Teaching Team

Catherine Schmidt

Owner / Founder

Certifications
ERYT-500
RCYT
YACEP
Reiki Master Practitioner

Schedule
Monday: Essential & Vinyasa
Tuesday: Essential
Thursday: Essential
Friday: Core
Saturday: Vinyasa

Catherine has been practicing yoga since 2012 while she was working her way up the corporate ladder in the Human Resources field. After a decade in HR, and teaching yoga on the side, Catherine took the leap into entrepreneurship in 2018 when she opened Yoga Zen: a yoga studio for all ages in the heart of Caledonia. Catherine appreciates the balance, creativity, and fun that yoga brings to her life and she’s passionate about sharing the benefits of this ancient practice with those in the Yoga Zen community.

Catherine began teaching yoga in 2016 after completing a 200-hour Power Vinyasa yoga teacher training with Megan Rader Yoga in Grand Rapids. She’s further expanded her knowledge in a 300-hour teacher training program in 2019 at Peacelab Yoga with Melanie McQuown - a program focused on alignment-based yoga. Passionate about working with kids, she attended The Little Yoga House's Kids Yoga training in 2018 and has been teaching kids yoga since opening Yoga Zen. She also went on to receive her Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCYT) certification in 2022 after completing a 95 hour Children’s Yoga course through Yoga Ed., a program designed to encourage incorporating yoga into an educational setting.

Catherine is a Reiki Master Practitioner, receiving that certification in 2022, and she first became Reiki I & II attuned in 2020. She provides individual reiki sessions at Yoga Zen. She also leads group guided meditations and started to incorporate sound baths with a set of crystal singing bowls into her relaxation sessions in 2020.

Catherine continues to explore her own yoga and healing practice and remains dedicated to being a student first. Her yoga classes are a healthy mix of proper pose alignment, intuitive movement, fun and playfulness, physical work, and internal contemplation. She has lived in Caledonia since 2015 with her son, Connor. She enjoys spending time outdoors, biking or walking around different parks in the area, and trying new restaurants around Grand Rapids.

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Deanie Pettengill

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-500

Schedule
Monday & Wednesday: Adapted / Gentle

Lloydean Pettengill, known as Deanie to her friends and yoga community, has been practicing yoga since 2000. She was in her 40’s when she first came to yoga and felt the difference it made in her life immediately. She became passionate about yoga and received her 500 RYT certification from Beaumont School of Yoga Therapy in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Deanie draws inspiration from the Iyengar style of yoga, using props to focus on proper alignment. She has additional training in Yoga for PTSD for Veterans, Adaptive Yoga for Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis, and working with people over 50 on the issues that come with aging. She is fueled by her personal belief that yoga is a fountain of youth and has great possibility to help others. She continues to grow her knowledge by taking regular training programs and studying with instructors in the yoga therapy field.

Deanie enjoys traveling, gardening, horseback riding, family, and experiencing new things.

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Darcie Smith

Instructor

Certifications
RCYT
RYT-200

Schedule
Saturday: Essential

Darcie's love of yoga started in 2014. She loved and was pleasantly surprised by how yoga made her feel, physically and mentally. In the fall of 2017, the universe stepped in and led her right to Melanie McQuown, owner of PeaceLab Yoga Shala. This style of alignment based yoga and community that came with it was just what she had been longing for. Melanie McQuown has been a huge inspiration/mentor and influence in her yoga journey as well as Christina Sell, Gioconda Parker, and Diane Malaspina. She's a Registered Children's Yoga Teacher (RCYT) and has trained in children, teens, and trauma-informed yoga through Yoga Ed.

She loves to share that yoga is so much more than creating shapes, and enjoys teaching people just how they can use it to calm anxiety, manage emotions, and cultivate self-love. Darcie has a passion for alignment-based vinyasa but is also RAD certified in Myofascial release. Her classes are designed to empower you to listen to your body, be embodied in the community, laugh, and create a safe environment for any body type or constraint to practice in.

In her down time, Darcie feels the most joy being outside, eating tacos, being with family, listening to good music, and getting/giving hugs are never under appreciated either!

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Rachel Dahlgren

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-200
Reiki Master

Schedule
Tuesday: Reiki & Restore

Rachel came to yoga in 2011 after finishing college and entering the "real world". Coming from a dance background, she immediately fell in love with the movement and grace of the poses and appreciated the mindfulness and balance it brought to her life.

Rachel completed her 200-hour teacher training at Tula Yoga Studio in Chicago in 2018. In 2019, Rachel began her journey studying reiki and completed her Master level certification in February 2021. Rachel is passionate about helping others and is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW), currently working with clients doing mental health therapy. Rachel truly believes in the mind-body connection and the healing power of movement and yoga.

