Yoga & Mental Wellness Training

/

Yoga & Mental Wellness Training

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

Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025
Hours: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
CEC: 7 Hours (7 Contact)
Location: Lakeville

This immersive 7-hour training equips yoga teachers with the practical tools and scientific understanding needed to integrate mental health support into every class. You’ll explore how time-honored yoga techniques—breathwork (pranayama), mindful movement (asana), hand gestures (mudras), and more—activate the body’s natural stress-regulation systems to calm anxious minds, lift mood, and boost overall vitality.

What You’ll Explore

  • The neuroscience behind yoga’s impact on the brain: neuroplasticity, stress hormones, and mood regulation

  • Polyvagal Theory in practice: sequencing breath, movement, and voice to shift autonomic states

  • Breathwork protocols for instant anxiety relief and long-term resilience

  • Gentle flows and asana for nervous system soothing

  • Mudras and mantra: subtle energetic tools to anchor focus and balance emotion

  • Designing mental-wellness–focused classes: theming, sequencing, and cues that safely support students in distress

Who Should Attend
Yoga teachers committed to deepening their teaching toolkit, mental-health professionals curious about mind-body integration, or any movement facilitator eager to foster emotional resilience in their community.
Empower yourself and your students with a holistic, research-driven approach to mental wellness on the mat.

Yoga & Mental Wellness Training Faculty

Featured
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.”

Fee $155

Green Lotus Alumni receive a 10% discount.

Make-up sessions are not available. 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 72-hour notice will not receive a refund. 

The Art of Private Yoga Instruction: Crafting Personalized Sessions

/

The Art of Private Yoga Instruction
Crafting Personalized Sessions

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

Date: Sunday, September 21, 2025
Hours: 12:30 - 3:30 p.m.
CEC: 3 Hours (3 Contact)
Location: Mendota Heights or Virtual via Zoom

Date: Sunday, September 20, 2026
Hours: 12:30 - 3:30 p.m.
CEC: 3 Hours (3 Contact)
Location: Mendota Heights or Virtual via Zoom

In this 3-hour training, you’ll gain the skills to design and deliver one-on-one yoga sessions with confidence and professionalism. Through interactive discussion, hands-on practice, and ready-to-use handouts, you’ll master every step—from intake to follow-up—whether you meet clients in person or online.

What You’ll Explore

  • Conducting a thorough private-session intake

  • Turning client needs into clear intentions and measurable goals

  • Customizing breathwork, asana, mudras, and restorative tools

  • Structuring a balanced, cohesive session framework

  • Best practices for note-taking, client folders, and session summaries

  • Business essentials: pricing, scheduling, policies, and boundaries

Who Should Attend

Certified and in-training yoga teachers ready to elevate their private offerings with clear structure, deep personalization, and polished professionalism.

Ready to Transform Your Private Yoga Practice?

Join us to deepen your expertise and deliver truly customized sessions your clients will love.

The Art of Private Yoga Instruction Faculty

Featured
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.”

Fee $75

Green Lotus Alumni receive a 10% discount.

Make-up sessions are not available. 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 72-hour notice will not receive a refund. 

Yoga Sculpt

/

Yoga Sculpt

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

Dates: January 12 - 14, 2026
CEC: 10 Hours (8 Contact, 2 Non-Contact)
Location: Virtual Live-Streamed

yoga-sculpt-minnesota-twin-cities-training

As the popularity of yoga continues to grow, yoga sculpt has emerged as an appealing option for yogis looking for a physically challenging and highly athletic class. Yoga sculpt adds external resistance in the form of light weights. With a basic vinyasa-style sequence as the foundation, the use of weights builds strength and endurance while also working on flexibility and breath. Other elements incorporated into class include cardio, plyometrics, and proven strength-building moves like push-ups, bicep curls, squats, and jumping jacks. In keeping with the vinyasa tradition, we keep the breath flowing the entire class to increase heart rate while sculpting all the major muscle groups. Upbeat music is also an integral element to class in order to keep the tempo and energy levels up.

This training is ideal for certified yoga instructors who currently teach or are familiar with the basic vinyasa-style format. Adding yoga sculpt to your skill set will enhance your ability to serve your students and give you the opportunity to offer a challenging yet safe class that serves as a nice compliment to more traditional yoga formats.

