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 -Personal Finance, Lifestyle, Yoga & Plant Based Eating
Vegan Health Coach 
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

About Me
My book "The Mud & The Lotus: A Guide for Students of Yoga" was released in 2017 to help students and teachers discover more about yoga and their own personal style. The book is the curriculum I used in my own yoga teacher training program for over ten years. It has many five star reviews on Amazon. I hope you will read and enjoy it. 
My second book 
"The Mud & The Lotus Guide to Successful Yoga Workshops, Retreats and Conferences"  is a book I wrote to help others hold successful workshops, retreats and conferences. It is a small but precise book with easy to understand instructions and a checklist.
In my daily life I am married to a Cowboy and we live on a forty acre farm with many animals. Together we have six grown adult children. 
We went from two broke single parents in 2011 to Financially Independent in 10 years. I share my journey online and love to help others. I currently run three debt free, profitable business with my husband.
​I have been vegetarian in my past and mostly plant based my entire life. I went  whole food plant based in 2019. I lost thirty pounds & my husband lost twenty. Both of our health improved greatly. For six and a half years I worked in intensive cardiac rehab where in addition to my job as Stress Management Specialist I assisted in creating plant based menu plans for the participants. I run a successful facebook page with my friend Rena Wren teaching about plant based eating. 

​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. 

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