Courtney Butler Robinson Author of "The Mud & The Lotus: A Guide and Workbook for Students of Yoga" Author of "The Mud & The Lotus Guide to Successful Workshops, Retreats and Conferences" C-IAYT (Certified Yoga Therapist) E-RYT 500, RCYT, RPYT, YACEP RYS 200, RYS 300/ 500 P.O.L.Y. 500 E.R.Y.T. (Prime of Life Yoga Certified Instructor with the Samata Institute) Y12SR (Yoga of 12 Step Recovery Certified) U.C.I. Certified Solution Focused Coach -Business and Personal Finance Stress Management Specialist at the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease (2016-2022) Former Yoga Alliance Advisory Group Member to the Standards Committee (2014-2017) Courtney is the Director/Owner of Balance Yoga and Wellness Registered Yoga School (2008-2019)
Yoga Bio- Courtney was introduced to yoga by watching Lilias Folan on PBS in the 1970's. As a young teenager, she began practicing meditation to cope with debilitating anxiety. She has been practicing yoga and meditation for over two thirds of her life and has been formally teaching since 2001. She has been in a yoga classroom, both as a student and as a teacher, for tens of thousands of hours. She is often sought out as a highly regarded teacher in the field of yoga therapy with a specialization in cardiac care, cancer recovery care, and aging. She has authored two books, appeared in "Yoga Journal" magazine and online in 2019, "Yoga Therapy Today" magazine in 2019, on the podcast "The Connected Yoga Teacher" episode 89, featured meditations on the app "Meditation Timer", in the online summit for 2017 and 2018 "Resolve to Reclaim", has been a blogger since 2007 and video blogger on You Tube since 2014. She was a presenter on yoga in cardiology at the "Texas Yoga Conference" in conjunction with MD Anderson in 2018, and presented at the UAMS School of Pharmacology in 2019. She has presented hundreds of workshops and led many retreats over the course of her career and owned a yoga school training hundreds of teachers for over ten years. Courtney has studied with Robin Johnson, Elana Johnson, Lilias Folan, Rolf Gates, Suzanne Sterling, Judith Lasiter, Desiree Rumbaugh, Sean Tebor, Seane Corn, Nikki Myers, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Baxter Bell, Dr. Larry Payne, and many others.
Courtney's passion and her vision is to teach yoga with compassion, integrity, and authenticity. She is known for her "therapeutic yoga classes" and her classes radiate her lighthearted approach to teaching. Based on her years of study, she has developed a systematic approach to yoga that allows every student, even those with limited physical or emotional abilities, to benefit from their practice.
Courtney served on the Yoga Alliance Advisory Committee for Standards for four years and holds every possible certification available through Yoga Alliance. She trained the University of Arkansas staff (and continues to train their staff) with the Extension Division and edited the guide to "Yoga for Children" that is used by the Extension Agency to teach yoga to children in public schools and in 4-H programs throughout Arkansas. She trained medical and mental health professionals throughout the state and worked with the Little Rock Veteran's Hospital, training their staff to offer yoga and mind body practices to patients suffering from physical and emotional traumas. She has trained several hundred students who now teach all over the world, are studio owners, lead workshops, and own their own yoga schools.
She owned Balance Yoga and Wellness Teacher Training from 2008 to 2019, is a yoga therapist C-IAYT , a published author, contributing author, coach and consultant, Stress Management Specialist, workshop leader , conference presenter and is mom to six young adults. She lives in Arkansas with her husband, Cowboy Jim, on their ranch with horses, donkeys, dogs and cats.