What You Will Learn

  • Yoga sculpt sequencing and cues

  • Various options, alternatives, modifications, and techniques to make the class your own

  • Music selection and discussion on how to teach to the beat

  • Safety discussion on how to protect vulnerable joints such as shoulders, knees, hips, wrists, and ankles

  • The benefits of a yoga sculpt practice including strength, endurance, flexibility, and improved muscle tone

Yoga Sculpt Training Faculty

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

Required Books, Materials & Prerequisites

  • Read Journey Into Power by Baron Baptiste prior to training

  • Attended at least one yoga sculpt class prior to training

  • Be comfortable teaching in the vinyasa style

  • 200-hour yoga teacher training

  • Bring a notebook or journal to capture thoughts, notes, and questions


Schedule

Green Lotus's Yoga Sculpt Training, held virtually via Zoom. Hours are as follows: 

  • Monday - Wednesday, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

*Make-up sessions may be available for an additional fee.

Fee $200

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 72-hour notice will not receive a refund. 

Little Lotus Kids Yoga

/

Little Lotus Kids Yoga™

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

Dates: July 14 - 15, 2025
CEC: 14 Contact Hours
Location: Mendota Heights

 
kids-yoga-teacher-training-minnesota-twin-cities

Kids learn through play. Kids yoga classes are fun, inspirational, educational, and unique every time. Children teach us how to live as true yogis, in the moment, in the full expression of who we are. Teaching yoga to kids is very rewarding when we allow them to teach us the important lessons that many of us forget as adults. A great kids yoga class is taught by a teacher who can hold a safe space of learning and growth for the children, providing them with an environment where they can do what comes naturally to them as little yogis.  

If you work with kids, this training will give you the ability to relate the wisdom of yoga to the kids in your life at a fraction of the cost of other kids-yoga training programs. This training is for anyone who wants to see the kids in their lives reap the benefits of the ancient practice of yoga as well as for yoga teachers and experienced yoga students.  Yoga physically improves strength, flexibility, and coordination; mentally it improves concentration and focus, while also enhancing a sense of calm, and improving the ability to relax. What kids don't need that? This training is perfect for:

  • Daycare providers

  • School teachers

  • Gym teachers

  • Occupational therapists

  • Physical therapists

  • Parents

  • Grandparents

  • Yoga teachers

Our kids yoga teacher training teaches age-appropriate yoga poses, games, language, and teaching techniques for kids ages three and up. This 14-hour Yoga Alliance-approved training covers yoga history, philosophy, energetics, yoga postures, games, class planning, and sequencing.  Also covered are some pragmatic aspects of teaching yoga like how to integrate kids yoga into community ed. programs, elementary and preschool programs, classes at yoga studios, and other therapeutic settings.  Training materials for Kids Yoga include a teacher training manual with sample class plans.  These materials are included in the cost of the training and will be distributed on the first day of class.  There are no prerequisites for this training. 

Kids Yoga Teacher Training Faculty

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

Schedule

These training are held at our Mendota Heights center.

Weekend training hours are as follows:

  • Saturday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

  • Sunday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Summer weekday hours are as follows:

  • Monday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

  • Tuesday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

*No make-up sessions are available.

 

Fee:  $308

Green Lotus Alumni receive a 10% discount.

Because our trainings tend to develop a wait list, refunds will be made to your personal Green Lotus account with less than two weeks’ notice.  Cancellations made with less than 48-hour notice will not receive a refund. 

Pranayama Advanced Breath Practices

/

Pranayama: Advanced Breath Practices

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

Dates: Dates coming soon
CEC: 18 Hours (16 Contact, 2 Non-Contact)
Location: Mendota Heights

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

 
pranayama-advanced-yoga-teacher-training-twin-cities-minnesota

Breath, the Great Teacher and the First Pose of Yoga

The study of pranayama, the breathing techniques unique and integral to yoga, is essential for teaching this ancient system of well-being to students of all ages and all levels. As yoga teachers, we place high value on these breath techniques, which improve the overall health and function of the body’s vital organs and every one of its 100 trillion cells. Led by Sarah Zuber, a skilled and deeply committed teacher of pranayama, this 20-hour intensive study teaches the powerful healing ways of the breath, the first pose of yoga.

Green Lotus' weekend breath intensive offers a rare opportunity to enhance your skills in this new way: Not only will you learn and practice simple to complex techniques, but you also will gain insight into how to develop sequenced pranayama practices to offer to your students, patients, and clients. This point-of-view, to learn the individual breathing techniques and how to string them together in different sequences to offer group or individual sessions, will enhance your skills and help you to deliver well-being in more ways and settings.

