Courtney Stapleford
My yoga journey started as a shy, low self-esteem high schooler in a Bikram Yoga studio on Long Island. I wasn't sure what had hit me but I felt deeply in my soul that I had found a way to start to come home to myself. After 10+ years or so of practice and dabbling in many different schools and styles of yoga, I said a prayer and took a leap of faith and received my 200 hour certification from Kula Yoga Project, not realizing at the time that my favorite hobby would turn into a life's calling.
My approach to my classes is breath focused, non-dogmatic, and empathic. My goal is to create space for students to move from the gross to the subtle and investigate ways to draw inward, keeping in mind that the ultimate goals of yoga are not meant to be confined to the mat; an individuals' journey inward must ultimately lead back outward toward engagement with community. Forever a student, I am also currently pursuing my 300 hour certification with The Shala. As a licensed social worker, I firmly believe that a bio-psycho-social-spiritual lense is necessary in order to fully understand a person and I aim to incorporate elements of yoga into my therapeutic interventions. I am deeply indebted to my teachers Nikki Vilella, Kevin Bigger, Rebecca Ketchum and the entire Kula crew, Barbara Verrochi, Kristin Leigh, and so many others who have touched my heart and helped light my path.
