Melissa West, a yoga instructor who also has her Ph.D. in communications and cultural studies. Melissa is the creator and instructor of Namaste Yoga TV, a YouTube channel which features a weekly yoga class designed for all skill levels and ages. Read our interview with Melissa below for helpful tips and advice (plus some easy-to-do instructional videos!) for anyone who is curious about yoga!

To start, tell us a little about yourself and how you started teaching yoga.

Melissa: I started teaching yoga when I was in graduate school. At that time, I realized that becoming a professor, or teaching in the traditional sense, was not going to work for me. I was already teaching fitness classes, and I showed a lot of strength with the mind + body approach. The rest is history!

How has yoga impacted your life?

Melissa: There is probably not one corner of my life that yoga has not impacted. From the food I eat, to the way I live, to my relationships, it has affected all that I do. We recently moved our family across the country from Toronto to Victoria, British Columbia, and I would say that yoga and coming to know my true self more intimately definitely impacted that decision to live on the West Coast as well.

What has kept you motivated to do yoga daily? Do you have any tips or tricks for beginners on how to stay motivated?

Melissa: Yoga helps me deal with the everyday stressors that we all experience. Without it, I don’t know how people stay grounded and free from anxiety. Yoga helps me stay healthy physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. For beginners, what worked for me was to start small and set your goal to practice every day for 20 minutes. When you start to reap the benefits of your daily practice, you won’t want to give it up.

Why would you recommend yoga to men and women in their midlife?

Melissa: For men, as they come into midlife, they may start to deal with issues such as high blood pressure, obesity, lack of flexibility, stressful jobs, and sciatica from sitting for long periods of time at work. The list goes on and on, and yoga can help them with all of these things.

Women are dealing with many of the same issues as men as they come to midlife, yet for them they have the unique issues of peri-menopause and menopause. Yoga can help to ease the hormonal transitions through this challenging time.

As a 41-year-old woman yourself, would you say yoga has kept you healthy?

Melissa: Yes, yoga has kept me healthy. I know that when I have my vitals taken at my medical doctors he looks at my charts with disbelief and wishes that he could get other people my age to look as healthy as I do on paper.

What poses would you recommend to those suffering with knee pain? Back pain? Neck pain? Hip pain?

Melissa: Whenever you are dealing with pain, it is always important to get it checked with a medical doctor first, to find out what you are really dealing with.

Ask your doctor:

• What exercises will make my condition better?
• What exercises will make my condition worse?
• Are there more details about my medical condition that are important for me to know if I am going to start exercising?

Once you have the go-ahead from your doctor, here is a video of mine that can show you how to help ease your knee pain:

Back pain can have many root causes, so here it is particularly important to work with a medical professional to know the root cause of your back pain so that you can treat it correctly. For example, if you’re suffering from sciatica, this video might be helpful:

For neck pain, there are some great neck release techniques demonstrated in this video:

And for hips, this video is great, too:

What advice would you give someone who may be interested in starting yoga, but might not be sure if they’re physically or mentally up for the challenge?

Melissa: My advice for someone starting yoga is to look for a teacher who resonates with you. We love new students! We have created 17 free beginner classes to get our beginners started on the right foot.

The video below goes through some of our most common beginner FAQs:

We hear every day from beginners about how these videos have allowed them to get into yoga in a way that no other videos or classes have allowed them to in the past. Our motto is “real yoga for real people” and it seems that this intention creates a safe and welcoming environment for all people. But if it doesn’t work for you, keep looking — there are so many yoga teachers and different styles of yoga out there. You will definitely find one that works for you.

What would be a good pose for a beginner to work on? Do you have any favorites?

Melissa: I think the best pose for beginner’s to work on is savasana, or corpse pose. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is nothing at all. Letting go, resting, and allowing your body to be nourished and restored is vital in our fast-paced culture.

One of my favorite postures is Goddess Victory Squat. I love the feminine quality and strength in this pose, and who doesn’t love feeling like a goddess?

Thank you so much to Melissa for all of the knowledge, advice, and videos on yoga! We can’t wait to try some of these poses ourselves.

