Your body’s joy and your soul’s well-being are my mission. They are intimately interconnected. We cannot wave a magic wand to make symptoms disappear, but together, we can uncover the root causes, and you will be equipped with the tools to immediately improve your health in a visible and palpable way.
A client once told me:
"Melanie, you are a highly infectious health bug!"
I practice as a somatic therapist in Germany and on La Gomera (Canary Islands, Spain), and I also teach my Deep Core Stability training online, allowing people from all over the world to participate.
For over 25 years, I have been sharing my passion for collaborative exploration, deep feeling, and my love for bodywork. I place great value on anatomically precise guidance and am known for my humorous, dogma-free approach, loving mindfulness, and vivid, metaphorical language. I practice grounded spirituality; my yoga classes live far beyond circus acrobatics or far-out esotericism. I love making things practical for daily life, bringing physical joy to people of all ages, regardless of their fitness level.
To me, massage is a ritual of self-appreciation and love for one’s own body. I see myself as a servant of the body, and through still touch, my hands transmit healing energy that nourishes, encourages, and brings comfort on all levels. Touch relaxes the nervous system and dissolves tension across all layers of being—this is my contribution to greater peace on this planet.
My Method & Background
I have been teaching yoga since 1999, and from 2013 to 2022, I was a certified CANTIENICA© trainer. Drawing from all my advanced training and the insights gained from over 20 years of experience as a somatic therapist and pelvic floor expert, I developed a unique method I call "Effective Pelvic Floor Training."
It is a full-body workout that truly packs a punch. I teach this method through 1:1 personal training, immersive retreats, and professional continuing education courses. All exercises utilize and cultivate the strength of the pelvic floor, which is activated and elongated like a trampoline.
What sets my work apart:
As a lecturer for BDYoga (the Professional Association of Yoga Teachers in Germany), I also provide advanced training for fellow yoga instructors.
Yoga teacher (since 1999)
Continuing Education Lecturer for the Professional Association of Yoga Teachers in Germany (BD Yoga)
Conducting advanced training modules for yoga teachers on "Effective Pelvic Floor Training" and "Healthy Elongation of the Foot Musculature".
Teacher Trainer & Lead Trainer specializing in Prenatal Yoga and Postnatal Recovery Yoga (including curriculum development and training at Element Yoga)
Director / Head of Center at the Yoga Vidya Center, Frankfurt am Main
Assistant Trainer for Yoga Teacher Training programs at the Yoga Vidya Ashram (Westerwald) and the Institute for Yoga and Health (Cologne)
Certifications & Advanced Training
Yoga Teacher Training Certification — International Sivananda Yoga Institute (Kerala, India)
Advanced Certifications & Specializations:
Anusara Yoga & Element Yoga
Prenatal & Postnatal Recovery Yoga
Power Yoga & Qi Gong
Relaxation Techniques & Stress Management
Yoga Therapy for Back Pain & Spinal Health
CANTIENICA® Method Certifications
Certified CANTIENICA® Pelvic Floor Trainer
CANTIENICA® "The Coaching" Certification
CANTIENICA® Level 2 Silver Diploma (Tenerife) — Specialization: Back Program (Rückenprogramm)
CANTIENICA® Bronze Upgrade Diploma (Zurich) — Specialization: Pelvic Floor Training & Power Program
Assistant Trainer for CANTIENICA® advanced training courses for physiotherapists (WAD Dresden)
Advanced Somatic & StructuralTraining
Advanced Training in "Body Structure" with Solveig Hoffmann (former CANTIENICA® master trainer and author of "Aufrichtig aufrecht" / "Upright and True")
Certification in Functional Pelvic Floor Training with Gisela Schirmer
Lecturer for Effective Pelvic Floor Training at the DRK Clinics and Waldfriede Hospital.
Specialized therapeutic work within the Gastroenterology Department for patients with IBD
(Inflammatory Bowel Disease / Chronisch entzündliche Darmerkrankungen).
Clinical & Institutional Appointments
Lecturer for Effective Pelvic Floor Training at the DRK Clinics and Waldfriede Hospital.
Specialized therapeutic work within the Gastroenterology Department for patients with IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease / Chronisch entzündliche Darmerkrankungen).
