The story of a career is often as long and complex as the story of a life, and Renee Groenemann’s is no exception.  Renee’s first foray into yoga and wellness occurred at the tender age of 4, though she wouldn’t recognize it till over 30 years later.  As a young child, she asked her mother how it was, exactly, that reindeer could fly.  The brilliant answer?  They really, really believe they can and they never let any other thought cross their mind. 

What a beautiful gift—the fervent practice of meditation (oh the hours spent lying in that bunk bed holding that thought!) and the firm belief in the power of self all wrapped up in one perfect challenge!

Truly, these are the moments that shape a life and a philosophy.  Since that time, Renee’s story, passions, and ongoing love of learning have intertwined in beautifully complex and unpredictable ways.  Once a chemical engineer in customer service and international R&D, Renee truly discovered herself as her life and career took shape:

• A stressed out engineer in a Fortune 50 company in an impoverished area of the country, Renee discovered the power of the mindbody connection, the power of food as medicine, and the need for more good in the world and trained to become a yoga teacher (1999), clinical counselor(2002), and yoga therapist (www.pryt.com, 2002).
  
  
• A young mother seeking natural labor and recovery from birth and infant-related traumas, Renee discovered the infinite power of the mind and its natural healing mechanisms as well as a deeply rooted mindbody orientation toward the trauma and grief process.  As a result, she ended up training in clinical hypnotherapy (2006), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR, 2011), and the body’s natural trauma recovery mechanisms (ongoing).
  
  
• A body needing powerful and ongoing healing from a fall down a flight of stairs, Renee gained a deeper appreciation for the many natural healing modalities out there and how each is a complementary route to the same capacity for healing inherent in the human body.  This led to joining forces with Pam Painter in founding Grace Tree (which they since sold), and the birthing of the vision for Grace Tree’s many holistic wellness programs (2010).
  
  
• A passionate professional + special needs mom, Renee found herself riding the emotional roller coaster that is the dynamic tension between world-changing healer and world-moving mom. Both could easily consume all of her, but she knew they were equally her calling in the world. She committed fully to figuring out how to maintain steadiness and calm (in a post-PTSD body) so that her child and clients received the best of her. There’s nothing like the dedication of a mother to make one “chase unicorns!” Renee decided there would be no more swinging wildly and shooting from the hip with each new demand in her life, leaving her own well-being as optional! Instead she created a fluid work situation within which to be more responsive to her son and a continuously mindful approach to self-care that helped her chase all the therapies and meetings for him, be present to all the emotions and traumas in home and at work, and actually become more effective at stress management than ever before in her life! At the same time, she was meeting many other inspiring women in the same situation–learning how to raise the next generation of (high need, yet) specially equipped superheroes while choosing to have their own identity and influence in the world. This led to founding Inner Eye Life Coaching, where she and her mother-in-law Jan Groenemann support world changing women as they rock all their roles with balance, boundaries and BEing.

The unifying belief in each of Renee’s endeavors is that determined 4 year-old’s belief in the power of self.  You truly are your own best healer.

Renee currently integrates these healing modalities by supporting people in their desire to lead a meaningful life by using counseling and life coaching techniques combined with yoga therapeutics and philosophy.

As a licensed counselor, she specializes in trauma and grief recovery using research-based mind-body therapeutic techniques like EMDR, hypnotherapy, and mindfulness.  Because of her orientation and understanding of how trauma expresses in the body, Renee is especially adept in facilitating processing and integration of birth traumas, losses, abuses, PTSD, anxiety, grief, chronic pain, and other life challenges.

As a yoga teacher and workshop facilitator, Renee specializes in making meditation and breathing techniques (pranayama) accessible to children and adults and can tailor practices for use with ADHD, anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and chronic pain.  Renee teaches workshops making the mind/body connection understandable to EVERYONE and applicable to daily life.  She also loves to throw in some workshops on her favorite personal passions:  green living, voluntary simplicity, and living a “hell yeah!” life.  All Renee’s workshops are presented with the same wit and simple, down-to-earth language that Renee brings to all of life.

Renee also works as a peak performance facilitator by combining mind-body connections with the use of techniques in EMDR and hypnotherapy.  By simply removing the “small t” traumas from the human psyche and shifting out of fight or flight, we are able to get out of our own way and achieve our dreams.

Finally, Renee’s latest endeavor is the development of a life coaching practice called “Inner Eye Life Coaching.”  A collaboration with Jan Groenemann, author and creativity coach; Inner Eye is a perfect blend of actively creating and actively living YOUR life.  Inner Eye Life Coaching uses concepts in mind-body awareness and creativity to create open and safe spaces for individuals to lovingly EXPLORE who they are, to learn to BE fully present and to stand in integrity and to support and nurture [mentor] their DISCOVERY of their unique purpose as they reach consciously outward to DO their work in the world.

Renee skillfully weaves all of these things into seamless coaching and therapeutic work for individuals and groups with a focus on their personal strengths and interests.

And Renee still believes we can fly!