101 W. 5th Street
Northfield, MN 55057
info@heartworkyoga.com
phone: 507-645-8290

Amy Etzell has been practicing yoga for 14 years. She came to yoga through the fitness and wellness field finding that adding yoga to her life decreased her injuries, built her strength and calmed her down. Amy is an E-RYT (experienced registered yoga teacher) at the 200 hour level through Yoga Alliance.  Amy teaches vinyasa yoga, power yoga, gentle yoga, chair yoga, and yin yoga. She finds that each style has such benefits to the mind and body of each student.

Amy is also the owner/director of HeartWork Studio. She is also the director of HeartWork Yoga Teacher Training School. When asked about the school she says, "Our staff of highly qualified yoga teachers, plus the amazing outside resources that we bring in make our school so fantastic." 

She loves teaching yoga because of its total life transformational qualities. Watching students find their inner strength and peace is what Amy enjoys seeing the most in yoga classes. She is also a personal trainer and trains clients in HeartWork Studios private fitness studio. The balance of 
fitness and yoga are a fantastic piece in her life! 

Amy has 4 children ranging in age from 12-18. She and her husband are active members of the Northfield community volunteering on many committees and organizations. She enjoys running, reading, and decorating.

Kris Layman has been a registered yoga teacher since 2001. Kris is a graduate of Devanadi's 500 hour Advanced Yoga Teacher training in the ParaYoga inspired tradition. She has had the opportunity to take trainings with Seane Corn, Rodney Yee, Gary Kraftsow, and many other wonderful instructors which have aided in expanding her knowledge of yoga. She received her massage therapy certification in 1997 at Cottonwood School of Massage. She also taught massage at Full Circle School of Massage in Colorado. She has received training in Thai Yoga Bodywork - which combines yoga and massage. Because of her extensive training background, Kris is able to take that knowledge to personalize a student's practice to suit their specific needs. Kris also enjoys spending time with her son; embracing the 'silliness', reading, hiking, camping, travel, and is very grateful for the teachers along her path.

Kris says, "I started down the path of complementary therapies after taking a meditation/relaxation class in college where we were able to use a Biofeedback machine - and see the actual affect of our breathing, and relaxation in relation to our body's response." "It's amazing how yoga can benefit anyone at any age. A person can start their practice, from kids yoga to teens, to seniors. Yoga is a way for us to move our bodies, freeing up from either emotional or physical tension, and come back to a place of peace; stillness. Remembering that feeling within can help transform our way of looking at the world and at ourselves and begin to heal from the inside out. Take what we experience during our yoga practice into our daily life, take a step-back from the chaos in life, pause, remember the breath, breathe, and be still and enjoy what is - in that very moment."

Kris offers yoga one-on-one sessions and Thai Yoga Bodywork appointments. She also is one of the instructors of HeartWork Yoga Teacher Training School. E-RYT 200, RYT 500.
Daisy Christopherson is a physical therapist and a Registered Yoga teacher at the 200 hour level through Yoga Alliance. She received her yoga training at SunMoon Studio in Mankato, MN. Additional training on the integration of physical therapy and yoga with Matt Sanford and Marla Bookhout. Daisy instructs beginning, vinyasa, and power yoga.  "I started practicing yoga regularly 6 years ago, after a trip to Thailand. I saw the way that the Thai people did not get worried about little things as we do in America, and how they were happy with much less. I wanted to preserve a piece of this life in my own, and the yoga I had learned on the beach there from another traveler seemed the perfect avenue.  Before I found yoga, my exercise was mostly intense and aerobic. As a physical therapist, I realized that I was developing muscle imbalances, but, like most people, I didn't like stretching. Yoga, of course, has helped with my flexibility, but has also provided countless other benefits, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It brings peace to my analytical mind and deeper meaning to my daily activities and relationships. I am able to relax in the happiness of the present moment and, through teaching, share this with others."  Besides yoga, Daisy enjoys trail running, camping with her family and teaching her daughter Bella Rain about the world.