Massage Practitioner Certification— IMA (International Massage Academy, England) & SWAV Berlin
Certification in Holistic Massage Therapy — Institute for Psyche and Soma, Bonn
Certification in Integrative Massage with Mariella Floris
Certification in Classical Massage("Benefit Massage") — Weg der Mitte, Berlin
Advanced Lomi Lomi Mastery
Lomi Lomi Massage Certification — Lomi Academy, Berlin
Lomi Lomi Healing Massage II / “Lomi Spirit Master” — Lomi Academy, Berlin
Advanced Lomi Techniques with Klemens Reinisch (Schloss-Schule, Austria)
Advanced Training with Edith Siebart (Lomi Lomi Master)
Lomi Lomi Certification: Module 3
— Lomi Training Berlin
Assistant Trainer for Module 4 ("Lomi in Motion") — Lomi Training Berlin
Somatic Specializations
Professional Tantra Massage Certification with Ulrike Liehm
Please note: This training and all offered sessions are strictly professional, therapeutic, and somatic. No erotic services are provided.
Foundational Breathwork Training
Rebirthing Breath work Training with Leonard Or (the founder of the Rebirthing movement)
Breath Awakening Trauma Release Training witz Katerina Foltova
Assistant & Facilitator SupportExperience
Group Assistant & Support for BBTRS (Biodynamic Breath work and Trauma Release System) with Jakob Recklinghausen
Group Assistant & Support for BBTRS with Katerina (Kachenka) Foltova
Training Assistant for the Breath Awakening Trauma Release Training with Katerina Foltova
Shamanic year-long training with Jakob Recklinghausen
Assistance in the Shamanic Year Training with Jakob Recklinghausen and Elke Urban
Extensive experience as a trainer in a fitness studio (classes, personal training)
Zumba® Fitness Instructor Training
Zumba® Gold instructor training, for special needs:
during pregnancy and for older people
Advanced Training with Dr. Robert Schleip: Fascia as a Sensory Organ (Faszien als Sinnesorgan)
Liebscher & Bracht Pain Therapy Certification (Schmerztherapie)
Advanced Training in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) with Marshall Rosenberg (the founder of NVC)
Certification in Family and Systemic Constellations with Agnes Palzer
Advanced Training: "Communication, Mindfulness, and Humor in Couples Therapy"
with Prof. Dr. Dirk Revenstorf (Organized by the Association for Scientific Psychotherapy (AWP), Berlin.)
Oneness Training with Gottfried Sumser
Somatic Research & Method Creation
Interdisciplinary Comparative Research: Extensive, decades-long study of European and American Pilates schools, combined with comparative research bridging Yoga, Pilates, the CANTIENICA® method, and Liebscher & Bracht Pain Therapy.
Method Developer of "Effective Pelvic Floor Training": Independently developed this holistic training method based on the aforementioned comparative research. Continuous refinement of the method and co-teaching the Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training in close collaboration with body worker and midwife Anima Schmitz-Salue.
(Note: Currently completing a formal Pilates Instructor Certification to further deepen this integration.)
Developer of Outdoor Running Coaching: Created the unique outdoor running program "Aufgespannt leichtlaufen" (Elongated, Effortless Running).
Perinatal Health, Birth Support & Advocacy
Clinical & Midwifery Collaboration: Active collaboration with midwives and gynaecologists since 2000, specializing in childbirth preparation, prenatal yoga, and postnatal recovery.
Birth Coach & Childbirth Educator: Specializing in physiological birthing movements and psychological transformation (Mind shift: From Fear to Empowerment).
Birth Advocacy & Media: Passionate interviewer dedicated to expanding awareness around childbirth topics (featured on YouTube).
Early Childhood Development
Advanced Training in "Reflexes and Infant Handling":
Certified training in early childhood development with occupational therapist Erika Sattler
Focus: A practical, sensorimotor, and physiologically sound approach to daily infant handling (how adults touch, hold, and move babies), with a specialized focus on picking up and laying down infants via supportive, lateral (side) transitions.
Energy Work & Spiritual Practices
Cosmic Healing Certification with Master Mantak Chia
Pranic Healing Certification (according to Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui)
Initiation into Kriya Yoga by Swami Prajnanananda
Cobra Breath (Ipsalu Tantra) Training with Katerina Foltova
