Hi, I am Melis. I was born in İzmir. The introduction of yoga and reiki into my life and integration with me started after a long and exhausting adventure.
If I had to briefly explain the background; I graduated from 2007 İzmir Economy University Faculty of Fine Arts Department of Fashion and Design and right after, I have settled in Istanbul. I worked in the field of design and also in the media sector as style editor and fashion editor assistant. It was a fun but very intense period. Responsibilities undertaken and challenges experienced in a very young age, shootings day and night, articles required to be written on time, travels exhausted me both physically and mentally… With the economic crisis in 2008, I returned to İzmir. I lived in Izmir for about 6 months; during that period, I tried to improve myself with a number of courses.
Ever since I was a child, I grew up with a love for painting, abstract drawings, interpreting artistic works. It was not a coincidence that I studied in that department at the university. Never forget that: ‘Nothing experienced in life is a coincidence.’ I met a wonderful opportunity and I found myself in Paris; I found myself where it smells history and art. While studying at Paris Sorbonne University, I was also working in the field of design. Paris is the place where my first break in my life happened. One day at school, a different door opened when a friend of mine said “- let’s go to yoga”. Especially after the first lesson, I called it an interesting sport that is different, active, and that combines aesthetic and flow. At first, I was not intuitive enough to appreciate its value because I was very tired mentally and physically. After that, I kept going and slowly started to get down to the philosophy part of it. I can say that the moment you feel the need to focus on a situation in your life, when you believe that something is pulling you in, don’t stop, keep going; either that thing becomes your life, or it is a lesson you have to learn…
After 2.5-3 years, I returned to Turkey, got married and had a sweet daughter. Meanwhile, my paths crossed again with yoga, which I describe as one of the best healings, and I completed the 200-hour Hatha yoga specialization program approved by the Alliance from my teacher Aylin Oğuz (Studio Denge). While my internships were going on, I discovered how important breathing and calmness are during pregnancy and I received Pregnancy Yoga Instructor training from Seval Nayman and pregnancy yoga instructor training from Neslihan İskit. As time passed, my classes began to form, I began have students, to meet new lives, new people.
Yoga opens a door through which you can internally communicate with yourself. You embark on a spiritual journey. At that time, I had a bad marriage, a small child, a very difficult life to live. With the formation of some of my awarenesses, I started to listen to my inner voice and understand my soul. Incoming messages, feelings were preparing a way for me to reveal my healer identity. While I was experiencing different energy studies, I met my current Usui Reiki Master teacher Banu Bayraktar. During the trainings, I first learned to know myself mentally, physically and spiritually, and I started to heal myself. As a matter of fact, life has very simple spiritual laws. I say ‘simple’ because everything would be easier without external factors. That’s why I took care to keep external factors out of my life first. The moment I started doing these, my life changed 180 degrees. After 2-3 years of training, I was entitled to receive my Usui Reiki Master title.
As someone who both had a child and could not break away from this period and experienced how fun and valuable it is to spend time with children, I decided to offer yoga to children in the most effective way and received my children’s yoga instructor training from Shimiyo Kids Yoga. I received my “Child Development Specialist” certificate, approved by the Ministry of National Education, in order to better understand, feel and benefit from children’s language.
Currently, I teach children’s yoga in schools. My breathing exercises instructor classes continue. My hatha yoga, power yoga, pregnancy yoga classes continue online or face to face. My reiki sessions and attunements with my wonderful clients continue at full speed. The pleasure of meeting you here is invaluable to me. Through my writings, I will sometimes be your inner voice, sometimes your mind..your bodily awareness will increase and we will always be in touch with our journeys to the world of healing…
The greatest thing you will learn in life is that there is no limit to what you will learn. The more you learn, the more you live, the more you experience. Go on, don’t stop!
See you in the next article…
Melis GENCE
instagram: @melispurelife
