Jennifer Stano, Reiki Master

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Jennifer Stano, Reiki Master

Jennifer began her journey in healing and energy work a decade ago, inspired by a deep passion for holistic health practices that address the integration of mind, body, and spirit. Her explorations into alternative modalities and esoteric teachings led her to begin master’s degree coursework at Energy Medicine University in Hermetic disciplines and Radiesthesia, along with Thought-Field Therapy, Remote Viewing, and more. She began her Reiki Training in 2017 with Rising Sun Reiki in Excelsior, Minnesota, and continued through the levels, completing a year-long apprenticeship for Level IV Master Teacher Training in 2019.  Jennifer has been a member of the International Association of Reiki Professionals (IARP) since 2020. She is part of the Usui reiki lineage.

Biofield Tuning came into Jennifer’s life when she began using tuning forks in her Reiki practice. The shifts in clients’ energy fields were immediate, and she knew this powerful sound healing modality would play a significant role in her work. Jennifer completed her Biofield Tuning practitioner certification in 2024 and enjoys integrating this modality into her practice. 

As a practitioner, Jennifer is known for creating a safe and calming space for clients to deeply relax and connect with their inner guidance. She has been blessed to witness and experience miracles from this work and is grateful to be living a life of service where she can hold space for individuals on their own healing journeys. Our bodies are designed to heal, if we simply give them the correct tools. 

As a teacher, Jennifer is passionate about sharing her knowledge and love of Reiki with students. Learning Reiki can be empowering and life-altering, and Jennifer is blessed to guide students along this sacred journey. Helping individuals to connect with their inner healing abilities is among her greatest joys. 

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Merry Beth Freienmuth, E-RYT 500, YACEP

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Merry Beth Freienmuth, E-RYT 500, YACEP

Merry Beth is director of Green Lotus' Yoga Alliance-certified school and a senior faculty member. She has been practicing yoga since 2000. She found the physical asana practice to be the perfect transition for her aging body that could no longer tolerate a classical ballet practice. She taught ballet for more than 15 years, then she began teaching Body Flow, Pilates, and yoga in 2002. Merry Beth also has experienced the more subtle benefits of yoga; it has given her the strength and balance to navigate a full-time career in corporate America and to raise her children into adulthood. Now the sole owner of Green Lotus, she devotes her time to teaching and supporting the business. 

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Marcia Appel, E-RYT 500, YACEP

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Marcia Appel, E-RYT 500, YACEP

Marcia, senior faculty member of Green Lotus's school, says yoga deepens her connection to herself and to others. Marcia encourages all students to try many class styles and deeply believes that yoga asana (poses) are an extension and beautiful expression of breath and meditation. In May 2013, she completed a two-year study of the integration of yoga and mindfulness meditation at Spirit Rock Retreat Center in California. The faculty included Dr. Richard Miller, Anne Cushman, Janice Gates, Mark Coleman, and Phillip Moffett. Her other certifications include Judith Lasater’s Relax & Renew® (restorative yoga), Baptiste Power Vinyasa (Level One), and iRest ® Level One (Yoga Nidra).

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Dawn Schaefer Stumpf, BS, MS, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, YACEP, IAYT

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Dawn Schaefer Stumpf, BS, MS, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, YACEP, IAYT

Dawn (she/her) began practicing yoga more than 30 years ago at Saint Olaf College where it couldn’t be called yoga. How times have changed! She earned her 200- and first 500-hour certifications at Green Lotus. She believes in the power of cultivating joy and lives by the mantra, lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, which translates as, “May all beings be happy and free and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way.” Her advanced training includes Yoga Therapy (under mentorship), and she is a certified LifeForce Yoga for Anxiety and Depression instructor and Yoga Calm for Children instructor. Dawn teaches yoga history, philosophy, and pranayama in Green Lotus’s 240-hour teacher-training program.

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Elizabeth Heffernan, E-RYT 500, YACEP

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Elizabeth Heffernan, E-RYT 500, YACEP

Elizabeth discovered the gentleness, grace, and ease of yoga after retiring from the dance world due to an injury. Yoga provided the ideal transition from rigorous training to a gentle and desirable style of physical movement within a discipline that brought sustenance not only to her body, but also to her heart and soul. Liz teaches all styles of yoga at Green Lotus and is also available for private instruction.

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Tracy Hovde, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, YACEP

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Tracy Hovde, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, YACEP

Tracy has a background in dance, bodywork, aromatherapy, martial arts, and personal training. After a dance injury led her to yoga for physical healing, she found that her yoga practice not only supported her body, but it also changed her perspective of the world and her connection to it. For her, yoga engenders peace and clarity, both on and off the mat, and gives her a way to balance her energetic anatomy. Inspired to share her perspectives with others, she completed her 200-hour training with Devanadi Yoga, 500-hour training with Green Lotus, and teaches workshops, classes, and trainings for Green Lotus.

