My Story
Hi! I’m Marissa (“Mar”) Munn (they/them)—a heart-centered meditation teacher, mindfulness coach, and Reiki practitioner. I’m so glad you’re here.
Like many, I spent my early years following the script—good grades, “nice” boys, prestigious schools. Outwardly, I was succeeding. Inwardly, I was anxious, disconnected, and ruled by a harsh inner critic. My first yoga class in 2003 brought a wave of calm—but I quickly got swept back into the grind.
Years later, chronic illness forced me to pause. A doctor said, “Maybe this is where your body holds stress. Try yoga or meditation.” I felt dismissed and ignored it—until a subway ride in my early 30s sparked a radical thought: Maybe I can be happy.
That quiet whisper led me back to the mat, and then to meditation. Reading Mindfulness in Plain English, I encountered a life-changing idea: I can be kind to myself. That truth cracked something open.
Since then, I’ve been on a winding, beautiful journey of healing, and transformation. I quit my job, came out as queer, healed my chronic illness, moved cross-country, and began building a life rooted in intuition and integrity. I don’t have it all figured out—but I trust my heart now.
As a queer, gender-fluid white person, I’m deeply committed to social justice and collective liberation. As an anti-Zionist Jew and grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I fight for a Free Palestine. I lead mindfulness-based racial justice programs and support activists with practices that nurture resilience, connection, and compassion—so we can stay in the work for the long haul.
I believe healing, spirituality, and justice are not separate—but braided paths toward our collective freedom.
I grew up in Queens, NY, and now live in Oakland, CA, on unceded Ohlone land, where I love making art, dancing, and singing to the trees.
Some of my Credentials + Experience
Meditation and Yoga teacher training (400+ hours) for youth and adults, including trauma-informed teaching, with The Nalanda Institute, The Interdependence Project, Little Flower Yoga, and Bend + Bloom Yoga. Over 10 weeklong silent meditation retreats.
Reiki Level I and II Certification Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki, with Reiki Master Christopher Tellez, founder of San Francisco Reiki Center
Certified Professional Coach with the Academy of Creative Coaching
Anti-racist training with Embodied Equity Project, White Awake, Race Forward, and Education for Racial Equity; Ongoing White Anti-racist Affinity Group
20+ years of experience in youth development, nonprofit leadership, and facilitation
Graduate degree in Education, Culture, and Society
Experience with somatic therapy, expressive arts therapy, Internal Family Systems, nonviolent communication, active listening, and shadow work.