Meet the Healing Elements and Wellness Team

Madeline Harpell

Front Desk Lead / Photographer
I am dedicated to a life of healing and authentic connection. There is not much that I love more than quality time spent with myself and the people I am close with. The foundation of my wellness journey was laid through a spiritual upbringing, and developed deeply through classes on meditation and wellness in college. Through this, I now strive to live most alive — tapping into the spirit for my most aware, honest and loving being.

As someone who struggles with mental health, daily practices of wellness care are very important in supporting my experiences of living — living mindfully invites me into my present moment life. Being outside, whatever the weather, is something that makes me feel most alive. Because of the support Earth provides us, I am passionate about sustainability and protecting the planet. I am drawn to the spiritual sources that we have access to on Earth like crystals, oils, herbs, energy work, readers and healers, and feel called to swim in this ocean of knowledge that the spiritual community provides. As an interdisciplinary artist, my art-making practices are focused in photography, fashion, drawing, writing, and movement. I am overjoyed to be part of this strong community, to continually be supported and to support in this connected healing journey we are all on.

Alexandra Strong

Massage Therapist/Yoga Instructor

Alexandra Strong is a Massage Therapist, Yoga Teacher, Level II Reiki Practitioner, Doula, and Photographer. Her approach to all of her passions is intentional and authentic. Her deepest joy and purpose is to serve intuitively and creatively in a multitude of ways.

Alexandra received a 780 Hour Massage Therapy Certificate from Saint Paul College and has been practicing professionally for the past 4 years. Her bodywork style consists of a blend of Swedish, Deep Tissue, Trigger Point and Reiki/energetic techniques. She uses all of her senses to listen to your body and intuitively chooses the flow and depth that she feels your body is asking for. 

As a bodyworker, Alexandra honors her role as a facilitator in your healing process and trusts in your body’s intelligent and innate ability to heal itself. None of her sessions are the same as she is constantly adapting to the information she is receiving and sessions are always customized to meet your needs. Alexandra does not personally align with the “no pain, no gain” philosophy for her practice; she believes that pain is often a warning signal and that there are gentler and more effective approaches to encourage healing! The energy of Alexandra’s massage style can be described as intentional, slow flowing, restorative, and nurturing. Her slow-flow approach offers your body the opportunity to settle deeper into relaxation so that you can take a break from daily patterns of tension and stress to focus on repairing and healing.

Through bodywork and yoga, Alexandra aims to create a safe and supportive space for students and clients to establish a deeper connection with their body, mind, and spirit through mindful movement, breath, and healing touch.

Although her professional passions are like a hobby for her, she also enjoys spending time with her 12 year old son and boston terrier mix pup. She loves being in nature, traveling, singing and listening to music, and connecting with like-minded souls. 

Availability: Sundays 11:00am – 4:30pm

Ray Neil

Massage Therapist
Ray is from North Carolina and has a passion for helping people. As a graduate of CenterPoint Massage & Shiatsu Therapy School & Clinic, Ray is specially trained in therapeutic deep tissue massage, relaxation, and Thai massage. She also has training in birth doula work and prenatal massage. Ray has an intuitive touch, establishing a unique session for each person. She has learned the art of listening to the muscle tissue, helping to relieve pain and create overall balance in both body and mind. Ray believes in bodywork for all people because everyone deserves the space for healing and to feel good! Outside of bodywork, Ray enjoys being outdoors, exploring the Twin Cities she now calls home, and playing with her two cats Nini and Charlie.

Modalities: Swedish/Relaxation, Deep Tissue/Trigger Point, Integrative, Prenatal, Thai Infused, Hot Stone

Availability: Saturdays 12-5pm

Maria Tordoff

Massage Therapist
Maria is a healer who practices massage therapy to help decrease pain in soft tissue, build the client’s body awareness, and provide time for a client to relax and find respite from the busy day to day. Maria applies her knowledge of being a dancer and dance teacher to massage, where she views the whole body as a system rather than a collection of parts. She melts through soft tissue layer by layer in order to bring the body back to a healthier state with less tension and more ease of function. Maria practices Relaxation, Trigger Point Therapy, Cupping, Oncology Massage, and Reiki and can integrate the modalities in order to specialize with her client’s needs.

