Chair Yoga

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Chair Yoga Training

Yoga Alliance-Approved Advanced Yoga Studies and
Continuing-Education Yoga Teacher Training

Date: Sunday, February 22, 2026
Hours: 12 - 3 p.m.
CEC: 3 Hours (3 Contact)
Location: Lakeville

Date: Thursday, August 13, 2026
Hours: 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
CEC: 3 Hours (3 Contact)
Location: Mendota

This training covers how to sequence and modify a gentle yoga class for students to "come as they are" from work, errands, or daily life. Designed for people who spend a lot of time driving, active seniors, office workers, or anyone looking to relieve tension that collects in necks, shoulders and backs, this class style allows students to practice in comfortable street clothes using chairs and props.

 
 

Sequencing & Transitioning Practicum Faculty

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Merry Beth Freienmuth, E-RYT 500, YACEP
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. 

 

Fee $75

Green Lotus alumni receive a 10% discount.

Because our training sessions frequently develop a wait list, refunds will be made to your personal Green Lotus account with less than two weeks' advance notice when you cancel.  Cancellations made with less than a 48-hour notice will not receive a refund. 

Yin Yoga

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Yin Yoga

Yoga Alliance-Approved Advanced  Studies and
Continuing-Education Yoga Teacher Training

Dates: tbd
CEC: 18 Hours (16 Contact, 2 Non-Contact)
Location: Lakeville

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Yin yoga is a quiet practice that focuses on creating space in the muscles, joints, and connective tissues while enhancing the mind-body connection. It encourages students to go deeply into each pose with all levels of their being.  Yin yoga also provides balance to more active yang yoga practices like power vinyasa and hatha and sports like running and aerobics. The body's well-being requires at least as much "muscle release" as "muscle engagement" for balance.  Yin yoga is an intensely deep form of yoga and requires specialized study to teach or to deepen your personal yin practice.

A Unique Approach to Yin Training

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Our 18-hour Yin Yoga Teacher Training and Advanced Studies Program allows yoga teachers and students to delve deeply into the practice during one intensive weekend.  You will:

  • Study through reading and engaging lecture

  • Participate in multiple practices so that the principles of yin yoga can be felt in your own body and mind

  • Learn anatomy, alignment, Chinese medicine, and philosophy from a yin perspective

  • Learn each yin pose in depth, with modifications, variations, and attention to alignment

  • Learn about energy meridians, the five elements, and acupressure points to enhance a yin practice

  • Have ample opportunities to ask questions and discuss theories and ideas

 

If you feel a strong need for balance in your practice, teaching, and life in general, yin is the way to go. I feel 100% ready to teach yin classes after this training and empowered to develop a personal yin practice too! Thank you Maureen for your brilliance and energy. Namaste!
~ Sara

 

Yin Yoga Training Faculty

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Maureen Farley, E-RYT 500, YACEP
Maureen Farley, E-RYT 500, 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 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. 

I have very much enjoyed dropping into a few virtual yin classes over the past month and plan to do so in the future. It grounds me to witness your teaching and reflect and learn as both a student and a new teacher of Yin Yoga. I started teaching a couple of yin classes in my community since completing your training in the fall. I am loving sharing the Yin practice with my community of Decorah. The response has been very positive. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and love for Yin. For me, it has opened a welcomed new avenue to teaching and practicing beyond my Iyengar foundation. Educators know good teaching and learning from you has been a gift.
~ Lea

 

Required Books and Materials

  • The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga, The Philosophy and Practice of Yin Yoga by Bernie Clark

  • Please bring a notebook or journal to capture notes, questions, and observations

Optional but recommended:

  • Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers

  • Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine by Harriet Beinfield and Efrem Korngold

  • Liberation: The Perfect Holistic Antidote to Stress, Depression, and Other Unhealthy States of Mind by Stephen Russell

Schedule

This training is held at our Lakeville center.  

  • Friday: 6 - 9 p.m.

  • Saturday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

  • Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

*No make-up sessions will be available. If students cannot attend for the entire weekend schedule, they will be able to complete the requirements the next time the training is held.

 

Fee $352

Green Lotus alumni receive a 10% discount.

 

I really appreciated the broad context of the training - really connected the theories of Taoism and Chinese medicine to the yin yoga practice very well.
~ Denise, Acupuncturist & Yoga Teacher

Because our training sessions frequently develop a wait list, refunds will be made to your personal Green Lotus account with less than two weeks' advance notice if you cancel.  Cancellations made with less than a 48-hour notice will not receive a refund. 

Restorative Yoga

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Restorative Yoga Training

Yoga Alliance-Approved Advanced Yoga Studies and
Continuing-Education Yoga Teacher Training

Dates: April, 25 - 26, 2026
CEC: 20 Hours (18 Contact, 2 Non-Contact)
Location: Mendota

Restorative Yoga is the Art of Healing by Letting Go

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Why Restorative Yoga?

Restorative yoga uses bolsters, blankets, blocks, chairs, and straps to fully support each pose, inviting deep relaxation and healing. It calms stress, PTSD, insomnia, fatigue, “monkey mind,” grief, fear, and anxiety. Ideal for all bodies—beginners, those with injuries, or anyone seeking active rest.

Who Should Attend

  • Yoga students expanding their personal practice

  • Teachers earning CEUs and learning to guide restorative classes

  • Wellness professionals (therapists, medical staff, educators, physical therapists) integrating restorative techniques

Randi went with the flow of our group. She covered content, went with us when we had other questions, then brought us back. Her years of experience allowed her to share insights and approaches. She really drew me out of my "in the box" thinking. I am so excited to teach my next class. This is just what I needed to rejuveniate my practice.
- J.M.

