The Mud & The Lotus

Courtney has been a practitioner of yoga for nearly four decades and a yoga teacher for nearly two. She delights in being of service by sharing the gift of yoga with others.Courtney has every credential available from Yoga Alliance including the 500 E-RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher who has taught at least 1,000 hours since graduating from a Registered Yoga School), RCYT (Registered Children's Yoga Teacher), RPYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher), and YACEP (Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider) designations. She was one of the first yoga therapists to be recognized by the International Association of Yoga Therapist as a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), and has been providing private yoga therapy for more than a decade. She is also trained as a Prime of Life Yoga Teacher, is a Stress Management Specialist for The Dr. Dean Ornish Reversal Program, and has earned the POLY- 500 and Yoga of 12-Step Recovery (Y12SR) certifications. In her role as a certified Solution-Focused Coach (CFSC), she was a featured speaker in the 2017 Resolve to Reclaim Personal and Business Summit, and regularly offers goal-oriented coaching to clients nationwide.A professional teacher since 2001, Courtney began leading workshops in 2006, and organizing and leading retreats in 2009. In 2008, she opened Balance Yoga and Wellness Yoga School (R.Y.S. 200/300/500 with a Yoga Alliance school rating of 4.85/5 stars) in her hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and has since trained nearly 200 students through the school. She often operates Balance Yoga and Wellness Yoga School in other locations nationwide. Her experience in the yoga business also includes running her own studio, managing and creating an extensive yoga program for a 3,000+ member health and wellness nonprofit, assisting yoga studios in their planning and opening phases, and consulting studios and teachers nationwide. She has taught thousands of students and joyfully dedicated many thousands of hours to teaching. Courtney's proudest accomplishment in yoga is seeing those she has trained through Balance Yoga and Wellness go on to be successful teachers.Courtney is mother to four grown children. She is in the midst of moving with her partner to their 40-acre Arkansas farm with many furry friends (including rescued cats, dogs, horses, and donkeys). In addition to yoga and meditation, Courtney loves being in nature (especially near water), working out, reading, and spending time with loved ones. She believes that the human condition offers us daily opportunities to revisit the parable of the mud and the lotus; as life gives us ups and downs, it always offers the practice of yoga as a lifestyle, providing us a framework for bringing ourselves back into balance and ever reaching toward the light.To reach Courtney for consulting or coaching, or to learn more about Balance Yoga and Wellness Yoga School, visit her at balanceyogaandwellness.com.

"A comprehensive and unique guide to the basics of yoga for students and teachers. Highly recommended!" -Larry Payne, PhD, C-IAYT, E-RYT500. Founding Director, Yoga Therapy Rx® and Prime of Life Yoga®. Co-author, Yoga for Dummies, Yoga Rx, and Yoga Therapy & Integrative MedicineRooted in the understanding that yoga teachers are themselves lifelong students of yoga, The Mud & The Lotus: A Guide and Workbook for Students of Yoga offers opportunities for aspiring teachers and new students alike to grow in their practice. Guided by hatha yoga traditions, Courtney Denise Butler presents the curriculum she uses to train student-teachers at her Balance Yoga and Wellness Yoga School (R.Y.S. 200/300/500, with a 4.85/5-star Yoga Alliance rating). From the grit to the zen of the yoga world, Butler has developed these lessons through extensive experience in many aspects of the yoga business as well as four decades of personal practice. She shares basic history, physical and energetic anatomy, teaching tips and pose adjustments, essential cautionary notes, detailed professional and business advice, useful approaches for class planning, demonstrative images and illustrations, inspirational personal anecdotes, and much more. The volume includes a workbook that actively reinforces key terms and concepts, and lights the way for self-reflection that will continue to inform teachers as they lead from and beyond their mats.