Rachel enjoys being able to share her love for yoga and reiki with others! Her classes have a gentle approach while cultivating strength and listening to one’s inner guidance and intuition.

Rachel loves the outdoors and you can usually find her outside with her family. She enjoys running, reading, playing ultimate frisbee, biking, walking, and going to the lake.

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Diane Omer

Instructor

Certifications
ERYT-500
RYT-500
YACEP

Schedule
Wednesday & Sunday: Vinyasa

Diane has been practicing yoga since 2005 and teaching since 2016. She is trained in Baptiste and Anusara based asana, completing her 300-hour teacher training program in 2018 at Peacelab Yoga with Melanie McQuown. Classes with Diane are heavy on instruction with plenty of flow and opportunities to try on big poses.

Inspired by people, she is interested in how we interact, exchange energy, and express emotion. She also has a deep love and respect for all things yoga which has changed her life in immeasurable ways. She believes in the power of an ever-evolving life—to be a lifelong learner, to never give up on your dreams, and mostly to travel the path your heart dictates.

Diane is an artist, yogi, and mother of 3 strong-willed, imaginative, and loving souls without whom she would be lost.

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Matt Jarrells

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-500
LPTA

Schedule
Wednesday: Vinyasa

Matt Jarrells is a graduate of Peace Lab Yoga Shala, under the mentorship of Melanie McQuown, ERYT-500, and Dharmanaut Yoga, with instruction from Michele Fife, ERYT-500. As a naturally hypermobile practitioner, Matt has experienced injury in practically every major joint of the body - lumbar spine, shoulder, hip, knee, even the big toe joint. These unfortunate occurrences led Matt to seek physical therapy for recovery, resulting in a journey that sparked a new career path. Discovering the natural crossover between yoga and PT practices, Matt returned to Baker College-Muskegon and earned an Associate’s Degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant in 2020. Since 2021, he has served as a PTA for Spectrum Health, working in one-on-one therapy sessions with patients of Blodgett and Butterworth Hospitals.

Enjoying the personal benefits that have come from strength training and yoga alignment practice, Matt has shifted his teaching focus to an emphasis on safety, stability, and strength, while encouraging students to preserve mobility throughout their entire lifetime. In addition to yoga practice, Matt has reclaimed a love for distance running, a practice that could only have continued through svadhyaya (deep study) of best practices for injury prevention.

Matt and his wife, Jessica Gladden, Ph.D., ERYT-200, provide freelance yoga instruction in the Grand Rapids area as owners of Two Trees Yoga, LLC. He has instructed as a staff member of Yoga Zen, Hello Yoga, Inspire Yoga Studio, and Mind, Body, Soul yoga studio. Instagram: @twotreesgr

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Kelly Shepherd

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-200

Schedule
Tuesday: Vinyasa

Kelly's relationship with the Yoga Zen started in 2019 when she began hosting pop-up fitness classes at the studio. While Kelly has been drawn to yoga for several years, she began practicing more frequently in 2020 when she wanted to add more flexibility and mobility movements into her routine. What she found was that yoga not only benefited her body, but more importantly brought a much needed sense of calmness and balance into her life.

Her curiosity and desire to have a deeper understanding of yoga, philosophy, and the Asanas lead her to YTT training at the Yoga Zen in 2023.

Kelly considers herself a rebel. She is an engaging and energetic teacher who loves moving the body in many different ways. She strives to create an inclusive and enriching experience in class that will benefit students both on and off of the mat.

When Kelly is not teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family, playing golf, pickleball, and relaxing with one of her three cats on her lap.

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Donna Evans

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-200

Schedule
Tuesday: Essential

Donna retired from owning Yoga Plus in 2018 after 12 years of building the yoga community in Caledonia. She is excited to be a part of Yoga Zen in her retirement!

Donna's passion for health and fitness has been in her life for many years; she has had her Ace Group Fitness certification since 1997. Before teaching yoga, she taught aerobics, kickboxing, spinning, Pilates, and Zumba. Donna has earned 4 levels of yoga training through YogaFit and has received specialized training in prenatal and senior yoga.

In Donna's classes her zest for life shines through and illuminates her students with motivation, gratitude, and their own enthusiasm for life!

In her retirement, Donna and her husband plan to do long periods of traveling. When not gone away on a trips, though, Donna will be back here teaching or practicing yoga next to her many friends, old and new.

