dear Wild Creative Soul,

I’m Courtney, the founder of Om & Ink: Live, Breathe, Write, a community that merges my two passion practices: writing & yoga.

After a car accident in 2012, gentle yoga and meditation were integral to my healing journey (both physically and creatively). I am a registered Gentle Yoga teacher and have additional certifications in Yoga for Trauma and Yoga for Brain Injury. Mindfulness and tuning into my body kindled my creative practice, which was the beginning inspiration for my Yoga for Writing program—a six-week explorative series for diving deep into your creative soul. Migraines also became a chronic struggle for me—here are some resources I’ve created from my journey with them, and make sure to check out my Ease & Prevent Migraines: A Yogic Toolkit video series and e-book bundle.

Capturing, collecting, and collaging words on paper captivates me. I love crafting stories, poems, and lyrical essays, and am drawn to writers who fearlessly experiment and innovate with the power of the written word. I love guiding writing workshops and working with others to inspire their creativity and execute writing projects. I’ve taught courses and workshops at UCSD, UCSD K-12 Extension, San Diego Writers, Ink, Yoga Vista Studio, 3B Yoga, for Canyon Crest Academy’s yearly creative writing conference, and privately.

For a taste of my own writing style, you can listen to me read one of my pieces here, or find my work in the following anthologies: Rooted: The Best New Arboreal Nonfiction; Ancestors, Place, and Memory…Our Stories Will Never Die; and California Prose Directory: New Writing from the Golden State.

I live in Southern California, and love to garden, create collage art, hike, travel–even nearby–and drink copious amounts of tea. You can find me on Monday mornings, 9:30-10:45, at Yoga Branch Vista Village, teaching my signature Gentle Journeys class—an active, but gentle flow for stretching, strengthening, and releasing tension. Each class revolves around a special theme relating to the natural world, moon phases, self-care, or holidays, and ends with a guided meditation. Students leave class with a prompt for contemplation or journaling.

I love fostering community and connecting with creatives and those who deal with chronic pain. If you’ve enjoyed the site at all, found something inspiring, have a question, something you’d like to see, or just want to say hi, please send me a note. I want to hear from you, and be part of your own creative journey. Send me an email: courtney at omandink dot com or write me a note here.

Yours in creativity & mindful practice,

Courtney