Melissa in Paradise

About This Class

Bryan Kest guides this energetic full-body flow by framing the entire class as an "adventure" — like climbing Mount Everest on your mat — where deep, fluid breathing through the nose is the one non-negotiable pose. The class builds methodically from Child's Pose and Down Dog through progressively warming sun-salutation-style flows, cat-and-cow variations, and a sustained plank hold. The heart of the class is a sophisticated standing-balance sequence on each side: Balancing Airplane transitions into a bound variation, bent-knee balancing, and the peak pose Bird of Paradise — all approached with playful curiosity rather than straining effort. Hip openers appear throughout, including low lunge with elbow-to-ground, a deep lizard-style stretch, and a wide-legged forward fold with arm wraps and twists. Back-strengthening locust variations (including hands clasped behind the back and a bow-prep) and multiple Cobra repetitions keep the spine healthy. The class closes with supine twists, knee-to-chest, and a long Savasana with an optional gratitude meditation. Bryan consistently cues modifications (fists instead of palms, knees down, blocks) and explicitly calls out lower-back and wrist awareness, making the adventure accessible across a wide range of practitioners.