Meditation Leaders

Dennis Kelly

Dennis Kelly

As the founder of "Meditation Around Town" and "Yoga in the Park" Dennis enjoys bringing people in the community together to celebrate life.

As a Grandfather of 9 and Father of 3 he appreciates all ages and the special gifts and talents everyone brings to the table.

What brings him JOY is people, travel, adventure, energy work, sharing, cars, tennis, swimming, laughter and love.

Mary McCarthy

Mary McCarthy

Mary McCarthy is a leader in the wellness industry, teaching employees, students, and older adults how to feel good at any age in mind, body, and spirit. Her degrees and certifications as an MPH & E-500 RYT ground her in science while her personal practice offers insight that is intuitively taught from her heart. Mary currently teaches yoga classes, leads workshops and retreats, offers inspirational keynote addresses, writes a monthly blog, and produces an educational podcast. Mary’s contagious smile and laughter fill the room as she shares from her heart and invites you into the journey to your best self, living a life of Resilience and Grace. Learn more at www.mary-mccarthy.com

Judy Olson

Judy Olson

Artist/healer/author Judy Olson uses music and sound and healing arts bring sacred energy into the world. She is a Reiki Master also trained in Healing Touch, Quantum Touch, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT). She leads drumming circles, augmented with Native American flute music, intended for celebration and for healing. She leads meditation groups and writes personalized meditations.

Ann Flood

Ann Flood

Training to be a mindfulness and meditation teacher through MMTCP (mindfulness and meditation teacher training program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield). Psychotherapist at Ann Flood mindful mental Health.

Haley Niichel

Haley Niichel

Haley Niichel is a Certified Spiritual Coach and 500hr RYT specializing in Vedic astrology, meditation, breathwork and kundalini kriya techniques. She has been a practitioner of yoga for almost 8 years and a dedicated meditation practitioner for almost 4. In 2019, Haley quit drinking alcohol, quit her conventional corporate job, and traveled to India for a life-changing yoga training. Since then, she has been sharing practices and techniques in many different settings including meditation initiations, Vedic astrology readings, breathwork + kriya journeys, ecstatic dance and spiritual coaching. She is rooted in authenticity, sharing ancient wisdom and practices in a modern way, in unique settings, and enjoys co-creating with other facilitators. In her free time, she loves hiking, traveling and spending time with her 13-year old.

Deb Jennings

Deb Jennings

Deb Jennings has studied and played music since age five. She plays piano, organ, keyboards, Native American flutes, percussion instruments, crystal and alchemy and Himalayan singing bowls and bells, gongs, tuning forks, and metallophone. She has studied Sound Healing with Jonathon Goldman, Wayne Perry and Buddhist monks in Tibet, China and India. She has studied toning and chanting with several different teachers, and in several traditions (Buddhist, Hindu, Sufi, Native American, Christian). She has studied gongs and taken master classes with Dr. Mitch Nur, Michele Michener, Mike Tamburo, Sheila Whittaker, Michael Bettine, and Thomas Orr Anderson. She served in Unity of Omaha, Nebraska and then Unity Center of Des Moines, Iowa's Music Departments for many years and has held weekly sound meditations at Unity Center of Des Moines since 2012. She offers sound meditations, teaches workshops and classes, offers private and group sound healing sessions, offers support groups, plays for yoga sessions, church services, celebration of life services, weddings, baby blessings, and offers home energy clearings and home and business blessing ceremonies.

Bethany Grabe

Bethany Grabe

Bethany combines yoga postures, breath work, and mindfulness into a complete package for therapeutic classes. She first started practicing yoga to help alleviate the side effects of stress and anxiety. The journey has brought her to share those same healing experiences as a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher to those who would like to live a more enjoyable life and have better general wellness. Bethany leads her mixed-level community classes with a goal of others experiencing the same benefits of yoga on the mind, body, and spirit.

Allison Peet

Allison Peet

Allison Peet is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Instructor trained at UMass Center for Mindfulness, founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD and the Mindfulness Center at Brown University. She is trained through Mindful Schools and is a certified Buteyko Breathing Method coach and registered yoga instructor (RYT200). She’s taught since 2015 and hundreds have graduated from her MBSR program. Based on a pre and post self-evaluation, 84% of grads lowered their perceived stress, and reduced stress levels an average of 35%. The cultivation of mindfulness transformed her relationship with stress and anxiety which motivated her to start her own business in 2015, From Within Wellness, to benefit others.

Jacqueline Mitchell Hood

Jacqueline Mitchell Hood

Jacqueline Mitchellhood has been practicing yoga for over 30 years. Yoga has proven to be a journey of self understanding and compassion for Jacqueline and she is committed to helping others find a deeper connection with themselves.

Jacqueline received her RYT 200hr through Sandy Eimers at Balanced Breath School of Yoga in 2018 and is continuing her education in Trauma informed Yoga Therapy with Sundara School of Yoga Therapy. She teaches both group and private yoga in her hometown of Fort Dodge Iowa.

Brette Scott

Brette Scott

I wear a few hats — student, teacher, mother, wife and yoga studio owner (Shakti Yoga, Des Moines). Yoga has been a large part of my life for the better part of two decades. I love practicing and I love teaching. As my career and interests have evolved, I am interested in practices that bring me to a deeper sense of self and my relationship to all that is.

Sandy Eimers

Sandy Eimers

Sandy Eimers is a pharmacist (RPh), trauma informed yoga therapist (C-IAYT), and yoga studio owner who understands the importance of proactive education and practice to maintain whole health. Her work is rooted in both Western and Eastern healing practices and focuses on building resilience through mindful movement, conscious breathing, and meditation.

Ofelia Mohr

Ofelia Mohr

Esoteric Tantra Yoga and Meditation Teacher. Health Coach. Practicing yoga, Tantra and meditation since 1990.

Tracey Kelley

Tracey Kelley

Tracey L. Kelley shares stories, teaches yoga, and helps people listen. Her award-winning writing appears in a variety of forms, including essay, short story, online, magazine, broadcast, and podcast. She's the author of the 2018 release, one moment of a single day: essays with photographer Lynne A. Kasey; a developmental editor for other people's projects; and a facilitator of interpersonal communication workshops. Learn more at traceylkelley.com.