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Sarah Holloway

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-200

Schedule
Thursday: Essential

With the encouragement of a close friend, Sarah started her yoga journey in 2017 as a way to manage the stress she was experiencing at the time. By the third class, she began to recognize the benefits of yoga beyond the physical asana (poses) and was hooked. Sarah continued practicing a variety of styles of yoga for the mindfulness benefits as well as a form of cross-training for triathlons.

To deepen her practice, Sarah completed 200-hour teacher training at Yoga Zen, which focused on Vinyasa-style yoga and provided an introduction to teaching many other styles of yoga. As Sarah went through training, she discovered her passion to share yoga with others through teaching. Sarah loves to learn about the body and the mind and continues to do so, even after the completion of teacher training. Whether you’re an experienced yogi or brand new, Sarah would love the opportunity to be part of your yoga journey. In her classes, you can expect both mindfulness and movement. Her classes offer options to help everyone meet their body and mind where they are.

All levels, all people, and all bodies are welcome! In her down time, Sarah enjoys exploring new places, running, cycling, swimming, and reading.

"To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now." - Thich Nhat Hanh

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Abbie Lafountaine

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-200

Schedule
Thursday: Power & Zen

Abbie has been practicing yoga since 2017 when she was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. After seeing firsthand how yoga could help her body feel better, she quickly made it a daily practice.

In 2023 she received her 200 hour RYT certificate from Yoga Zen and has been teaching weekly classes ever since. Abbie is passionate about sharing yoga with others and empowering everybody to be comfortable with who they are on and off the mat. She teachings a variety of classes, from beginner to power, but has a love for strength building vinyasa and power classes.

Abbie loves spending free time with her family, her fur baby, traveling, and curling up with a good book.

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Castle Longieliere

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-200

Schedule
Sunday: Essential

Castle has been practicing yoga for over 12 years now and is a lifelong movement enthusiast. She fell in love with yoga in 2011 during her very first class. And as she laid there in savasana, experiencing the quiet buzzing from an hour of movement and breath, she realized this was the first time she ever felt truly present and embodied. Despite having a background in dance, this feeling was entirely new— and one she wanted to not only pursue, but understand.

As the years passed and her practice grew, she saw a major internal transformation take place. This newfound shift is what led her to yoga teacher training in 2014. From her classes, Castle hopes to ignite a similar feeling of curiosity in anyone who is seeking a deeper connection to themselves. Her goal is for you to create a solid blueprint of calm within yourself— one you can access anytime you need to, on or off your mat.

In her spare time she enjoys making collages of herself sitting on mushrooms, dancing, and lifting heavy weights.

When Castle isn’t practicing yoga, you can find her eating an entire rotisserie chicken in her car or at home snuggling with her husband, dog and 3 cats.

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Alicia Ayars

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-200

Schedule
Wednesday: Vinyasa

Alicia began her yoga journey in 2020 using virtual platforms during COVID. Shortly after, in 2021, she found Yoga Zen. Regularly practicing yoga at the studio helped Alicia get into a routine of focusing her mind, boosting her spirit and building strength. Practicing yoga in a group setting became a true testament of self-care for Alicia.

After that, Alicia took the leap into teaching yoga in 2023 under the mentorship of Catherine and received her 200hr RYT certification after completing teacher training at Yoga Zen. Alicia teaches weekly classes around the area through community ed as well as at the studio. The mind, body connection in yoga is fascinating to Alicia and drives her to continue to grow her own practice while also teaching yoga to others.

Outside of the yoga studio, Alicia enjoys spending time with family, traveling, photography and scrapbooks. She also has a dynamic career in Human Resource.

"The moment in-between what you once were, and who you are becoming, is where the dance of life really takes place" – Barbara DeAngelis

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Nancy Wax

Instructor

Certifications
RYT-200

Schedule
Tuesday: Core

Nancy has been practicing yoga since 2009 and teaching since 2011. She has experienced firsthand how yoga is transformative, calming, connecting, and spiritual.

She's enjoyed continuing her education in various forms of fitness and holds over 8 different fitness certifications from Zumba to Spin and Senior Fitness. Nancy has also earned 3 levels of yoga training through YogaFit including yoga for seniors. Nancy is also passionate about teaching Pilates as well and often incorporates Pilates elements into her classes. She is comprehensively certified through Balanced Body in Pilates teaching. Her Pilates teaching journey began in 2003.

In addition, Nancy has taught several forms of dance including ballet, Jazz, and modern dance from 1987 to 2010.

Outside of teaching, Nancy loves her work as a wedding DJ in Grand Rapids.

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