Meet Your Yoga Fest Family

Jen Lorenz is a certified yoga teacher and guide. She has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and teaching for 13 years. With a diverse practice of Bikram, Ashtanaga and Vinyasa, Jen has created a signature style of teaching. She currently teaches power vinyasa, breathwork and meditation at The Ｓ Ｐ Ʌ Ｃ ＥStudios located in Sacramento. She has led various workshops, trainings and retreats for new and advanced practitioners. Jen will bring a dynamic flow that will inspire you to reach beyond your perceived edges with masterful curation of music and breath.  

My yoga journey began in college, during a time of deep transition and anxiety. As a lifelong athlete studying Behavioral Neuroscience, I struggled to find grounding—until I walked into a tiny San Diego yoga studio and everything changed. Yoga became my daily ritual: a practice that helped me breathe, move, and come home to myself.

After college, I returned to Stockton, where I was born and raised, and joined a small studio run by my dear friend and mentor, Alyssa Vaccarezza. Her guidance inspired me to become a 200-hour RYT, a cycle coach, a director, and now, the proud owner of Shine. Yoga is the heartbeat of my life—cultivating a community grounded in love, healing, and shared growth. I’m so grateful to be here and to share this practice with all of you. Love you, mean it! 

Ciara is a yoga and movement teacher whose classes blend functional strength, mindful mobility, and intelligent sequencing to help students feel both grounded and empowered in their bodies. Drawing from yoga, calisthenics, and mobility training, she creates practices that build sustainable strength, support healthy backbending and inversions, and encourage playful exploration.  Her teaching emphasizes intelligent progressions, body awareness, and the balance between effort and ease. Ciara is passionate about helping students build confidence, resilience, and connection through movement—so they leave class feeling stronger, more open, and at home in their bodies.

Deb has been a dedicated yoga studio owner of Now and Zen Yoga Studio since 2004, creating a space rooted in compassion, learning, and inclusivity. She is an E-500 RYT, a Certified Yoga Therapist, and a Certified Ayurveda Yoga Teacher who continues to deepen her knowledge through ongoing study with the Mohan family of Svastha Yoga and Ayurveda.  Deb’s teaching is grounded in the belief that yoga should be accessible to every body. Her classes welcome students of all ages, abilities, and body types, with thoughtful adaptations that honor individual needs. She firmly believes that poses should be adapted to meet the student — not the other way around. From the very beginning, her vision for the studio has been to cultivate a warm, supportive environment where everyone feels seen, respected, and welcome.  When she’s not teaching, Deb enjoys spending time with her husband, Bill, and cherishing moments with her children and grandsons.

I like most of us accidentally found yoga. I was 23 and playing basketball when our coach introduced us to the practice on a conditioning day. I was hooked immediately at that was in 2009, by 2015 I was assisting in a mysore room in Napa at Ekam Yoga and then did my first YTT with yoga tree in SF January 2016. 

 Tim Miller was my biggest influence in the Ashtanga world and I finished what would end up being his final primary series TT class in 2017. 

 Divorced the mysore method in late 2018 and began ultra running and studying kundalini with Jai Dev online with his LFA academy. 

 My classes today in March of 2025 are a true amalgamation of these various branches put together in a sensible way. Not about anything more than blossoming into our own realizations.

A Lodi native with a deep love for her community, Monica Martinez is a 500-hour E-RYT, meditation guide, and sound healing practitioner. She values the sense of loving-kindness shared in her hometown and is passionate about creating peaceful, heart-centered practices that bring people together. Through movement, breath, and the healing vibrations of sound, Monica invites you to soften, surrender, and rediscover the shanti that already resides within.

