Stephen Cope

Stephen Cope is a writer, teacher, yogi and scholar. He has been Scholar-in-Residence at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, for almost thirty years. He is also the founder and former director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living, a research institute that examines the effects and mechanisms of yoga and meditation.

His work centres on the relationship between the Eastern contemplative traditions and Western depth psychology. He is a best-selling author whose books include Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, The Wisdom of Yoga and The Great Work of Your Life. Its sequel, The Dharma in Difficult Times, looks at finding one's way to a true calling through dark periods. His primary interest is translating the wisdom of ancient contemplative scriptures, such as the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita, into a form that is engaging and useful for mainstream readers. His writing combines narrative and exposition to bring these often obscure texts to life.

As a teacher, Stephen combines intellectual rigor with the direct practices of hatha yoga and meditation. He is trained in many styles of both, but his main focus is the subtleties of Kripalu yoga and mindfulness meditation. He also teaches loving-kindness (metta) meditation alongside his friend and mentor Sharon Salzberg. His workshops are experiential and practical, and he often teaches with master teachers from other traditions.

Before Kripalu, Stephen worked as a psychotherapist in Boston. He has received a Telly and an Apple award for his work. Yoga Journal named him one of the most influential thinkers, writers and teachers on the American yoga scene in its twenty-fifth anniversary edition.