Meet Your Melt Guides
Kelly Callender
yoga teacher · founder · yin inspired lifestyle guide · love bug
I am a Mom.
I am a Wife
I am a Friend.
I am a Yogini.
I am a Buddhist.
I am a Love Warrior.
I am the founder of MELT—A Yin inspired life.
Each of these paths I have walked, and the roles I embody, have created the woman I am today. Through my life experiences, my career within yoga and health, and working with students and clients, I have arrived at MELT. I work with people that crave pause. I teach people to find serenity in the chaos and how to nourish a yin-inspired life.
I am a native Californian. After attending college in Oregon (proud duck! Quack!) I spent the early part of my career on the East Coast. Out of college I entered the corporate world and worked in the advertising and lobbyist realm. In the midst of my time in these business communities I attended my first Yoga Teacher Training in 2003 at Bikram’s Yoga College of India.
It wasn’t until 2008 that I found my way back to California and embarked on my path of yoga, health, and wellness in both my personal and professional life. Since that time I have been an entrepreneur, holistic health counselor, yoga teacher, yoga studio owner, yoga teacher trainer, and business consultant. I hold the strong belief that a good teacher continues to learn. I enjoy retreating and feel nourished by participating in mentor and disciple relationships and I continue to attend trainings for my personal growth.
Through the years I have found I gravitate toward Yang choices and in many ways live a Yang life. I balance my world with Yin practices. Yin choices benefit me every time and choosing them naturally is becoming more instinctual. It is no surprise that those whom gravitate toward me, find the same. There is a profound impact of Yin practices in enhancing our Yang-driven lives. Yin is yielding, allowing and nourishing. Instead of fighting back when confrontation arises, a yin-inspired life embraces it. Wraps its arms around daily challenges and gives you a big ol’ hug.
Ultimately, I show people how to dance within the chaos. I inspire them to get unstuck, unfreeze, and let go. I inspire them to melt into their true nature
Whether we see each other or meet in a yoga class, online setting, coffee shop, out on a neighborhood walk, or an exquisite retreat—you’ll find me with those who stay calm in the storm. Those are my people.
My cause of choice is Moms Demand Action—a grassroots movement fighting to protect people from gun violence that is committed to doing what it takes to keep families safe.
I have settled and built a home-base on the Central Coast of California, Shell Beach, with my family. You can find me on IG and FB @kellyacallender.
Dawn Hoppe
Dawn is a lifelong seeker, a teacher of yoga, a maker of adornments, and a believer in both ritual and self-reflection as powerful tools to empower, evolve, and live more mindfully.
She has always been drawn to jewels and adornments. From the friendship bracelets of childhood to the heirlooms passed down from my grandmothers, she has always known there is magic within them.
She believes more than mere decoration, adornment is a sacred act. Since the beginning of time, people have adorned themselves as a form of expression, deeply personal, cultural, spiritual. She believes in the power of the stones and crystals and sacred woods. More than that, she believes in the magic we all have inside us.
She feels called to help others find their own magic through intentional jewelry and magic beads and the sacred act of adornment. Used as touchstones and prayer aids, her hope is that her pieces support you as you live into your own unique magic.
Whitney Demorest
With over 25 years of experience in the field of personal transformation, including a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, Whitney works as a resilience coach. Her approach bridges spiritual principles with practical therapeutic strategies to connect her clients to their deep wisdom and inner resilience. As a highly sensitive person and empath, she utilizes intuitive guidance and energy work to help people identify and release emotional and limiting belief blocks so they can experience more freedom and connection.
Whitney has experienced the power of daily dedication to meditation, yoga, and breathwork practices; and supports clients in finding their path to create ways to regulate their nervous and feel grounded no matter the circumstance they face. Originally from Hawaii, she now lives in California with her husband of 30 years, two hilarious and sparkly young adult daughters, and 1 fluffy ball of love.
Ricardo Rodríguez
Ricardo Rodríguez is a passionate vegan chef with extensive culinary experience. Trained in Culinary Arts in Mexico City and European culinary techniques in Switzerland, he has honed his skills in busy kitchens and yoga retreats across the US and Mexico.
Since 2005, he has cooked exclusively for vegetarian and vegan communities, especially yogis, believing in food’s power to nurture emotional, mental, and physical well-being. As the owner of a small catering service in Mexico City and a Chef Instructor at a culinary university, he loves to share his kitchen secrets and teaching people how to cook delicious, nutritious meals.
Past Guides
Lily Jones
Lil is an OM. In our world OM stands for an Original Melter. She attended our first MELT event and Yin Yoga Teacher Training. Since then she has been passionate about MELT and our approach to Yin Yoga as a student and as a teacher. Thank goodness she will be with us in San Luis Obispo County with us–MELT events just don’t seem the same without her!
“My passion is guiding people to their true heart through Yin Yoga and meditation; helping them create space to find the Yin within. Yin Yoga feels like coming home, over and over. I have experienced the immense benefits of well-being, wholeness and balance both as a teacher and practitioner.
Yin offers space, mobility and restoration to our connective tissues. The power of Meditation and Yoga Nidra brings clarity, insight and openness to the mind and heart. These are the experiences I strive to bring to others through my offerings.
I enjoy an active lifestyle; pursuing a variety of fitness activities over the years. I fell in love with Yin Yoga after my first class in 2016 and never looked back. Dedicating my Sundays to self-care and Yin Yoga slows me down, allowing me a unique opportunity to cultivate gratitude for my body. Pains that I lived with for years have melted away.
After three years of faithful practice under Kelly Callender, I took my practice to the next level (MELT Training RYT 200). Yin Yoga became a gateway to my meditation practice. That led to expanding my learning through certifications: Yoga Nidra (Certified Classical Yoga Nidra, California College of the Ayurveda) and Ananda Course in Meditation (Ananda).
Yin Within.
Never Miss a Sunday.
Consistency over Intensity.
I honor life as a ritual that nourishes and transforms us and the communities we belong to when we weave our intentions into an ongoing, committed practice.
I believe the power of Yin Yoga and Meditation bridges the gap between self and the universe, sickness and health, and between yin and yang. Cultivating a full spectrum of health for mind, body and spirit.”
Kaci Little
Our time at Sagrada Wellness just got more magical. I’m pleased to announce that Kaci Little will be joining us at our MELT Retreat this October. She has been with me at every MELT event or retreat with the exception of when she had a 3-week old little guy. (And yes, I still invited her to join us!) Kaci is one of my most favorite people and her ability to hold space continues to amaze me. We are in for a treat.
Kaci has 16+ years experience creating and holding spaces for people and groups to explore their inner-most selves. She finds the willingness to go deeper in order to soar higher (and vice versa) to be the most interesting and meaningful experience in life. She’s had the honor to hold hands, bear witness, and shine the light for students, clients, and friends as they’ve explored their edges and turned lead into gold. Through ceremony, movement, meditation, intuition, and mainly just presence, Kaci helps people connect with themselves, which is to connect with the Divine.