Alice Highman has been practicing yoga for 37 years. She is a registered yoga teacher at the 200 hour level through Yoga Alliance. Alice teaches vinyasa yoga. She is known by her students to continually challenge them to become stronger and more mindful, always bringing new poses and breath work to her class. Alice says “Yoga is the best way I know to stay feeling young. It makes me feel strong and flexible. Through yoga I’ve learned the power of meditation, and the miracle that the human body is. As an instructor I really enjoy all the different, wonderful people that come to class." Alice is an avid gardener. She enjoys quilting, reading, grand kids, pets, and hiking in parks and woods.
Elizabeth Child has trained in several styles of yoga including Vinyasa, Anusara and Viniyoga. Elizabeth is a registered yoga teacher at the 200 hour level through Yoga Alliance. She has an additional 200 hour certification with Maggie Kessel of Riverbend Yoga in St. Paul, which she completed in 2008. She has also taken Anusara, Immersion I and intensive workshops from John Friend, Baron Baptiste, Patricia Walden, Judith Hanson Lasater and Doug Keller. Elizabeth says “For me, the physical practice of yoga is separated from other fitness exercise by the focus on breath. The attention to breath puts me in the moment while making me feel both awake and relaxed. It creates an awareness of my body that allows me to work carefully, in alignment, to heal and not stress my body- or my mind. Ideally, yoga is more than a way to get fit. It is a way of living life. Recently I’ve been studying Patangali’s sutras, chanting, pranyama and breathwork as ways to affect my mind, my mood and my energy. The sutras say yoga is a method to focus the mind so you can direct your life toward what you want. I’m finding the broad complement of yoga techniques taken together create a powerful, holistic practice.” Elizabeth owns a marketing communications business for educational institutions and other mission-driven organizations. She enjoys nature walks, golf, reading fiction and poetry, hanging out with her husband and cat, and intimate talks and playtime with friends. She likes having the kids to dinner when they are home, and spending time in the azure blue waters of the Caribbean whenever possible.
Linda Schneewind started yoga 5 years ago through HeartWork Studio. She began practicing yoga weekly and quickly started practicing yoga everyday. Linda says "Yoga absolutely changed my life and the way I navigate through it every day. It transformed the way I feel about and treat my body as well as made me realize the importance of a peaceful mind. We can all benefit in some way from a yoga practice, whether it be vigorous or gentle, an hour each day or ten minutes…it has the capability of enriching your life and your relationships with others as well as yourself. Linda received her yoga teacher training from the HeartWork Yoga Teacher Training School. She teaches vinyasa yoga, beginning yoga, yin yoga, and relaxation yoga. Outside of yoga, Linda enjoys biking, reading, live music, and knitting.
Shawnee Langworthy has been taking yoga classes at HeartWork Studio since 2007. Yoga quickly became a regular and joyous part of her Northfield existence. The physical strength and mental grounding she experienced through yoga led her to participate in HeartWork's first teacher training which she completed in 2009. Shawnee loves connecting with the community at the studio and teaches a variety of styles; Power Yoga, Advanced Beginning and Relaxation. In her spare time she makes custom stained glass with her husband and can often be found in the kitchen cooking something up to share with friends.
Stephanie Carlson has been teaching yoga since 2009. She completed her yoga certification through HeartWork Yoga Teacher Training School. She is known at HeartWork as the teacher who "gives the best head massages in Savasana". She enjoys teaching and helping run her family's business. She and her family live in Northfield.
Cassie Schwamb completed the HeartWork Yoga Teacher Training Program in 2009, and has been enjoying teaching prenatal yoga ever since. Cassie loves being able to share the many benefits of yoga and to provide the space for mothers to nurture themselves and their babies. Cassie lives in Northfield with her husband and two small children. She enjoys sewing, gardening, and spending time with family.
David Runkle first came to yoga while teaching high school math in North Carolina. His practice quickly evolved from a welcome relaxation after a stressful day at work to a vigorous workout that began to transform his body. After moving to Northfield and completing the Teacher Training program at HeartWork, he began to learn how yoga could transform his mind and spirit as well. David teaches vinyasa yoga (including slow flow and power classes) and yin yoga. Outside of yoga, he enjoys cooking, reading, math, and British period dramas.