The Breath of Life Is for Everyone

Breathing techniques calm the nervous system and the mind. They help tame anxiety and depression. They ease women through child-birth. They aid those who are actively dying and the friends and family offering support to the dying. They make it easier for us to practice asana – the poses of yoga – and other forms of exercise, from hiking to dance to golf to horseback-riding. And so much more.

Whether you teach yoga, are a psychotherapist, a fitness trainer, a midwife, a coach, minister, physician, nurse, or a physical therapist – or simply want to deepen your personal understanding and practice of yoga and the role of breath in it – you will benefit from this training. 

Master Breath Philosophies, Techniques, and Their Applications

pranayama-yoga-training-twin-cities.jpg

  • Diaphragmatic breath

  • Ujjai (victorious breath)

  • Kapalabhati (skull shining breath)

  • Bhastrika (bellows breath)

  • Nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breath)

  • Anuloma viloma (alternate nostril variation)

  • Surya (solar piercing)

  • Chandra bhedana (lunar piercing

  • Sitali/sitkari (cooling breath)

  • Kumbhaka (simple retention)

  • Learning to observe our breath through the physical body, five traditional senses, and qualities of breath

  • Placement in the yoga practice and benefits and contraindications of individual pranayama techniques

  • Bandhas (internal locks) and their relationship to pranayama

  • Pranayama practice (30-minutes) and how to sequence a pranayama practice so you can offer breath-only group classes and private sessions

Pranayama Advanced Practices Faculty

Featured
Sarah Zuber, E-RYT 500, YACEP
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.

Required Books and Materials

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

  • There is no required text for this training, study materials will be provided.

Schedule

This training is held at our Mendota Heights Center.  Hours are as follows:

  • Friday: 6 - 9 p.m.

  • Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

  • Sunday: 10:30 a.m. - 5:30 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 $352

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. 

Mat Pilates & Barre Yoga

/

Mat Pilates & Barre Yoga Training

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

 

Dates: September 11 - 12, 2026
CEC: 10 Hour (9 Contact, 1 Non-Contact)
Location: Mendota

Pilates & Barre — Core Strength Meets Ballet Elegance

training-pilates-mat-barre-teachers-twin-cities

Why Pilates & Barre?

Pilates, born from Joseph H. Pilates’s WWI rehabilitation work, builds core stability and a deep mind-body connection. Barre borrows from classical ballet to sculpt lean muscles, improve posture, and enhance grace. Together, they offer a dynamic fusion of strength, flexibility, and coordination.

Who Should Attend

  • Yoga and group-exercise instructors seeking new core-conditioning tools

  • Students wanting to refine mat-Pilates alignment and benefits

  • Teachers aiming to lead Mat Pilates or Barre Yoga classes

 

Ready to elevate your teaching—or deepen your own practice? Join us and transform your fitness journey

Choose the Mat Pilates module, the Barre module, or both—follow what resonates with you.

 

I loved the attention to detail and the instructor’s patience and care when teaching – a very positive experience!
~ Julia

 
twin-cities-yoga-barre-training-certification

Training Modules

Take one or both modules!

Mat Pilates (6 hours)

  • Experience a 60-minute mat Pilates class

  • Explore Pilates history, philosophy, benefits, and breath mechanics

  • Learn cueing, alignment principles, and modifications for approximately 20 exercises

  • Sequence a beginner-level mat Pilates class

  • This module is held on Friday and Saturday

Barre (3 hours)

  • Participate in a 60-minute Barre Yoga class

  • Understand barre philosophy and goals of sequences

  • Master cueing and adaptations for approximately 10 standing exercises

  • Integrate and sequence yoga, standing exercises at the barre, and Pilates into one energizing and strengthening flow

  • This module is held on Saturday

Mat Pilates & Barre Training Faculty

Featured
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. 

Required Books and Materials

  • Pilates, Second Edition by Rael Isacowitz (available used on Amazon)

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

Schedule

Attend this training at the Mendota center or virtually via Zoom. Hours are as follows: 

  • Friday: 5 - 8 p.m. Mat Pilates Module

  • Saturday: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Mat Pilates Module

  • Saturday: 1 - 4 p.m. Barre Module

*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.

 

Mat Pilates + Barre Fee:  $225

Mat Pilates Fee: $150

Barre Fee: $75

Green Lotus Alumni receive a 10% discount.

