Restorative skills.
Learn movement and self-care skills that help the relief from your Somavida treatment last.
Relief doesn't end when you leave our table.
Fall 2026 classes are open. Our Restorative Skills classes meet in the Somavida training room. They teach movement, breathing, and connective tissue habits that help the work we do together hold between visits. Every class is $25. Drop into one or take all eight weeks.
Reserve your spotEight-week series
Deep Release: 60 min to unwind
Yin Yoga returns
Wednesdays, Sept 23 – Nov 11 · 10:00–11:00 am
with Amy Unsworth, Certified Yoga Therapist · $25 per class
Eight-week series
Functional Mobility
New this fall to help you move with confidence
Wednesdays, Sept 23 – Nov 11 · 12:00–1:00 pm
with Renee Cortez, Certified Yoga Teacher · $25 per class
Eight-week series
Self-Myofascial Release
with the Roll Model® Method
Fridays, Sept 26 – Nov 14 · 9:00–10:00 am
with Amy Unsworth, Certified Yoga Therapist · $25 per class
Meet the teachers
Amy Unsworth
Deep Release · Self-Myofascial Release
A certified yoga therapist and registered yoga teacher who helps people build strength and body awareness, ease pain, and lower stress. Her classes are calm and easy to follow.
Renee Cortez
Functional Mobility
A Certified Yoga Teacher with an extensive background in Iyengar Yoga. Renee also draws on the MELT Method, the Gokhale Method, and classical ballet to help you move more comfortably.
New to classes?
These are not workouts. You learn restorative skills for your body in a small group, at your own pace. Wear clothes you can move in. We provide mats and props.
Classes are group education, not treatment. If you're in acute pain, book a session first and we'll tell you whether a class is the right next step.
Sign up for a class or text us at 847-400-0477 if you're not sure which class fits.
Yoga restorative skills for lasting relief.
Learn movement, breathing, and self-massage you can do at home. Yoga Restorative Skills sessions help you build strength and body awareness, ease pain, and lower stress between Somavida treatments.
Book a Yoga Restorative Skills session
Meet Amy
Amy Unsworth is a certified yoga therapist and American Yoga Council Level 3 yoga teacher She helps people build strength and body awareness, ease pain, and lower stress. Her classes are calm, easy to follow, and paced for your body.
She spent eight years on the Trinity Health Michigan Heart team in Ann Arbor, teaching yoga for patients recovering from cardiac events and leading monthly stress-reduction workshops. Her areas of expertise include stress management, cardiac health, pain, anxiety, and depression. Read Amy's full bio.
What she teaches
- Mindful vinyasa
- Yin yoga
- Restorative yoga
- Body by Breath® Immersion
- The Roll Model® Method
- Yoga Tune Up®
Meet Renee
Renee Cortez is a Certified Yoga Teacher with an extensive background in Iyengar Yoga. She draws on a wide range of movement training to help you move more comfortably in daily life.
What she teaches
- Functional mobility
- Iyengar yoga
- MELT Method
- Gokhale Method
- Movement grounded in classical ballet
Book a Yoga Restorative Skills session
Choose a private 1:1 session or a small-group class. Book a Yoga Restorative Skills session or ask us if you're not sure where to start.
Try the self-care methods we draw from
The Roll Model® Method and Yoga Tune Up® use therapy balls and breath to release tense tissue at home. These introductory videos from creator Jill Miller (Tune Up Fitness®) are a good place to start. Bring your questions to a Yoga Restorative Skills session.
The Roll Model® Method, self-massage for pain relief
An introduction to therapy-ball self-massage and how rolling out tight, overworked tissue can ease pain. A good primer before Roll Model work in a session.
Yoga Tune Up®, lower back self-massage
A short Yoga Tune Up® therapy-ball sequence for the lower back, a common tension spot. Gentle and easy to repeat at home between sessions.
Scalp massage with a scalp massager.
In 2024 we introduced you to self-scalp massage with your scalp massager.
Why it helps
- Scalp massage can reduce stress and help relieve headaches.
- It may help hair grow thicker and promote relaxation.
- It involves virtually no health risk, but shouldn't replace medical treatment for headaches, hair loss, or stress.
How to do it
There is no single right way to massage your scalp. Keep the pressure light to moderate. Start with this technique and adjust it to your liking, for example by adding kneading:
- Put the tips of the scalp massager on the top of your scalp.
- Pin the skin to mobilize the tissue, using light to moderate pressure instead of dragging the tool across the scalp. Move the tool in a circular motion. You should feel tissue move, but no pain.
- Work over the whole scalp.
Scalp massage vs. head massage
Scalp massage works the hair-bearing skin from the hairline to the nape. Head massage also covers the forehead, temples, base of the skull, neck, ears, shoulders, and lightly, the face.
Watch a dermatologist on hair growth and scalp massage
Read scalp massage pros and cons on Verywell Health
MELT Method self-treatment.
Do the MELT Method with the soft blue balls you received. If you didn't get one, let us know. We have a few left at the clinic. We've found this self-treatment helps reduce chronic pain and makes the relief from your Somavida sessions last longer.
Used with the soft ball we gave clients in 2025, these gentle hand and foot techniques increase fluid flow to the body's connective tissue (fascia), which can reduce pain, stiffness, and tension. MELT is built on the idea that you don't have to cause pain to get out of pain.
Meet Lori
Lori Smith is our Certified MELT Method Instructor and Somavida's foot educator, and she now teaches classes here too. She teaches gentle self-treatment for the hands and feet, including the MELT fascia hydrator, a lightweight tool that helps lymph drainage, calms the nervous system, and rehydrates connective tissue to reduce pain and improve function.
Foot Restorative Skills session
Learn MELT Method self-treatment for your feet with Lori, so you can ease foot pain at home between visits. Foot Restorative Skills are offered as private 1:1 sessions or small-group classes.
Book Restorative SkillsBefore you MELT
If you have a diagnosed injury, condition, or disease, talk to your doctor before you MELT. If you find the ball painful, please stop. Questions? Contact our MELT Certified Instructor, Lori Smith, at [email protected] or visit anaturalfoot.com.
MELT Method Foot Treatment
Foot treatments can help many kinds of pain, especially if your feet hurt as soon as you get out of bed. Try this 15-minute foot treatment and see how your feet respond.
Note: If you've recently had broken toes or bones, surgeries, or major injuries, wait until you're fully healed and talk to your doctor before you MELT.
MELT Method Hand Treatment
The hand treatment is a good place to start for hand, arm, elbow, neck, or shoulder pain. Try this 10-minute treatment to see if it helps your pain.
Note: If you've recently had broken bones in your hand, wrist, or arm, surgeries, or major injuries, wait until you're fully healed and talk to your doctor before you MELT.
MELT Method Mini Face Treatment
For TMJD clients with mild or moderate symptoms: try this 10-minute treatment to see if it helps. It may also help with sinus issues and migraines.
Note: If you've had any recent surgeries or are in extreme pain, talk to your doctor before you MELT.
Questions about MELT?
All these videos were published by MELT Method founder Sue Hitzmann. Lori Smith, our MELT Certified Instructor, is happy to answer your questions. For more, browse the MELT Method YouTube channel or website.