Raised on Australia’s Gold Coast, Mellara Gold moved to Hollywood to become an actress. After a few film and TV roles, two failed marriages, a thankfully failed suicide attempt, and an incapacitating back injury, she healed herself through yoga, meditation, and living in awareness. Now a highly respected Bay Area yoga teacher and a regular contributor to Elephant Journal and other publications, Mellara shares teachings, insights, and heartfelt stories of her journey to wholeness and a life worth living. “A Life Worth Living is a book worth reading. Not only could I relate to many of the author’s struggles, but also experienced a deep curiosity growing in me as I followed the stages of her transformational spiritual journey. Where would she take me next? This is not a book written with objectivity. It is the exact opposite. A Life Worth Living is written with a passion and fierceness that is the perfect antidote to any cool, above-it-all preaching about what happens when we commit ourselves to the path of yoga. I will gratefully carry the words of this Warrior-Princess-Seeker with me as I continue my own spiritual journey, feeling a little less lonely, a little less afraid, and a lot more inspired. Join us.” — Judith Hanson Lasater , PhD, PT, has taught yoga around the world since 1971 and is the author of 11 books, most recently Teaching Yoga with Intention: The Essential Guide to Skillful Hands-on Assists and Verbal Communication. “Mellara’s book dives deep into the passage of yoga and how we can use our practice (yoga), our breath, and our awareness to create more love and peace in our lives. I see so much of my own journey in Mellara’s and suspect many others will relate to her journey as well.” — Mariel Hemingway , actress and author of Out Came the Sun “A Life Worth Living is one woman’s story of struggle, redemption, and deep learning. Mellara shows us how healing is possible through presence, devotion, and practical listening.” — Elena Brower , author of Being You and podcast host of Practice You “As she shares her engaging and often heart-wrenching journey, Mellara’s spirit rises time and again to reach for the light. Her book inspires, gently guides, and humbly reveals her own struggles and commitment to a path that she has mastered through honesty, love, and perseverance.” — Christine Burke , author of The Yoga Healer, owner of Liberation Yoga Studio, Los Angeles "Mellara’s love shines in her words of wisdom and practical Dharma teachings throughout A Life Worth Living. As she shares her journey with us, she sprinkles the path with supportive spiritual reminders that this life is precious and we can find inspiration and healing during even the most arduous moments. Keep this book by your side in these unsettling times!" — Núbia Teixeira , author of Yoga and the Art of Mudras, Founder of Bhakti Nova School of Yoga, Dance & Reiki, and of “Nubia's Devotional Yoga Online School” on Patreon “ Reading this wonderful memoir and manual of yogic practice, Mellara brings us humbly and deftly into her experience, and in so doing into our own—and we come out the other end changed for the better. Mellara’s love, light, and beauty can be felt in every word.” — Melanie Salvatore-August , author of Fierce Kindness and Yoga to Support Immunity Mellara has been teaching meditation and mindful yoga for over two decades, influenced by the study of Hatha Yoga, Mindfulness, and Buddhism. She is the author of two books A Life Worth Living: A Journey of Self-Discovery Through Mindfulness, Yoga, and Living in Awareness. And, Living In Awareness; Deepening Our Daily Lives Through Prayer, Ritual, and Meditation.Mellara's inspirational style of teaching interweaves the physical and spiritual aspects of yoga, sharing primarily from the radiance of her own insights and the practice of self-inquiry.She was born in Queensland, Australia, and at the age of seventeen moved to Los Angeles to attend the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. After roles in Don't Look Back, with Peter Fonda (1996) and Love Boat: The Next Wave (1998), a depleting injury led her to embark on a healing journey, focusing on yoga. At the Center for Yoga and other LA studios, she immersed herself in Hatha, Iyengar, Viniyoga, Ashtanga, and other traditions, and completed teacher training with Erich Schiffmann and Saul David Raye. After eighteen years teaching yoga in the U.S., Mellara returned to Australia to study for two years at the Uniting Awareness Centre, under the guidance of Channa Dassanayaka. She then moved back to California, online and in-person workshops, retreats, private sessions, and trainings. Mellara now lives and is teaching on the South Shore of Massachusetts with her husband, Mike, and children Leela and Charlie, and is a regular contributor to OM Yoga & Lifestyle Magazine, Elephant Journal, and other lifestyle and spiritual magazines.