Testimonials
Dear Donna,
I am grateful for the wishes you inspire, that are shared by the wind and captured in the heart.
I am grateful for the way that you actually SEE everyone. You look right into us, instead of just passing over the surface. I am in awe of the sincerity. It is rare to find that genuine caring quality. You not only pause for peace, you look for it in all of us, instill it, remind us of how important our own peace is, to ourselves and how that energy reflects out among the universe. You incite me of how my own peace dictates my perspectives, my senses, my thoughts, my words. I appreciate you and am grateful for your beautiful soul on this planet.
Thank you for your smile. Much Love and Respect, -Z, Ocean Beach, California
"What Donna has meant to me? After meeting Donna on her daily Sunrise Beach Yoga and Meditation on Periscope, she has truly changed my outlook on life. Her friendly smile, her warm inviting personality, and her enthusiasm for teaching yoga and meditation has inspired me to get up off my sofa and walk into a yoga class for the very first time. Eight months and sixty pounds later Donna continues to encourage and inspire me. Abundant Blessings to you Donna and have a wonderful day!" - Suzie, from Toronto, ON
"My adoptive father taught me at a young age to be mindful, and take time when talking about matters of the heart. So I've been doing just that, but have yet to find words to express how comforting and inspiring Donna along with her practice is to me. If your looking for people that love and strive for personal greatness, well donna's scopes are a great place for that. Along with amazing views of the beach, ocean and sunrise. All this while she shares her gift with the world. Oh and you don't have to be a human Gumby to do Yoga. If I can do it in my wheelchair/hospital bed you can too." - Bravo, from Massachusetts
"Over the past six years, I’ve studied yoga under the guidance and direction of several highly regarded instructors but none have compared to Donna Melanson, whom I think is far more exceptional. She exemplifies yoga-based principles with respect, steadfastness, and deep emotional commitment to her personal practice. She clearly appreciates her discipline and attends to the individual needs and circumstance of her students without compromising the high standards she has set for herself as related to yoga. Donna is widely regarded as an accomplished, innovator, and thought-leader in the yoga and meditation industry." Frank I. from West Chester PA
"Donna’s gentle kind spirit are evident in all of her yoga classes. I was fortunate to take my 200 hour yoga teacher training with Donna at Azul Yoga Institute. Her style and guidance continue to inspire me." -Andrea from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
"I found Azul Yoga broadcasting on the application periscope. Donna is very knowledgeable instructing her Yoga lessons and will help you achieve your goals! She is a very nice person to know." - Thomas C, from Charleston SC
It sounds dramatic, but finding Donna Melanson really did change my life. I've been practicing yoga for over 15 years, but had fallen from regular practice since I moved 3 months ago. I have always been a night owl. One night, a bout of insomnia led me down the Periscope rabbit hole & I found Donna's Sunrise Beach yoga scope. At first, I started watching it occasionally - not doing the sequence, just soaking in the view and peace. After about a week, I decided to go ahead and do the routine since I was awake. Before I knew it, I was waking up at literally the crack of dawn to do yoga every day! Donna's warmth, knowledge & yoga-centered broadcast has attracted a following of welcoming, supportive viewers that I miss if I skip a day. Finding her daily broadcast turned me into a morning person somehow and helps me to get the day started in a positive & health way. Come for the sunrise, stay for the yoga & enjoy the support and conversation!" - Tracey H, From Charlotte NC
"Donna you have brought inspiration to me every morning since I found you! Your beautiful spirit, the community, the Yoga and Meditation, & the beautiful view fills my soul! Thank you Donna and thank you God for this little piece of Heaven every day. - Deana, from Massachusetts
Thank You" for showing up every morning to share with us such glorious sunrises and for starting our day on such a "Happy" note. Getting results from your morning Yoga!!! - Linda, From Crystal River, Fl
Thank you for the daily inspiration! The view is awesome and a great way to start your day!" Christopher, from East Lansing Michigan
"I've known Donna for many years dating back to College in the 80's but after college, we all seem to lose touch somehow. Through social media and the internet, we are all connecting again with people we have known and it feels wonderful! I connected even more deeply with Donna through her invite to join her periscope community and it proved to be life changing for me. Donna is one of those special persons' whose journey draws you in to know her more than you did before and her scope allows us to do that - plus it's a beautiful way to awaken each day. Donna has created a community where we not only learn from her but from others. Donna's method of teaching or guidance is presented in a loving, open, calming and elevating way. Donna believes in her own journey with such a whole heart it makes your want to start your own now. That is Donna's most gracious gift to us, to be and live in the moment - "Happiness starts now"! - Terry S, from Chapel Hill NC
I am 75 yrs. young, retired and seeking the more peaceful things in life. Yoga has been a way of life for me for several years. Waking with Donna on Periscope at Sunrise on the beach every morning is a very calming and beautiful experience. Donna is dedicated to be there for you and is an excellent instructor. She gives you a practice on the mat and a period of meditation. I have learned much more about meditation and calming anxieties. Those who tune in to Donna's periscope community will find a calming and beautiful way to start their day. Vera T., Chicago,IL.
I think what makes Donna’s teaching so special is that she respects every person in her class. I never felt like a student or simply a body. I knew that she connected to me as a person. Her presence is calm, nurturing and friendly. She guides you through the practice in a way that welcomes yoga students at all levels of experience. The focus on breath as the element that takes you through the practice helps during moments of physical tension and release. Donna is my favorite yoga teacher and a clear yogini on and off the mat. -Jeanie M. Boca Raton, Fl
Donna, You know with people coming and going and life moving ever so fast, I always manage at some point during my day to take the time to stop, and to listen and watch to your daily replay of the day or pause for peace. For me it's my zen, it brings me inner peace, inner calm, it brings me back to my center and allows me to take that breath I so desperately need after a day of being in constant motion. I try to sincerely be mindful when I do the meditation along with you.
You know Donna, as I see it, our true place on this planet lies not not in the past nor in our future. Our place on this planet lies in the right here and now. Life is availed to us right here and now, and we all must try to embrace and appreciate every moment we can, because the truth of the matter is: tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
In this circle of love you create in your broadcasts, I see us trying to be mindful, and in being mindful, it creates this energy force that allows to be fully aware of those conditions of happiness in our minds' eye that are in all actuality already present in our own lives. We do not have to wait for years down the road to experience happiness, it's present in every breath we take, it's present in every moment of our daily life. You Donna, add to this gift of happiness.
When I inhale peace and exhale love, I breathe outward happiness to everyone around me in addition to this peace and love. I love the fluidity that I am giving as well as receiving. It's a true energy that flows in a figure eight. It's truly amazing!
You know it's funny Donna, there are many people who are alive, I mean truly alive yet, they don't realize it! When you breathe in as you have taught us and do teach us to do, and we are aware of your in-breath, to breath in with peace, you touch this miracle of being alive. It's such an incredible feeling! That is why being mindful is such a beautiful source of happiness and joy.
Donna, you have opened up a world of inner joy for so many of us who have been consistently been watching and following you since you began on Periscope. You have created a group of harmony, serenity and overall spacial happiness. I, being one of your viewers, (although I do not come into the actual periscope as often as I would like), do watch your replays every single day whether I am signed into watch them or not, and am forever grateful for the effect your broadcasts and your meditations have had on my soul and my health. Furthermore, I am that much more enriched on many a level for watching them. You are a gift of love to the world!
With this said, I wish to express my humble gratitude for you being a most important part of the Periscope community and I want to simply say thank you for time, and all you share with us. - MK, from NY, NY