Stephen Cope
Scholar-in-Residence, Kripalu Ambassador, and the founder and former Director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living
Stephen Cope is a best-selling author and scholar who specializes in the relationship between the Eastern contemplative traditions and Western depth psychology. Among his seminal works in this area are: Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, The Wisdom of Yoga, and The Great Work of Your Life. His most recent work, Deep Human Connection, is an examination of the psychology, neurobiology, and spirituality of deep human connection, and the imperatives of human attachment—an issue of great importance to both the Eastern and Western traditions.
For almost thirty years, Stephen has been Scholar-in-Residence at the renowned Kripalu Center—the largest center for the study and practice of yoga in the Western world. Kripalu hosts almost 50,000 guests a year in its many yoga, meditation, and personal growth programs. It is located on a sprawling 200 acre estate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. In addition to his role as Scholar-in-Residence, Stephen is the founder and former director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living—one of the world’s most influential research institutes examining the effects and mechanisms of yoga and meditation, with a team of researchers from Harvard Medical School, University of Connecticut, University of Pennsylvania, and many more.
Stephen is the recipient of both a Telly and an Apple award for his work. In its twenty-fifth anniversary edition, “Yoga Journal” named him one of the most influential thinkers, writers, and teachers on the current American yoga scene.
Karina Mirsky
Karina Mirsky, BBA, MA, ERYT, is an international Yoga and Meditation Educator and the best selling author of Make a Difference and Make a Living Teaching Yoga. She is the director of Sangha Yoga Institute, and the developer of Yoga Mindset Coaching™.
Karina has been teaching yoga since 1998, and is a senior teacher of Rod Stryker’s ParaYoga. She holds a BBA in Management and a MA in East-West Psychology. Karina is also a practitioner of Tom Holmes’ Part’s Work©, a process based on Internal Family Systems therapy. Overcoming personal challenges, including surviving cancer in 2003, have made Karina a passionate and compassionate guide to others. Her yoga trainings, speaking events, retreats and private coaching have touched thousands of lives
Karina has served as a faculty member of the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA and as an adjunct professor of Yoga Studies at Antioch University. She presents annually to thousands of Holistic Health students at Western Michigan University where she lectures on the value of the Yoga Mindset in modern life. Karina is also committed to accessibility and inclusion. She's honored to serve people of many faiths and ethnicities, BIPOC, LGBTQAI, the differently-abled, practitioners of ENM (& Kink), and a death-row inmate at San Quentin.
In 2008, Yoga Journal named Karina as one of "21 Top Famous Yoga Teachers" shaping the future of yoga in America. She was also honored to grace the Winter 2012 cover of Yoga International. Karina has a media profile on Yoga International and free meditations on Insight Timer, aside teachers like Tara Brach, Ram Das, Jack Kornfield, and Sharon Salzburg.
Karina presents in YTT programs and conferences, and trains yoga teachers in the US and at Blue Osa in Costa Rica. Many travel with her annually for her international yoga and service retreats, (join her Retreat Facebook Group). Karina’s YouTube channel has some provocative content and she is currently blogging on Instagram.
Matthew Sanford, Visionary Health Care Pioneer, Nationally Recognized Yoga Teacher and Author
Matthew has been exploring the intersection between mind and body since becoming paralyzed as a young teen. He is the founder of the nonprofit organization Mind Body Solutions and does motivational public speaking throughout the country on the mindbody relationship. He is a yoga instructor who specializes in adapting this practice for people living with disabilities.
Matthew’s inspirational story begins at age 13 when he survived a devastating car accident that killed his father and sister and left him permanently paralyzed from the chest down. Now 45, Sanford is a public speaker, healthcare pioneer, award‐winning author, and nationally recognized yoga teacher who has inspired and enhanced the lives of thousands. Sanford shares his philosophy on the importance of the mind‐body relationship and our inner capacity for strength, growth and transformation in his critically acclaimed book WAKING: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence. In 2007, Waking received both a Minnesota Book Award and Northeastern Minnesota Book Award and is fast becoming required reading for medical and rehabilitation schools and yoga teacher trainings.
Sanford lives in Orono, Minnesota with his wife and son. Waking is his first book. For additional information about the author and his work, visit www.matthewsanford.com
Laura Jane Mellencamp-Murphy, C-IYAT, E-RYT 500,MA, Certified Yoga Therapist, founder and director of Yoga Among Friends
Laura has been changing people’s lives for 3 decades. She has led classes, seminars, and workshops throughout the world for leading organizations and individuals. Laura is known for her depth of knowledge, practical wisdom, and unique ability to transmit yogic teachings and practices to students from all walks of life. She enjoys blending her clinical and counseling training in psychology with her yoga therapy certification to provide her clients with a holistic approach to psychological and emotional imbalances that affect the immune system. Her background includes the following:
Yoga Therapist, Krishnamacharya Healing and Yoga Foundation, Chennai, India
Certified Yoga Teacher, The White Lotus Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA
Certified Yoga Therapist & Member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT)
MA in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, Antioch University
25+ years of Yoga Teaching Experience
35+ years of Yoga Practice