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Training Highlights

  • Foundations of Judith Lasater’s Relax and Renew® principles

  • Explore poses with a wide range of modifications and adjustments

  • Sequence meditative, restorative classes for groups and private clients

  • Prop selection and use for students’ optimal support and ease

  • Poses for common issues—from tight hips to emotional release

  • Intake assessment techniques for personalized sessions

  • Teaching strategies to guide students into profound relaxation

  • Maintain your own stamina, observation skills, and compassion while teaching

Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Faculty

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Randi Henning, RYT 500
Randi Henning, RYT 500

Randi Henning, a Judith Lasater–certified Relax and Renew® trainer, brings decades of group and private experience.  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.

Required Texts and Materials

Only one text is required. Please purchase it and read it before the training session.

  • Relax and Renew by Judith Hanson Lasater

  • Please bring notebook or journal to capture observations, questions, and inspirations

Schedule

This training is held at our Mendota center. There is a 30-minute lunch break each day. Hours are as follows:

  • Saturday and Sunday: 9 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

*No make-up sessions will be available. If students cannot attend for the entire weekend schedule, they will be able to complete the requirements the next time the training is held.

 

Fee:  $450

Green Lotus alumni receive a 10% discount.

Because our training sessions frequently develop a wait list, refunds will be made to your personal Green Lotus account with less than two weeks' advance notice when you cancel.  Cancellations made with less than a 48-hour notice will not receive a refund. 

Yoga Nidra

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Yoga Nidra

Yoga Alliance-Approved Advanced  Studies and
Continuing-Education Yoga Teacher Training

Dates: March 21 - 23, & 26, 2025
CEC: 25 Hours (23 Contact, 2 Non-Contact)
Location: Lakeville & Virtual

This activity has been designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing continuing education requirements. The nurse is responsible for determining whether this activity meets the requirements for acceptable continuing education.

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Yoga Nidra, also known as yoga deep sleep or sleepless sleep, is an ancient meditation technique known and proved to affect the parts of the brain that permit deeper insight. This is the part of the brain that release the negative thoughts, emotions, feelings, and traumas inhibiting well-being and good health. Based on ancient yoga teachings combined with modern, well-researched and documented techniques, this training provides a fresh perspective. It makes this therapeutic technique accessible and effective for modern-day life delivered by modern-day yoga teachers, nurses and other medical professionals, psychologists, social workers, acupuncturists, massage therapists, school teachers, and more.

Yoga Nidra works. Thanks to rigorous contemporary research at respected universities and government organizations, Yoga Nidra effectively is being used around the country in:

  • VA hospital and clinics

  • schools

  • business

  • sleep clinics

  • recovery clinics

  • at-risk programs for children and teens

  • prisons

  • psychology practices

  • and at Green Lotus where hundreds of people have benefited and are regulars at our Yoga Nidra workshops and classes 

You will learn:

  • how Yoga Nidra affects the physical and emotional bodies at all levels

  • how it works with trauma of many kinds as it helps people connect with their inner resource

  • how to use it in dedicated practices or workshops ranging from 15 to 45 minutes, in private sessions, and in your classes in abbreviated form

  • how to use long- and short-forms of the practice

  • how to use your voice as a resonant tool that is well-paced and controlled for volume

  • how to connect to your own inner resource

  • how to have healthy boundaries with Yoga Nidra students

  • how it feels in your own body: participants in this training will experience five 30 - 45-minute Yoga Nidra group sessions during this weekend to feel it in its fullness

This training is open to certified yoga teachers (200-hour), nurses and other medical personnel, psychologists, school teachers, mental-health counselors.  Acupuncturists and massage therapists also have found this training to be integrative to their practices.

Green Lotus founder Marcia Appel created Yoga Nidra training to bring this healing practice to our community. Christine Quam and Dawn Schaefer Stumpf assist in the facilitation of Yoga Nidra training.

 

Yoga Nidra Training Faculty

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Marcia Appel, E-RYT 500, YACEP
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).

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

Dawn (she/her) is an MS-licensed educator and a 500-hour Green Lotus–certified yoga teacher with additional credentials in Yoga Therapy, Functional Yoga Therapy, Sound Healing, Reiki, Mindfulness for Schools, and Lifeforce Yoga for Anxiety, Depression, and Trauma. She teaches yoga history, philosophy, and pranayama in Green Lotus’s 240-hour YTT. She offers Body-Mind Therapy (also called Yoga Therapy) private instruction for adults and children, including those with special needs such as autism and ADHD. She co-authored Journal of an ADHD Kid with her son, Tobias. Dawn is guided by the mantra lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, which translates to “May all beings be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way.”

Christine Quam, E-RYT 200, RYT 500
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.

Required Books and Materials

Students are required to read the following book prior to the training:

  • Yoga Nidra: A Meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing

  • Please bring a notebook or journal to capture notes, questions, and observations

Schedule

Yoga Nidra Training is held at our Lakeville center over the weekend and virtually via Zoom the following Wednesday. Hours are as follows:

  • Friday: 2 - 9 p.m.

  • Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

  • Sunday: 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

  • Wednesday: 6 - 8 p.m. (virtual via Zoom)

*No make-up sessions will be available. All sessions must be completed to receive a certificate of completion for Yoga Alliance.

Fee $506

Green Lotus alumni receive a 10% discount.

Because our training sessions frequently develop a wait list, refunds will be made to your personal Green Lotus account with less than two-weeks advance notice when you cancel.  Cancellations made with less than a 48-hour notice will not receive a refund.