 500hr E-RYT | Meditation & Sound Healing Practitioner

My yoga journey began back in Miami in the early 2000s, taking my first class at a gym, and thinking “that was great, but there has to be more”.
After years of practicing off and on, I discovered Now and Zen Yoga Studio here in Lodi, and I found the “more” I was looking for in my practice. In 2019 I joined the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training to become a yoga instructor. Since then I have completed my 300 hour training, another 200 hour training, received a certificate specializing in Trauma Informed Yoga for Youth, and most recently spent ten days in India studying yoga philosophy under the Mohans.
My belief is that yoga is for everybody and for every BODY. A yoga student can be any size, color, shape, gender or age to practice. Yoga has the ability to connect us all.
E-RYT 200, RYT 500 Yoga Alliance

Victoria Popoff is a nonprofit founder, Pilates instructor, and community builder with over 25 years in the fitness and wellness industry. She built and led successful Pilates studios for more than a decade before shifting her focus toward philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, and community impact. Her non-profit, Pilates Brunch Club creates wellness events with purpose. Through Pilates, community gatherings, and shared meals, we raise funds to support local domestic violence survivors. Our events are designed to be joyful and welcoming while staying grounded in impact.

Victoria's work sits at the intersection of wellness, leadership, and social good. Victoria currently serves on the board of Healthy Alternatives Violent Environments (HAVEN), where she supports trauma-informed, survivor-centered work for individuals impacted by domestic violence, human trafficking, and crisis situations. This experience shapes how she approaches advocacy, community care, and ethical leadership.

Danielle started her fitness training journey in 2000. At the age of 13, she started teaching martial arts. By the age of 18, she was a certified instructor in Taekwondo. In 2014, she earned her first personal training certification through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). Soon after, she earned her first Group Fitness Certification through NASM & AFAA. She's earned a few other certifications from AFAA & Crunch Fitness (HIIT, Kickboxing, Pilates, Barre, & more). She has coached and instructed others in many modalities, but Pilates & Barre are her favorite. She retired from personal training in 2023, but still truly enjoys teaching group classes! Also, side note, she's an experienced stand-up comedian of over 13 years, so when you take one of her classes, expect an extra fun time!

Alex and Ashley Levy are the humans behind SOUND MIND. Based out of Sacramento, CA, they are bringing Sound Healing and Energy Work to the people. With extensive backgrounds in music and wellness, Alex and Ashley combine ancient healing modalities with modern sound technology to create transformative experiences that transport listeners into states of deep relaxation and renewal. Their carefully curated ceremonies use sound and vibration to address the mind, body, and spirit in an accessible, authentic way. SOUND MIND is their invitation to the community to discover the healing powers within.

My name is Sarah, and I’ve been practicing yoga for over 12 years. I’ve been teaching for four, and I will always be a student first. Movement is where I feel most alive. I’m drawn to heat, strong sequencing, and anything that shifts energy and creates real release.  Yoga has saved my life in more ways than I can count. Every day I practice, I show up kinder, softer, and easier to connect with. That’s why I became a teacher. The impact my teachers had on me changed everything, and I feel a responsibility to offer that same space to others. My intention in every class is to keep you grounded while raising your vibration. Whether that’s through heavy beats, hip hop–inspired rhythm, or challenging, intelligently layered flows, I want the energy to feel powerful and expansive.  Even when the work is strong and demanding, you won’t feel shut out or left behind. I believe yoga should be welcoming, not intimidating. I offer modifications, progressions, and adjustments so every body feels supported. You should never walk out of a class feeling like you didn’t belong there.  My goal is simple: to create a space where you can work hard, release fully, and leave feeling stronger, freer, and more connected to yourself.

I began practicing yoga in the early 1990s as my wife Deb Marweg’s first student. I completed the 200-hour teacher training at Now and Zen and later the Svastha Yoga Therapy program in 2014. I am a certified Yoga Therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists. I continue to study with the Mohan family in the United States and India and am honored to be part of their teachings. My approach emphasizes simplicity, breath awareness, and steadiness in body and mind, with a focus on helping students apply the ancient teachings of yoga in practical, meaningful ways to modern life. I enjoy teaching accessible, foundational classes and being part of the Now and Zen Teacher Training program. Through teaching yoga and coaching with APEX Coaching, I support physical and mental well-being while valuing time with family and friends and a life rooted in health, presence, and purpose. I am a long distance runner and weekend warrior athlete.