Because our trainings tend to develop a wait list, refunds will be made to your personal Green Lotus account with less than two weeks notice.  Cancellations made with less than 48 hour notice will not receive a refund. 

The Study of the Bhagavad Gita

/

The Study of the Bhagavad Gita

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

Dates: Tuesdays, October 7 - 28, 2025
CEC: 8 Hours (6 Contact, 2 Non-Contact)
Location: Virtual

This book-club-style training delves into and digests the sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita. We explore the modern-day application of this masterpiece of awareness and adventure, examine how its lesson apply to our own lives, and discuss how to bring the words to life. Students learn to apply the concepts of the Gita to the study of the 8-limbed path, including asana, and to art of living our yoga. Our virtual book-club approach, using Zoom, allows us to discuss and absorb the lessons of the Gita in “bite-size” chunks of 90 minutes over four evenings. Students form new virtual communities of exploration, making this ancient book of wisdom accessible to people near and far.

Bhagavad Gita Faculty

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

Required Books & Materials

arjuna krishna.jpg

Students are required to read the following:

  • The Bhagavad Gita translated by Stephen Mitchell

Schedule

This training is held Tuesday evenings via Zoom.  Hours are as follows: 

  • 6:30 - 8 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:  $132

Green Lotus Alumni receive a 10% discount.

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

Chair Yoga

/

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

Featured
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. 

Power Vinyasa

/

Power Vinyasa

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

Dates: Saturday, October 11, 2025
CEC: 12 Hours (10 Contact, 2 Non-Contact)
Location: Lakeville

power-vinyasa-yoga-training-twin-cities-minnesota

Re-imagining How and Who You Teach

Students who see others flowing in a power vinyasa class often think: "I could never do that." They create roadblocks that inhibit them from stepping onto the mat and trusting that their bodies can - and want to - experience both dynamic flowing movement and long-held stationery poses. They stop themselves from walking across the threshold of a power vinyasa class and learning the techniques, modifications, and assists that allow each of them to practice power vinyasa in their unique ways. Teachers often do the same, thinking, "I could never teach that."

Rewire Your Mind, Transform Your Body

For yoga teachers and students alike, power vinyasa provides another path to evolve mentally and physically, to grow strong in mind and body. Whether students are beginners or advanced practitioners, led by a skillful power vinyasa teacher they can unleash hidden strength, find fluidity, nurture focus and clarity. In Baron Baptiste's sequence of 53 poses, linked by movement to breath, you will learn to help your students unleash their own perfect process. What is the "power" behind power vinyasa yoga? Where does the "fire" of the practice come from and how is it maintained with ease? How do you teach students of many levels? Based on the teachings of Baron Baptiste and other master teachers, students will learn the use of the dynamic ujjayi breath, alignment in moving and stationery poses, and how to confidently teach students power vinyasa with serenity and clear direction. 

Power Vinyasa Intensive Faculty

Featured
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. 

Required Texts & Materials

Only one text is required. Please purchase it and read through page 72 before the training session.

  • Journey into Power by Baron Baptiste

  • Bring a notebook or journal, plus a phone/camera to take photos of certain poses if you wish.

  • Bring a towel.

Schedule

This training will be held at our Mendota Heights center. Hours are as follows:

  • Saturday: 8:30 a.m. - 7 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:  $220

Green Lotus alumni receive a 10% discount.

Because our training sessions tend to 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

/

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

twin-cities-yin-yoga-training

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

yin-yoga-teacher-training-midwest

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

Featured
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

/

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

restorative-yoga-training-twin-cities-minnesota

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.

restorative-yoga-teacher-training-green-lotus

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

Featured
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. 

Assisting & Adjusting

/

The Art of Assisting & Adjusting

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

 

Dates: February 6 - 8, 2026
CEC: 22 Hours (19 Contact, 3 Non-Contact)
Location: Mendota Heights

Schedule

  • Friday: 6 - 9:30 p.m.

  • Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

  • Sunday: 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

*No make-up sessions will be available.

 

How This Training Will Hone Your Skills

Offering assists and adjustments to yoga students is an art. It requires highly developed observation skills, awareness of body mechanics and movement, intimate familiarity of the poses, and strong communications skills. The goal is to assist and adjust so that students find their ultimate expression of poses  without becoming teacher-dependent. This carefully designed immersion into the art of assisting and adjusting, based on the observation of and work with thousands of students, will deepen your teaching skills to help your students to find an openness and mind/body connection that advances their practice. This training will differentiate you as a teacher.