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Christine Quam, E-RYT 200, RYT 500

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Christine Quam, E-RYT 200, RYT 500

Christine Quam has been practicing yoga for more than 20 years. She received a Master’s of Art in Psychology from Duquesne University. The philosophical studies she encountered there eventually led her to complete the teacher training program at Green Lotus Yoga and Healing Center in 2016. Christine’s passion for physical movement combined with meditation have led her to complete additional yoga training in Vinyasa Yoga, Yin Yoga, Kids Yoga, East Meets West Anatomy, Mindfulness Meditation, and Ayurveda. Possessing this broad yoga foundation allows Christine to offer vibrant, focused, safe, fun, and creative yoga classes within varying environments and to a variety of demographics.

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Amy Dirksen

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Amy Dirksen

Amy Dirksen has combined her passion for wellness, for service to others, and for business by operating Green Lotus in Eden Prairie, Minnesota from 2015 - 2024. A former marketing executive for a national banking company, she also has many years of experience in teaching fitness and yoga classes in the Y system and at Green Lotus. She gives attention to students' individuals needs and is adept at adapting poses to make yoga accessible to as many people as possible. As a former owner of the Eden Prairie Green Lotus and our first license, Amy brings new insight and energy, laughter, and care to her current role as multi-center manager and to Green Lotus's its mission of integrated wellness. She lives in Eden Prairie with her wonderful husband and son (The Dude).

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Sarah Zuber, E-RYT 500, YACEP

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Sarah Zuber, E-RYT 500, YACEP

Sarah Zuber has been practicing yoga for more than 10 years and has been teaching since 2013. She completed her 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher trainings through Green Lotus’s program. She is passionate about the healing potential of yoga and believes that all beings can find freedom from suffering in body and mind. At Green Lotus she teaches Hatha, Gentle, Restorative, and Mindfulness classes, trauma-informed courses and workshops in addition to teaching private yoga lessons.

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Jen Phillips, E-RYT 500, RCYT, RPYT, YACEP

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Jen Phillips, E-RYT 500, RCYT, RPYT, YACEP

On her mat, Jen began a journey that was transformative and character-building. She found strength in the body through physical practice, strength in her breath through pranayama, and strength in her mind through meditation and yoga's teachings. She teaches a comprehensive list of yoga formats and meditation. Jen has been lecturing and leading 200- and 300-hour teacher trainings and continuing education in Chicago, Minneapolis, Orange County, and globally via Zoom since 2010.

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Randi Henning, RYT 500

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Randi Henning, RYT 500

Randi has been studying and practicing yoga for more than 20 years. As a fifth-grade teacher, she first began teaching yoga to our most precious resource, children.  Then Randi completed her teacher training in Green Lotus' 200-hour program.  She studied with Judith Lasater, completing her certification in Relax and Renew® Restorative Yoga. She also earned yin yoga teaching credentials from Green Lotus.

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Laurie Wondra

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Laurie Wondra

Laurie Wondra has been performing therapeutic sound healing for groups and in private sessions for over 20 years. She is also a world-renowned psychic medium and intuitive, author of several books, and acknowledged master that works with energy healing modalities. Laurie’s passion is to provide experiences that open and support personal growth and transformation. She firmly believes that we are all one within the universe, and the energies of one affect the energies of all. Balance of these life energies are vital for spiritual and emotional health.  

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Carolyn Vinup

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Carolyn Vinup

Carolyn Vinup is a respected master of sound healing and a visionary in the creation of rich and multi-dimensional sonic tapestries, skillfully weaving sounds and vibrations. With a legacy spanning two decades, she serves as a guide for seekers on sacred sound healing journeys, delving into the depths, and unlocking the hidden realms within. Through immersive ceremonies, transformative workshops, and enlightening training, Carolyn elevates consciousness, dissolving barriers and orchestrating sacred spaces whereupon souls are free to dance in unison, bathed in the radiance of harmonious vibrations. Her nurturing guidance serves as a catalyst for personal metamorphosis, enabling individuals to embrace their essence, awaken their spirits, and illuminate the world with their radiant presence.

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Maureen Farley, E-RYT 200, YACEP

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Maureen Farley, E-RYT 200, YACEP

Maureen began her yoga practice in 1992, studying one-on-one with a tantric yogi, and experienced dramatic healing on all levels of her being. She attended graduate school for Chinese medicine. In addition to her E-RYT 200, RYT 500, and YACEP certifications with Yoga Alliance, Maureen is certified to teach Yoga for CancerCare, Yin Yoga, Trauma-Informed Yoga, Yoga Nidra, and Restorative Yoga. She completed advanced training in the Yoga for Cancer Patients program at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center of New York. She developed and teaches Green Lotus' Yin Yoga Teacher Training programs and Yoga for CancerCare Training programs. She teaches workshops and offers private yoga instruction, specializing in working with those who have structural issues, back or neck pain, osteoporosis, and those whose life journey includes cancer. Maureen is also a Reiki Master, ordained minister, public speaker, bhakta, and she offers mantra meditation instruction. 

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