Maria holds her A.A.S in massage therapy from Northwestern Health Sciences and a BFA in modern dance and composition from UW Milwaukee.

When not doing bodywork, Maria enjoys reading all kinds of genres and journaling especially if given the chance to write outside.

Modalities: Swedish/Relaxation, Integrative, Trigger Point Therapy, Cupping, Oncology, Reiki

Availability: Friday 11:30am-5:30pm & Saturday 11am-5pm

Bela Martinez

Massage Therapist

Bela is a Licensed Massage Therapist and received her formal massage training at The Aveda Institute.

With over ten years of experience, Bela is skilled in many types of massage including hot stone, deep tissue/trigger point, therapeutic/relaxation, sports, aromatherapy, pregnancy, lymph, energy work, and spiritual unwinding massage.

As an emotional trauma expert, Bela’s calming spirit will guide you in your journey of healing while working with you to help you identify and release your stored trauma.  Her confident touch, wisdom and knowledge will aid to expel the negative energy throughout your mind, body, and soul. 

The relief and smile on her client’s face after they receive her healing touch gives her the drive and ambition to keep growing on her own spiritual journey.

Also, having played sports at a competitive level for over 25 years, Bela has had her fair share of injuries. Both her injuries and experience helping others heal through massage have aided in her knowledge and ability to help others improve their quality of life, and have also honed her talents in sports, deep tissue/trigger point, and hot stone massage

Modalities: Hot Stone, Deep tissue/Trigger point, Swedish/relaxation, Sports, Aromatherapy, Prenatal, Lymph, Energy work, and Spiritual Unwinding massage.

Availability: Sunday 11:00am -5:30pm

Jaime DeSmit

Yoga Instructor
Yoga and meditation have become a home base for me, a place of recalibration, of coming into myself. I invite you to experience this connection in the studio with me. I celebrate all bodies and encourage you to do what feels right for you today. I am trained in Vinyasa and have practiced many styles over 15 years and bring those into my classes.

I cultivate a deep connection to the earth through folk herbalism, organic farming and stints of living off-grid. I also practice Reiki here in the Twin Cities, create jewelry from mostly recycled materials and read a lot of psychology.

Classes: Vinyasa, Restorative Flow, Midday Move, Midday Meditate

Marko Dewhurst

Yoga Instructor
Marko Dewhurst is a 200-hour trained Power Vinyasa teacher.  His yoga journey started when he was in elementary school and followed him all the way through his time at Hamline University. After taking on a more devout practice in college, he found a large piece of himself.  Yoga has taught him and continues to teach him that breath is the strongest life force–on and off the mat. Marko’s yoga teaching philosophy is based in showing love and gentleness towards one’s self.  Most importantly, instilling that this practice will help others transform into the greatest, strongest, most powerful versions of themselves–just like it continues to do for him.

Classes: Vinyasa

Marina Povlitzki

Yoga Instructor
Marina first came to yoga in 2006, needing a low impact workout after a knee injury. It didn’t take long to discover that a yoga practice is so much more than just a “workout”. She was drawn to the feelings of calm and peacefulness that practicing yoga brought, as well as the vast amount information to learn about the history of yoga and it’s different traditions.

Marina loves being a student, and has completed two 200-hour trainings through CorePower in Hot Yoga and Vinyasa styles, and has been teaching yoga since 2011. She completed prenatal yoga and barre teacher trainings through Blooma, and the 340-hour program through Devanadi. Marina continues to study yoga and functional movement under Master Trainer Alexandria Crow.  She also enjoys studying energetics and herbal medicine.

