Cort Yoga
About Cort
Cort and Cory
I've studied and taught yoga in Los Angeles and around the world, including 3+ years based at the source in India.
I live in Santa Monica, California, with my loving wife and son.
My Journey
My yoga journey began in 1996 when I learned a slow, methodical type of Hatha yoga that was brilliant and transformative. I added to my healing toolkit and completed a degree in Psychology from the University of Boulder. I received a call to head to southern California where I focussed primarily on marketing and technology for several years.
To be blunt, I discovered I was a big ol' dumpster fire by the end of 2004. How did this happen? I thought I had it all figured out, but I was lost... I'd overindulged in the vibrant dance music scene in Los Angeles on top of my demanding corporate day job and was teetering at the abyss. To my relief, I discovered a different type of yoga in 2005 that completely changed my understanding of what yoga was and could be. It was a vigorous style that had me sweating and fully feeling the connection between the mind and body. I was healing deep trauma like never before and becoming more useful and present. Wonderful!
This more rigorous practice led me to vipassana meditation in 2007, equally impacting my understanding and teachings.
Indigenous practices
I've also trained deeply in music and prayer ceremonies with indigenous people of the Americas. In 1996, I became connected with the Lakota tribe while helping the unhoused in Boulder as the volunteer manager of the county shelter. I was privileged to build a sweat lodge in the nearby mountains under the guidance of a Native American shaman as part of a ceremony recognizing my passage into adulthood.
In 2019, I was invited to participate in music and prayer ceremonies of the indigenous people of South America and continue these practices with daily songs with my family and regular deeper dives with my community.
My connection to these ancient indigenous practices has influenced and helped grow my yoga teachings.
Cortlandc@gmail.com
Santa Monica
California