The Foundation of the Training Rests on Proper Alignment

minnesota-yoga-training-twin-cities

  • The understanding that more is less when it comes to safe hands-on adjustments

  • How to use the various forms of assisting and adjusting from verbal cues to directional signals to physical manipulation

  • The role of props as tools in adjusting and assisting

  • How to empower students to find personal levels of self-adjusting

  • Assisting safely without developing dependency

  • We will cover dozens of key foundational poses and their modifications in the following families of poses in this training:

  1. Sun salutations

  2. Standing poses

  3. Backbends

  4. Twists

  5. Forward folds

  6. Core connection

  7. Inversions

  8. Surrender to gravity

Hands-on Practice: Our 22-hour assisting and adjusting teacher training and advanced yoga studies is offered in an intensive weekend of total immersion. As with all its training offerings, the cornerstone of the Green Lotus approach is to study assisting and adjusting not only by reading and engaging lecture and discussion, but also by practicing the adjustments over and over again.

Boundaries and Ethics: Our training includes a segment on ethics and boundaries so we as teachers can better understand our roles and impact and also to develop awareness of the different emotions that can be observed in the classroom - such as anxiety - and how assisting and adjusting can affect those emotions and feelings.

Wonderful course for newer yoga teachers and those looking for a course exclusive to assisting and adjusting. This was exactly the training I was hoping for and I'm so happy to have taken it.
~ Andrea

Assisting & Adjusting Teacher Training Faculty

Featured
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. 

Have a look inside a recent Assisting & Adjusting training

 
 
 

Required Books & Materials

  • Students will be required to read portions of Journey into Power by Baron Baptiste

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

  • Other materials, including a handbook and schedule for the weekend, will be provided

Optional but recommended:

  • Yoga Posture Adjustments and Assisting by Stephanie Pappas

Fee $418

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

/

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.

yoga nidra.jpg

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

Featured
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. 

Hot Fusion

/

Hot Fusion Yoga Teacher Training

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

Dates: July 10 - 12, 2026
CEC: 20-Hours (16 Contact)
Location: Lakeville

Hot Fusion Yoga Training Ignites Your Inner Fire

Why Hot Fusion Yoga?

Add heat to your practice and tap into renewed vitality, deeper focus, and enhanced flexibility. Sweat, breath, and steady asana foundations combine to unlock your life force—physically and spiritually.

 
hot-fusion-yoga-teacher-training

The Essence of Hot Fusion Yoga

  • 26 classic hot-yoga poses linked by continuous, powerful flow

  • Slow, steady rhythm syncing breath and movement

  • Heat-assisted stretching that challenges the mind and deepens transformation

  • Shoulder- and wrist-friendly sequencing for sustained strength

 

Who Should Attend

  • Certified RYT-200 teachers seeking to earn Yoga Alliance CEUs and lead hot fusion classes

  • Dedicated yoga students wanting to deepen their personal hot fusion practice

 

I've really enjoyed taking my practice to a much deeper level. I think the teachers are knowledgeable and capable. I enjoy having the opportunity to learn and grow with people from different backgrounds and experiences, but who have a love of yoga in common.
- Graduate

 
hot-fusion-yoga-minnesota-twin-cities

Our Intensive Training Approach

In one immersive weekend, you’ll learn through:

  • Multiple guided practices that embody anatomy and philosophy

  • Live demonstrations and lectures to reinforce key principles

  • Active cueing techniques for clear, dynamic teaching

  • Hands-on teaching labs in small groups and full-class settings

Ready to Ignite Your Practice?

Join Green Lotus to master hot fusion yoga and transform your teaching—and yourself.

Hot Fusion Yoga Training Faculty

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

Required Books and Materials

  • Hot Yoga by Marilyn Barnett

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

Optional but Recommended:

  • Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class by Bikram Choudhury

  • DVD from Paul Grilley: Anatomy for Yoga

Schedule:

Hot Fusion Training is held at our Lakeville center. Hours are as follows:   

  • Friday: 6 - 9 p.m.

  • Saturday: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

  • Sunday: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

 

Fee:  $400

Green Lotus Alumni receive a 10% discount.

Because our training sessions tend to develop a wait list, refunds will be made to your personal Green Lotus account with less than two-weeks notice.  Cancellations made with less than 72 hours notice will not receive a refund.