Classes: Yoga Barre Bootcamp, Vinyasa

Susan Helmbrecht

Yoga Instructor
Susan has been practicing yoga for 15 years and received teacher certification in 2013. Yoga has been instrumental in her resolving her back pain and racing mind. Her classes focus on awareness of present moment, relaxation, self-acceptance and reduction of pain. Susan is a nature and animal lover and uses her experience to send calm energy to homeless animals. She honors all teachers who came before her and looks forward to sharing her knowledge.

Classes: Gentle Flow

Jessica Jacovitch

Yoga Instructor
Jessica has been a practitioner of yoga and meditation for the past 10 years, and a movement enthusiast all her life. Her first memories of yoga include following along to a VHS tape during childhood. Many years later, she returned to the practice out of curiosity for a new form of movement, which soon exposed an underlying desire for deeper connection. Over the years, she has come to know the transformative power of yoga in uncovering our innate resources of love & compassion. She completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2016 at Big River Yoga in Minneapolis, and has since completed additional training in yin yoga, trauma sensitive yoga, thai adjustments, and somatic practices to support restorative postures.  Her teachings focus on cultivating curiosity and creativity, and are heavily influenced by her training as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. Jessica welcomes everyone to the yoga mat and aims to provide asana teachings which are accessible to all bodies and walks of life.

Classes: Alignment Flow, Yin Yoga

Erin Jorich

Yoga Instructor

Erin Jorich completed her first 200-Hour Teacher Training in 2009 after studying Dance and Sociology at the University of Minnesota. The practice of yoga created space for her to investigate physical movement without the pressure of a performance or
evaluation. With time Erin came to realize the deeper benefits of the practice and found it to be a necessary tool to manage anxiety and stress. With over a decade of teaching experience and 7000+ teaching hours, Erin has had a lot of time to experiment and develop her voice as a yoga teacher. In 2017 she completed her 500-Hour Teacher Training with Jason Crandell in San Francisco, CA. Her classes are strong in alignment and anatomy while emphasizing personal investigation and self compassion. She aims to hold space for all students who are open to what the practice of yoga has to offer.

When she’s not on her mat or in a yoga studio Erin can be found training for triathlons, reading, exploring the outdoors, baking, and volunteering with her pup, Wallace, who provides social-emotional support to vulnerable youth around the Twin Cities.

Classes: Vinyasa

Vaughn Powell

Yoga Instructor
Vaughn has been practicing yoga for years, but officially became enamored when she realized that her daily practice enhanced her self-awareness and ability to think clearly. She is interested in the connection between mind and body and how we can use the breath to strengthen parts of the brain that make us mindful and present in our physical form.

Vaughn believes that when you move with your breath, you are increasing your understanding of how your body responds to different stimuli. A regular yoga practice allows you to notice what is happening in your body and gain the tools you need to regulate those sensations. A study of and fascination with anatomy has helped her intelligently instruct and assist students as they practice as well as reinforce the bridge between mind and body awareness.

Vaughn’s personal practice is rooted in the traditional Ashtanga system where she has immersed herself in the power of the breath, body movement and detoxification within a set sequence of asanas (postures). Ashtanga ensures that she remains a student and continues to notice how her practice influences her teaching style and everyday life.

Classes: Vinyasa, Flow

Rebecca Curland

Yoga Instructor

Influenced by Classical yoga and Bhakti traditions, Rebecca guides heart-centered vinyasa classes with specific attention to alignment and subtle body awareness. Her classes infuse skillful sequencing and intelligent cueing with themes that illuminate and honor the core of the yoga teachings. 

Rebecca began studying yoga in 2008 and completed her initial 200-hour teacher training in 2011. Rebecca has continued her studies locally through the Himalayan Yoga Tradition and has traveled to study with a variety of master teachers including Seane Corn, Shiva Rea and Saul David Raye. She has made multiple pilgrimages to India to honor and experience the root culture and holy sites from which the practice of yoga has evolved. Rebecca draws on her experiences to channel authentic teachings while cultivating sacred space in which students are encouraged to access Self through the architecture of the postures and technology of the breath.

Classes: Vinyasa