Mary Werner picked up a magazine and was first introduced to yoga as a teen. In 1995 after a car accident she began a daily practice to alleviate back pain. In 2002 she became certified to teach Kundalini Yoga, training with Yogi Bhajan (200 hours) and will complete the 500 hour training in spring 2011. In addition she has studied with Matthew Sanford, Judith Hanson Lasater, Cyndi Lee and others. She is currently in the HeartWork Yoga Training program. In 2006 she spent a month at an ashram in India in a program on the Yoga of Sound facilitated by Russill Paul. She is certified Level One Sat Nam Rasayan and Reiki.  She loves the openess yoga brings to my body and mind through postures, breath and meditation. The flow of energy is vital to well being. One of my greatest joys is for students to experience this in a class.   She enjoys traveling with or without her husband, 3 adult children, 4 grandchildren, especially where there are mountains, water, cathedrals or museums. And it's always a just little better with chocolate and laughter.
Amy Gage came to the practice and teaching of yoga through a lifelong interest in fitness. She began teaching step aerobics in Northfield in the early '90s as a positive transition into midlife and moved on to become certified in BodyPump. A bicycling enthusiast who took up running at age 46, Amy began teaching "Fitness Stretch" classes to runners and gradually developed an interest in yoga practice herself. She earned a 100-hour teaching certificate from SunMoon Yoga in Mankato, MN in 2006 and completed her 200-hour teacher training at HeartWork in May 2011. Amy likes to inspire people of all ages to discover the joy of movement and particularly encourages women to learn to love, accept and care for their bodies. She and her husband, David Studer, have two athletic sons: Sam Studer, a student at Hamline University, and Nate Studer, a student at Northfield High. A former journalist, Amy is director of marketing and communications at St. Catherine University in St. Paul and has come to appreciate yoga as a discipline that helps her to slow down, stay in the moment and practice gratitude.
Mary Carlson is an adult and geriatric nurse practitioner who began teaching yoga in 2010. She is interested in the anatomy and physiology of yoga, as well as techniques of releasing fascia and trigger points through rolling and yoga.
© 2012 HeartWork Studio
Peggy Hanson began yoga in 1999 on a whim, as an opportunity to take a community education class with her high school daughter.  She continued taking classes at HeartWork Studio and found she loved everything about it.  She loves practicing the asanas/poses and the reflective side of yoga as in the yamas and niyamas.  She loves how yoga is for everyone of any age.  Yoga helped Peggy heal from her breast cancer, her sister's death and everyday stresses.  She received her 200-hour teacher certification through HeartWork.  Peggy is excited to be teaching teenage yoga as she has a passion for young people.  Peggy grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota and lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan for twelve years.  Peggy is certified in Feng Shui and afternoon tea etiquette.  Her hobbies include gardening, reading, sewing, cooking, baking and decorating.
Katie Felland is a registered yoga teacher through Yoga Alliance at the 200 hour level and received her training at HeartWork.  She came to yoga after many years of rigorous cardio workouts and training including running in several marathons.  She loves how yoga has made her physically stronger, more flexible and less prone to injury which allows her to do her other job - farming.  Most importantly, though, yoga has given her a sense of calmness and peace that she never had before.  Katie enjoys teaching a vinyasa flow style of yoga because it allows one to find their own "perfect pose" while mindfully moving with their breath.  Katie has a BS degree in Physical Therapy but for the past 13 years has raised a husband and 3 children, 4 dogs, hundreds of chickens, some goats, a few cats and a pony.  She and her husband and kids run a small organic farm north of Owatonna.  She enjoys reading, knitting, running, spending time at the lake and is a cowgirl wannabe!
Katie Milbrett has been practicing yoga since 1998. She says, "I am always grateful for the opportunity to teach yoga and share its calming and restorative effects. What balm for a stressed mind and tense, stiff body! I am continually amazed at the healing powers of yoga, and I love to see us all benefiting from it." Katie teaches Beginning Yoga, Chair and Relaxation Yoga, and is currently taking the HeartWork Teacher Training program.