Melissa Hurt

Melissa Hurt is a spiritual teacher, communication and voice coach, and yoga teacher who guides parents and family caregivers from burnout toward balance. Her work draws on Bodyvoice (also called embodied voice work), yoga, and embodied actor training. She believes that finding your true voice also develops your spiritual, physical and emotional self.

By her own account, she was the quiet girl who spoke with a small voice. At twelve she saw her first professional play and knew she wanted to be seen and heard. She studied acting in the DC Metro area, but still felt she had not found her voice. Stepping onto a yoga mat in 2005 gave her a path toward it. She went on to complete multiple yoga certifications and became a Lessac Certified Trainer. Lessac Kinesensic training felt to her like "yoga with my voice", and she realized her voice could be a tool for looking inward.

From this she created a two-part system that combines meditation, the analytical tools of actor training, and voice and speech practices, working with both the speaking voice and the inner voice. She guides people through steps of investigation, identification, integration, investment and illumination. The aim is manageable daily practices, clearer boundaries and a stronger sense of intuition.

Her professional background includes a Ph.D. in Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon, an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BA in Theater from George Mason University. She is a 700-hour certified yoga teacher, with training that includes prenatal and postnatal yoga, restorative yoga, and trauma-informed yoga for veterans. She taught performing arts at college level for 15 years and has coached professionals across the United States for over ten years.

Her yoga teaching has served prenatal and postnatal mothers, babies, kids, families and seniors, through baby and me yoga, prenatal yoga, chair yoga, guided meditation and kids yoga. She has written books and articles on Bodyvoice, yoga and embodied actor training, and shares short practices on her YouTube channel.