Meet Melissa
I'm Melissa Mitchell, the founder of A Yogi Kitchen. My dream has always been to create a community of like-minded, big-hearted people with whom to practice yoga in all its forms.
At A Yogi Kitchen we're more than a yoga community, we're a family. My yoga sisters, and a few brothers, from around the country gather on Zoom to practice yoga poses, breathwork and meditation on the mat. In the warmer months we gather outdoors in person.
As a yogi and a chef, I struggled for years to create a career that allows me to sink into being both. For years I was a yoga therapist and then for years I would primarily be a chef and I'd switch back and forth. Both yoga and the food industry have been in my blood and bones for over 25 years. They make me so happy and full of passion. They energize me and excite me.
So, when I decided to close my brick and mortar holistic center to travel, I thought maybe I was giving up. The travel pull was strong, though and I loved being a personal chef in Boston and New York and teaching online yoga workshops and in-person workshops when I was in Lawrence, KS.
My Dream Of A Community Dedicated to Service
One day, A Yogi Kitchen formed in the back of my head and slowly developed. It is the dream that answers that craving.
Since the pandemic our community has grown in numbers and in strength. Yogis from all over the country meet online at least six times a week. If there's not s class at a good time or a student's schedule changes they can request a class fro when it does work. We call it a Pop-Up class.
All of our classes are by donation because in addition to our physical practice, we have a strong spiritual practice. We focus primarily on Seva, or selfless service. Sometimes called dedication to others, Seva is the way that our community takes care of the wider community.
A Yogi Kitchen has expanded to A Yogi Kitchen and Pantry. We go through our closest, attics and garages, talk to our parents, neighbors and coworkers to collect cold weather wear, blankets and socks. We see deals, find our unused pantry items and donate funds for non-perishables and baking ingredients. We use the food to cook in our homes and fill the fridge at Sunrise Project, a community organization dedicated to growing food, educating and feeding people to create social change and equity.
Twice a month our yoga family practices Seva in-person by cooking for our community together. Some of gather at Sunrise Project in Lawrence, KS to prep and cook for their community meal. We laugh and chop, connect and simmer together. It's a great opportunity for our yogis to learn to cook, to stretch cooking muscles or to share their gifts and talents.
Some of us use our talents to bake at home and donate cookies, bars or cupcakes for the bimonthly community meal at Sunrise.
Additionally, our donations of baking ingredients and some of the cash donations go to help people who have talent and the baking gift practice Seva even if they don't have the resources. This is the best part of A Yogi Kitchen and Pantry to me. When you can help people be a bigger part of the community by helping them give, we are creating a better world full of equity. We are helping people deepen their sense of worthiness.
So, if you want to know who Mewlissa Mitchell, founder of A yogi Kitchen and Pantry is, juast look at all we do. These are my core values, this is what I find exciting, inspiring and what I live to do.
I hope you'll join us. I'd love to see you online, in-person, in a class and privately. I'd love to see you