Have you ever tried yoga? What’s your favorite pose? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to do something else for the day? Whether it’s choosing a different career path or stepping out of your comfort zone, this series dives into the crazy-interesting lives of those we’ve always admired. From pilots and chefs to charities making a difference, go ahead and read a page in their life.

Today’s A Page In Your Life post is all about Dr. Steve Rose, the Chief Research Officer for Foundation Fighting Blindness. Foundation Fighting Blindness is an organization that strives to find preventions, treatments, and cures for the full spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases that cause blindness and loss of vision. Read on for Dr. Rose’s tips on eye health, preventative care, and his personal connection with the great mission of his foundation! We know you’ll be inspired by his story.

To start, could you tell us a little about yourself? What’s your backstory? 

Dr. Rose: I have always been fascinated by science and was without a doubt a “geek” from a very young age. I built my own stereo and had one of those chemistry sets. I collected many animals and brought them home, much to the dismay of my mother. But, she put up with it, and I watched tadpoles grow into frogs and caterpillars turn into butterflies. This curiosity stayed with me and led to my continuing pursuit of science, my undergrad degree in Biology, and my doctorate in Microbiology and Molecular Immunology. Today, I continue to explore all sorts of biological interests and really enjoy wildlife photography, especially birds, including raptors.

What led you to work in the field of retinal research?

Dr. Rose: I have two main reasons for my interest in retinal research. One, is that I have a relative who is blind from X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, and two, is that macular degeneration runs in my family. My ability to bring my knowledge to the Foundation Fighting Blindness’ pursuit of treatments and cures feels personal.

What does a typical day look like for a Chief Research Officer? (Or is there even a “typical day”?)

Dr. Rose: Certainly, like all jobs, there is routine work that has to be done — the typical administrative work just to keep the enterprise running. But every day does bring a new opportunity, whether it is reading about a new scientific finding that could have an impact on our work, or talking with a parent of a newly diagnosed child to answer their questions and ensure there is hope. I always relay to parents that major advances are being made to find the preventions, treatments and cures patients need. I let them know that the Foundation Fighting Blindness, with the researchers and clinicians we support throughout the world, is working day and night to move promising therapies to the clinic as fast and as safely as possible.

What motivates you in your commitment to finding treatments and cures for retinal diseases?

Dr. Rose: As I said, it is personal for me due to a family member who is blind from an inherited rare retinal degeneration disease. But that’s not all, it’s the affected individuals, their families, and my personal mission, as well as the Foundation Fighting Blindness’ mission, to do everything we can to prevent anyone from losing their vision due to these diseases.

What’s your proudest accomplishment from your time at Foundation Fighting Blindness?

Dr. Rose: Even though the Foundation Fighting Blindness’ support for the many years of research leading to the successful Leber’s congenital amaurosis gene therapy clinical trials started before my time, the fact that the clinical trial was supported while I was in charge of the science team here at the Foundation is highly gratifying. A lot of research I did in school was on gene therapy, and to see this approach successfully restore useful vision to so many individuals is the culmination of a dream I have had for many years.

In light of National Healthy Vision Month (May), what advice would you give our readers on how to protect their eyes from vision problems?

Dr. Rose: There are three things that everyone should do to protect their eyes:

• Eat properly, including leafy green vegetables.  Remember what’s good for your heart is good for your eyes.
• Wear UVA and UVB blocking sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat in bright light. Unfiltered, very bright sunlight can cause damage to the retina if there is prolonged exposure.
• Get yearly eye exams. Early detection of retinal degeneration is essential in prevention!

Why should we make our eyes a priority in terms of healthcare?

Dr. Rose: Just think about your daily life and how much you rely on your vision. Try doing your daily routine with a mask on, and then you will understand what it is like to lose your vision.

We are a reading glasses store, so we have to ask: What is your favorite pair of glasses from Readers.com?

Dr. Rose: This is a nostalgic walk in the past, I must say. I still have the picture of my mother in her cat-eye glasses, and it is one of my favorite photos of her. Remember, I am a child of the ‘50s, so while they may not be as popular today, these cat-eye glasses bring back so many wonderful memories.

Browse Dr. Rose’s favorite cat-eye shapes here!

Thank you to Dr. Rose for taking the time to answer our questions! We’re inspired by the positive mission of Foundation Fighting Blindness!